L08 — February 2011 — Home Remedies

Intro: Chicken soup for a cold. Gargling with salt water to soothe a sore throat. Or a raw steak on a black eye. All are classic home remedies that thousands use. But do they work? That's what doctors at Mayo Clinic researched for a new book. They looked at the science behind 120 common home remedies to see if they're safe and if they really do help.

Angelica Hayes stands by her family's home remedies.

A spoon of sugar is good for the hiccups.

The question is: Do they really work?

Sugar for hiccups? Yes. It works. That's what it says in the Mayo Clinic book of home remedies.

We know people are out there trying these things, using these things, so we thought we'd try to lend as much science to it as we could.

Dr. Philip Hagen is the medical editor of the book, which covers everything from airplane ear to joint pain, to headaches, to snoring to the common cold.

If you have a sore throat you use a little honey with water.

Yes. It works.

Coffee for gout.

That's a maybe.

Garlic will lower cholesterol and will also lower blood pressure.

Yes, for high cholesterol, but no mention for high blood pressure.

I always used to tell my daughter, "a garlic a day keeps the boys away."

Ah, that one's not covered in the book.

The one that always makes me laugh is the duct tape for warts.

Yes. It works about 50% of the time. In addition to home remedies, the book also includes a section about what you should have in your medicine cabinet. Things for pain, cuts, burns etc.

Melatonin for sleep.

Yep. It works. So go ahead, test out your home remedies. But before you do, you might want to find out if they're safe and if they work.

For Medical Edge, I'm Vivien Williams.

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If you have sudden onset of severe symptoms, don't rely on home remedies. Get emergency care. And Dr. Hagen says if you're using a home remedy on an issue that persists, definitely see a doctor.

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