Last year, shortly after we had moved to our new home some circumstances arose that required us to be out of state for quite a while. At first we had thought we would only be gone for several weeks at a time and only took things along to make that we could survive. An air mattress, a card table and five folding chairs, and enough blankets for everyone.
We arrived at our empty house and settled in as much as possible with minimal comforts of a real home. The local library became a very important part of our life, and days were spent reading and playing. There wasn't much to do since there was almost nothing to keep clean and organized. Preparing meals was interesting since I didn't want to buy an entire kitchen worth of things to work with. I had enough things to use that we managed nicely.
As things turned out instead of being there only several weeks at a time we had to stay for almost six months. During that time the children started with the sniffles and I could see us all dealing with a cold. I didn't have any of my usual things on hand to give to them. What I did have though was a gallon of vinegar.
I went ahead and filled a glass with water and poured a healthy splash of vinegar into it and handed it to them to drink. They liked how it tasted and much to my surprise within several hours there was no more signs of a cold on the way. From that point on at the slightest hint of a sniffle, sneeze, or sore throat we reached for the vinegar.
We have back to the comforts of a real home now for almost a year, but vinegar has remained a very good friend of ours. It's well over a year since any of us have had a cold and I'm hoping we can continue that way. It will be interesting to see what happens since another cold season is upon us.
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white or apple cider? I've done that for myself with apple cider vinegar but my children are loathe to have to ingest any vinegar that is lacking pickles in it. :)
ReplyDeleteFolky Dots, we have both kinds of vinegar. The children prefer using white since it tastes better to them.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised the vinegar worked for you. Your family is probably pretty healthy to start with, and that goes a long way when it comes to colds. Apple cider vinegar is full of vitamins and must have given you all just the "shot" you needed to resist the cold germs.
ReplyDeleteWe use a recipe to ward off colds and flu from Dian Dincin Buchman's book, Herbal Medicine that sounds similar to how you used the vinegar.
My mom has a book about the many remedies in Apple Cider vinegar. I was reading it recently when I was staying there helping my parents after my dad had surgery. I came home and bought a bottle ...today I am suffering with a itchy throat and head cold...going to take me a big shot of vinegar :) Thanks for the tip and blessings
ReplyDeleteWOW...interesting...I have heard of many uses of vinegar...but this is kinda new...SO, can I ask...how much water and how much vinegar???
ReplyDeleteWonder if I can get my boys (teens) to try it!
Thank you so much for the tip...and I just love your blog!
Blessings Kelly in MI
You're almost to the old-fashioned drink switzel. Laura Ingalls Wilder fans will remember her bringing this to Pa in the fields.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switchel
Specialmom, it's totally up to each person how strong they want the vinegar. A tablespoon of vinegar to a glass of water is mild but if you don't mind the added zip splash some more in.
ReplyDeleteI do the same thing for me, but haven't tried it with the kids.
ReplyDeleteWe have used vinegar for a long time as a cold remedy; we also use some on a cotton swab for acne but be careful around the eyes and nose. We use it for cleaning as I am allergic to most household cleaners. For windows, you can use a 3 to 1 or a 50/50 combination with water and a drop of dish soap in a spray bottle. If you used Windex before using this, your windows will smear for a long time as Windex has a silicon substance that takes a long time to cut through. If however you used crumpled up newspaper, it helps to clean the windows better and reduce the smears. If you get online and do a search for uses of vinegar, you will find a lot of uses.
ReplyDeleteMrs. J.
Interesting remedy. I will have to try this the next time the sniffles come for a visit.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Joanne
Yes, vinegar is fantastic for colds. And if you have a sore throat - or don't like the vinegar taste much - adding a bit of honey to the mix is advised. I read about it in a book I had about the medicinal properties of honey and vinegar. Not sure where that book is now (I loaned it to someone, but it was ages ago and I don't remember who now, and I never got it back). Vinegar is also great for bee and wasp stings.
ReplyDelete