These home remedies really work

Drinking salabat for sore throat. Taking ginseng to boost sex drive. Applying aniel over a swollen mass. While people swear by their favorite home remedies, most — including the three above — remain unproved. Every now and then, however, a piece of folklore is scientifically validated. Sometimes that happens because a supposed cure rings true to a researcher, who decides to put it to the test. In other cases, personal experience — or a particularly persuasive grandmother — motivates a researcher to take a promising remedy out of the kitchen and into the lab. In recent years, a handful of such cures have held up under the microscope.

A Saltwater Bath For The Nose

An ancient Indian yogi treatment for a stuffy nose from allergies, sinusitis, or other causes is now a hit on drugstore shelves and You Tube videos. Nasal saline irrigation — a saltwater rinse for the nasal passages — has proved to be a safe, cheap, and effective remedy for chronic nose and sinus inflammation.

A 2007 analysis that combined the results of eight randomized, controlled trials concluded that saline irrigation relieves symptoms when used alone or with medication. And a 2008 study published in the Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery randomly assigned 401 children with cold or flu to receive standard medication or medication plus a daily nasal wash of processed seawater. Over the next three months, the saline group had fewer nasal and cold symptoms, used fewer medicines, and had fewer school absences.

“Saline irrigation won’t reverse an infection, but it helps remove mucus from the nasal cavity,” explains Andrew Lane, MD, director of the Johns Hopkins Sinus Center. Lane points out that seawater has no advantage over any other saline solution. All the rinses may also clear out allergens and bacteria, and cause cilia — tiny hairs in the nose that push mucus along — to work more effectively.

Chicken Soup For A Cold

Grandma was right: Chicken soup helps fight the common cold. Studies show that it can reduce symptoms, although it doesn’t appear to prevent or shorten the illness. Inhaling the warm steam of the soup loosens nasal secretions, which helps drain sinuses. The soup’s heat may also ease throat soreness, and the broth helps prevent dehydration.

What’s more, research shows that chicken soup may have a mild anti-inflammatory effect. Steven Rennard, MD, a pulmonologist at the University of Nebraska, and his colleagues used his wife’s grandmother’s recipe to cook up a batch of vegetable-filled chicken soup. They conducted test-tube analyses of soup samples and found that chicken soup prevented excessive buildup of virus-fighting cells called neutrophils, which trigger the inflammatory responses that make cold sufferers feel so rotten.

The Wonders Of Gum

It might lose its flavor after a while, but it can still have medicinal value. Research shows that after abdominal surgery, chewing gum for one hour, three times daily, significantly hastens the resumption of normal bowel function and reduces the time patients spend in the hospital. Eating and drinking are also effective but can cause nausea.

“Chewing gum doesn’t put as much in your system if you’re not ready for it, yet it might help stimulate intestinal activity,” says Jeffrey Drebin, MD, professor and chief of gastrointestinal surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. “I encourage my patients to chew gum as soon as they’re awake enough not to choke on it.”

The findings of a study of 158 patients from Imperial College London and published in the August 2008 issue of the Archives of Surgery showed that patients who chewed sugarless gum while recovering from colon surgery for five to 45 minutes had faster return of bowel function, measured in the time it took after surgery for them to pass gas for the first time (a half-day earlier than nonchewers) and to have a first bowel movement (a day earlier).  There was no reported problem caused by the gum. The authors explained that sorbitol, a common artificial sweetener in gum, has a known laxative effect.

A 2002 Japanese study also showed that gum-chewing patients recovered faster after laparoscopic colon surgery. Likewise, in 2006, researchers at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California found that gum chewers who had undergone large-incision abdominal surgery moved their bowels 26 hours earlier than other patients. So with your surgeon’s approval, pack some gum, preferably sugarless, before heading for the hospital.

Studies also suggest that chewing gum can relieve heartburn, which results when acid from the stomach backs up into the esophagus, a disorder called gastro-esophageal reflux. In a 2005 British study, 31 people with this condition consumed a fatty, heartburn-inducing lunch for two days and were randomly selected to chew gum for 30 minutes afterward. Stomach acid levels were significantly lower when they chewed gum. An earlier study found that chewing gum for one hour after breakfast reduced symptoms for up to three hours.

Chewing gum stimulates the production of saliva, which neutralizes acid in the esophagus. “It has the same effect as an antacid,” explains C. Mel Wilcox, MD, professor of medicine at the University of Alabama. The treatment may especially appeal to pregnant women who want to avoid medications.

Honey And Coughs

A simple folk remedy appears to trump over-the-counter (OTC) cough medicines. In a 2007 study published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 105 children, aged two to 18 who suffered from upper respiratory infections, received no treatment, honey, or a honey-flavored over-the-counter cough suppressant. Parents rated their children’s cough symptoms and quality of sleep. Those treated with honey did best. The researchers said that honey might soothe irritated membranes in the back of the throat, and has well-established antioxidant and anti-viral effects.

That’s welcome news, because in January 2008, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that over-the-counter cough medications posed unacceptable risks to children under age two. And in 2005, the American College of Chest Physicians declared that OTC cough remedies were largely ineffective for people of any age.

The researchers in the Archives study gave one-half teaspoon of honey to children aged two to five, one teaspoon to children six to 11, and two teaspoons to those aged 12 to 18. That higher amount is a reasonable dose for adults as well. You could try a smaller dose for children aged one to two. But honey shouldn’t be given to children under age one because it can cause infantile botulism, a rare but potentially life-threatening health problem.

Staying Warm To Stop Colds

Mothers who warn their children to bundle up during cold weather might feel vindicated. A 2005 study suggests that being cold may indeed lead to a cold — a notion that scientists long dismissed as folklore.

Welsh researchers recruited 180 volunteers during the cold season and chilled half of them by placing their feet in cold water for 20 minutes. Within five days, 29 percent of the chilled group caught colds, compared with only nine percent of the others. Other research suggests that chilling the feet causes blood vessels in the nose to narrow. That limits the supply of infection-fighting white blood cells in the nasal passages where the cold virus most often enters the body. Another common practice now in the United States is keeping patients warm for at least 30 minutes before surgery, as studies have shown that this has lessened postoperative infections.

The researchers say that previous studies that found no link between getting chilled and colds were too small and did not use natural exposure to cold viruses. While the more recent study is not definitive either, it certainly adds another reason to stay warm during cold weather, particularly by wearing warm socks and water-resistant shoes. For more protection, wash your hands frequently and avoid people with colds.