Do Old Time Remedies Really Work?

As an educated man, I sometimes cringe when my grandmother trots out some of her old time remedies for ailments and sores, because I don't believe they really do anything. I could be wrong, and after all, there is a reason that people did some of the things that they did back in those days, but there is no scientific evidence to back up those remedies, and some of them actually seem quite dangerous. I guess it all depends on who you ask.

One of the old time remedies that actually works is gargling salt water for a sore throat, and I have used this on a number of occasions. My grandmother told me about this when my throat was sore, and I could not believe how much better it felt. There again, however, there is an actual explainable reason that this method works, which is that the salt dries out and eventually kills off the bacteria in your throat that cause the infection. There have been times where that was all I did, and did not take any medication at all, and it eventually got rid of the problem.

On the other hand, one of the old time remedies that my grandmother swears by that I am absolutely terrified to try and categorically refuse to do so is use bleach to whiten your teeth. I remember a few years ago, I told her that I wanted to go and get my teeth cleaned, but was concerned because it had been a while since I had it done and I was worried it would be painful. My grandmother informed me that I should just use bleach, as that will get them even whiter than if I went to the dentist. I informed her that bleach was toxic, but this did little to dissuade her from her position.

Another one of her favorite old time remedies was using baking soda to treat a rash. As a little boy, I had a very severe rash under my arm and she mixed baking soda with water into a paste, and then brushed it over the rash generously! I screamed out in pain, and then rushed into the bathroom and turned on the shower and ran it under the cold water for about 10 minutes before it finally stopped burning, and the rash was worse than before when I came out!

I do not trust old time remedies for the most part, because as I said, there is not scientific proof in most cases that these things work. I have learned the hard way on a couple of them, and I think from now on, I will just avoid them entirely!