Remedies of Blair: aches and pains and more

Everyone gets aches and pains, colds and flus, bug bites and rashes. So how does the average Blair student deal with these ailments? What hidden cures lie within the Blair community? From sodas to compost, Blazers have found new and innovative ways to deal with the pains of everyday life. 

Vampires beware

Not many people think to use garlic when hacking up a lung. According to sophomore V Mather, however, garlic is his magic remedy. “It's an old Italian tradition to put a lot of [fresh] garlic in your soup because it is antimicrobial,” Mather says. Garlic does have antiseptic, antibacterial, and antifungal properties. It also may help fight and resist viruses by stimulating different cell types which boosts the immune system. It especially helps with viruses that cause congestion, sore throats, and other common cold symptoms. As amazing as this sounds, most people don’t find raw garlic the most delicious food to eat. So how does one make this remedy appetizing? Mather recommends a tasty broth base with plenty of garlic and spices to help with decongestion. 

A cultural remedy 

Similar to garlic, another super medicinal bulb is purple onion! For senior Maria Silva, purple onions are a life-saver when she feels under the weather. “When you're sick with a cough, you can put purple onion and lemon [in a jar] and you ferment it a little and then you eat it,” Silva says. For her, it helps to relieve irritation and inflammation in the throat and lungs. Why do onions help? Onion anthocyanins, compounds responsible for the purple color of the onion, possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, chemotherapeutic, cardioprotective, and more medicinal properties, all of which are useful when feeling sick. Not to mention, fermented onions are actually a tasty snack, so give it a try the next time you are home sick because it might help relieve a little pain. 

Don’t slip on this banana peel

If you are still feeling hungry after you’ve had your garlic soup, grab a banana, but save the peel. While this home remedy might not be for sickness, it is still extremely useful, especially in the summertime, when many find those menacing, itchy, little, red bumps scattered across their legs and arms. Junior Sophie Butler has a saving grace for taming mosquito bites: banana peels. “Putting a banana peel on them and rubbing them against your mosquito bite helps. It takes away the itchiness,” Butler says. Many find that rubbing banana peels, flesh down, does help reduce the itchiness and swelling of mosquito bites. This could be due to the fact that the vitamin C in a banana peel acts as a natural antihistamine and anti-inflammatory agent, which helps soothe the allergic reaction caused by mosquito saliva.

The magic of Tiger Balm

Also useful for mosquito bites and many other things, junior Camilla Jordanwood stressed the benefits of Tiger Balm, an analgesic heat rub used for pain relief. “[For] the mosquito [bites] you put Tiger Balm on it. You have a headache, put Tiger Balm on your temples and it makes it go away… If you have muscle pain, [putting] it on your muscles makes them painless,” Jordanwood says. Tiger Balm was created when a Chinese herbalist left China in 1870 and set up shop in Rangoon where he created his salve to relieve aches and pains, from mosquito bites to muscle cramps.

Herbs aren’t just for food, they are patches too

Herbs have long been at the forefront of home remedies, but usually in foods and teas. Senior Alma Zhong, however, uses herb patches for her aches and pains. “They're basically these long big sheets… [and] you can cut them up into little pieces and paste them on your body and it eases the pain,” Zhong says. The patches that Zhong uses are exclusive only in Taiwan, but similar to what she uses are Sheng Chun herbal patches. Sheng Chun herbal patches are also created by a Taiwanese company but are available to order from many online websites and are extremely useful in soothing aches and pains. 

The Egg Cleanse

While this one might not seem like a remedy, it's good to know if you think someone has it out for you. The egg cleanse is an ancient indigenous ritual and traditional Mexican method of spiritual cleansing. “You grab an egg. You rub it all over your body from head to toe and then you crack it in a cup of water,” Blair senior Elizabeth Hernandez says. Then you wait for the egg to settle. After 5 minutes the egg will be ready for interpretation. 

If the water smells bad or there is blood, then there is evil working against you. If you see an eye in the yolk, that means you have an evil eye cast on you. If there are cobwebs in the egg whites, then someone is jealous towards you. If the water is cloudy, there are physical symptoms of sickness, fatigue, and more that plague you. It can also represent a loss of soul. “If [the egg] spikes up,… someone has bad energy towards you and [you] have bad energy around you,” Hernandez says. If there are bubbles, that is a good sign! That means the cleansing worked and the negative energy you carried became absorbed by the egg. 

To rid an egg, never throw it away. “To get rid of it you just put a bunch of spices in a cup and then you flush it down the toilet,” says Hernandez. So the next time you have an extra egg, try the egg cleanse to see how your spiritual life can improve! 

These unusual and obscure home remedies might seem a little odd, but they are worth a shot. So, the next time you or a loved one is in need, remember these home remedies because they just might make your day a little easier. From easy bug bite hacks to delicious but helpful soups, you can find it all at Blair.