How about your favorite Old Wives Tales related to health? - Page 16

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  1. Dec 9, '08 by
    Quote from mommy_of_3_in_al
    Eat potato soup, mexican and drink castor oil to send you in to labor (the diarrhea may make you think you are anyway)
    There's a taqueria in San Francisco that has this burrito. If you come in at full term and eat it, and don't go into labor within 24 hours, you get your money back.
  2. Dec 27, '08 by
    [quote=nursein08;1699120]ok, this one is a little gross. i had heard a long time ago from my grandmother that the best way to cure an earache was to pour a little bit of "pee" in it!!!
    my mom and grandparents always used sweet oil in your ears for ear aches and i actually still use it on my kids and grandkids.

    i also use raw onions for fevers. i wrap them in a cloth and tie them around each arm and leg and around the midsection. somtimes when you remove the onions in the morning they are cooked. may be an old wives tail but when tylenol does not work the onions do. :-)
  3. Dec 28, '08 by
    Quote from ChayaN
    It's a middle eastern thing. They put a pigeon on the hepatitis-sufferer's abdomen and the pigeon dies. Supposedly the pigeon sucks out the hepatitis.
    I wish this were true as I have a very dear friend that has Hepatits C. He has been through many treatments for this. He says at times its in remission.? Sometimes he feels very ill from the Hep C.
  4. Dec 28, '08 by
    I hope this wasn't said yet, the thread faily long by now.... "eating carrots is good for your eyes".. and to get rid of hicups "eat a spoon full of sugar"
  5. Jan 5, '09 by
    Quote from beautifulb
    eating Chinese food will induce a Mom. Well, I did eat Chinese food the day before I was due (I know, I am grasping at straws) and my water broke later that night.
    Pardon if this has been said, but maybe has something to do with all the MSG??

    Also, I've found, and read research, that lots of "wives tales" etc. are rooted in fact. I'll see if I can't dig up some of those...
    Last edit by Pat_Pat RN on Jan 5, '09 : Reason: Added smart sounding stuff
  6. Jan 5, '09 by
    Quote from Straydandelion
    and to get rid of hicups "eat a spoon full of sugar"
    This is actually sited as "the easiest and least invasive" way to cure the hiccups. The reference is "Emergency Medicine, A comprehensive study guide. Tintalli et al. American Counsil of Emergency Physicians.

    So like I said in the above post...rooted in fact.
  7. Apr 1, '09 by
    Whenever we got the hiccups, my mom would make us eat a spoonful of mustard.

    I started my own wives tail: When my daughter was very little (she is 10 now) she was always making up little white lies to get out of trouble. I told her that if she lies 1 time too many, her tounge will fall right off. Seriously, that put a stop to the lies instantly... well until about a year ago. BUu I know tell that to my 3 year old. lol! I've even heard some of my cousins and friends tell it to their kids now. So in the future when you hear parents telling their kids that their tounges will fall off if they continue to tell lies, you'll know who started that one. LOL!!

    Oh, my mom used to always tell me I'd get "lie knots" on my tounge if I lied. Since my 10 year old doesnt believe her tounge will fall off anymore, I use this on her. She will occationally get a little white dot on her tounge (what are those anyway??) and I start asking her what she's lied about ... she always fesses up on something!! Muuhaahaahaaa!! Mean Mommy.
  8. Apr 1, '09 by
    Quote from stacygirl
    Whenever we got the hiccups, my mom would make us eat a spoonful of mustard.

    I started my own wives tail: When my daughter was very little (she is 10 now) she was always making up little white lies to get out of trouble. I told her that if she lies 1 time too many, her tounge will fall right off. Seriously, that put a stop to the lies instantly... well until about a year ago. BUu I know tell that to my 3 year old. lol! I've even heard some of my cousins and friends tell it to their kids now. So in the future when you hear parents telling their kids that their tounges will fall off if they continue to tell lies, you'll know who started that one. LOL!!

    Oh, my mom used to always tell me I'd get "lie knots" on my tounge if I lied. Since my 10 year old doesnt believe her tounge will fall off anymore, I use this on her. She will occationally get a little white dot on her tounge (what are those anyway??) and I start asking her what she's lied about ... she always fesses up on something!! Muuhaahaahaaa!! Mean Mommy.
    My Maw-maw called those little white dots on the tongue lie bumps, and yep, we usually 'fessed up when she noticed one.
    WillowNMe likes this.
  9. Apr 1, '09 by
    I've read that in Jamaica new mothers in rural areas will apply blue paint to a newborn in order to keep "duppies" from stealing/harming them. These are supposedly evil spirits.
  10. Apr 7, '09 by
    Quote from moonischasingme1
    Okay, I have a question. My boyfriend's Mother is an RN and they're from Bosnia. If it is cold and I don't have on socks and I step on tile, she will make me go stand on the carpet or put on socks. Now, you might think she just doesn't want my feet cold, right? NO, everytime she puts her hands over her lower abdomen and tells me I will have "problems"--reproductively. I have looked everywhere to see how cold feet could somehow "ruin" your reproductive system, but seriously, I have found nothing. Is this just an old wives tale she picked up from Bosnia? haha

    Well, when I was in Kazakstan, a former Soviet Republic, the old babushkas (grandmas) would have a fit if they saw me sitting on the steps of a building or the floor, as they told me I'd never have children. Also I was told ice in drinks give you sore throats, shaking hands across the threshold of a door is bad luck, and sitting on the corner of the table is also bad luck or reproduction problems or something like that.