In my Listening and Speaking class, we've been working on a unit called "Staying Healthy". Typically, each chapter has a section where we discuss a general topic, leading up to a main idea about the topic. Then we listen to a recording (sometimes a radio commercial or people chatting). Then there is a second recording that is on a similar idea, with after to bridge the two listenings.
During the last class, we heard a recording about home remedies, and then we discussed different ailments and their natural or herbal solutions. The list included peppermint for stomachaches, garlic for colds, menthol for sinus and chest infection (specifically Vick's, according to the students) and a few others.
In Middle Eastern culture - and the Islamic religion, in general - there are a few natural products that families - especially old grandmothers - tout as being better than any medicine. These two things are olive oil and honey. Mothers will rub olive oil all over their children's chests and backs to rid them of colds. Religiously, it is recommended to eat olive oil every day - mixed in salads, on food, or used as a dip for bread with a thyme and sesame seed herbal mixture called zaatar - the same as some Western cultures promote daily vitamins.
Honey is also known as a proponent of health. It's added to tea in many places around the world. It is also recommended, Islamically, to consume one tablespoon of honey per day topped with black seed (nigella sativa) to stave off ailments. In fact, the last time I had a chest cold, I almost went crazy with the number of random people - from multiple ethnic backgrounds - suggesting I drink honey with lemon.
It's clear both olive oil and honey have natural, healing powers. But it wasn't until yesterday that I realized exactly how far the healing powers of honey ran.
I was over at my best friend's house working on The Paper. We decided to stop for a snack, and I'd picked up some popcorn before I came over to make at her place. I know it sounds odd, but I couldn't recall if she had a microwave or not - she doesn't cook frequently, and they're not provided with our furnishings. Anyway, it didn't matter, because I've become accustomed to popping corn on the stove in big pots. It's fresher, and I know there aren't any weird chemicals or ingredients in the mix.
So, there I am in the kitchen, popping corn. It's time to take the popcorn off the stove, and I grab an oven mitt to move it to another eye. (I'm totally a green-eyed monster when it comes to her stove. . .she has a HUGE cooker. Mine is quite small and barely fits two pots comfortably.) I sit it down, and I hear this noise as if the new eye is on. A few more kernels pop, but I don't care because I'm wearing an oven mitt. I even grab ANOTHER rag - dry - to double-insulate my hand. And I go to grab the pot to pour it into the snack bowl.
I didn't even get my entire hand on the bowl before I withdrew it and hissed a not very nice word a little louder than under my breath.
I quickly jerked the mitt off to look at the damage. My poor thumb was stinging, but it didn't appear to be blistered. Just a little (read: a lot) red. I went to spooning the popcorn into the bowl.
When my friend came into the kitchen, I warned her not to even think about touching the pot. I let her spoon the popcorn while I ran cool water over my hand. The stinging subsided, until I removed my hand from the water. Then it hurt again.
Now, before you start thinking that I grabbed olive oil to ease the suffering, I'm not an idiot. I wasn't about to put butter or any other oil-based food onto my burning digit.
We were also going to make chocolate milkshakes, so I pulled the ice cream out of the freezer and stuck my thumb on the side. It felt good, but it also kind of attached, so I took it off.
Over the next half hour or so, the pain in my thumb wouldn't go away. I thought, "I just have to forget about it." But it was throbbing and literally shaking. Not my whole hand. Just my poor, scalded thumb.
I asked my girl if she had any aloe because that was the only thing I knew soothes burns. She didn't, but she ran to her room and retrieved two bags of ointments and aides.
"Can you use calamine lotion?" she asked.
"...you're gonna need an ocean...of calamine lotion....the minute you start to hang around....Poison Ivy".....popped into my head
"No, that's for itching," I called.
I grabbed my computer, went online and typed "burn remedies" in the search box. I clicked on the first link.
Reading the posts and suggestions, I saw most of them mentioned pure honey.
"Do you have honey?" I asked.
"Yes. Sure, I do. But what about.........ah, not petroleum jelly...."
"No. Have any Band Aids?" I looked up to see her putting a huge bag of cotton balls back in her bag.
"No," she said. "But I have these....and.....medical tape." She grabbed a roll of tape. "Um, well, this is not medical tape. It's double-sided tape."
I leaned over and spotted a familiar white box.
"This is a first aid kit," I said, grabbing it. Inside was a goldmine of bandages and gauze.
"Is there any ointment?"
I took a gauze and bandage and threw the rest in the bag. "I think I'll try the honey."
"Honey?"
"Yeah, it says pure honey soothes burns. I'll try it out. Can't get any worse." I imagined the site being a joke for imbeciles and the honey causing my thumb's skin to peel off.
Luckily, she had a huge jar of pure, local honey sitting on her dining room table. I got a spoonful and slathered in on my thumb. With my friend's help, we wrapped the gauze and some Band Aids around the honey. And I waited.
And, sure enough, about ten minutes later, the pain was all but gone.
Today there is a small bump where the burn was. But there is no pain and no blister.
Many of you may have already known this, and if so, that's wonderful. My father-in-law said that's how they used to treat major burns in the past.
For those of you who didn't, I wanted to share as a verifiable source that honey is a wonderful salve for treating burns. And since it is probably more likely that you'd have honey in your house than an aloe plant, it's also more convenient.
In the end, I just want to say I am not offering ANY medical advice.
If you've been severely burned, please head to the nearest ER instead of dousing yourself in honey.
But if you find yourself in the same situation as me, a victim of the kitchen's wrath, a little honey can ease the pain and help you avoid a bad blister situation.
What about you? Are there any home remedies that your family uses to fix boo-boos and colds? Any passed-down traditions of healers-gone-by?
Share your tricks and suggestions in the comments!
During the last class, we heard a recording about home remedies, and then we discussed different ailments and their natural or herbal solutions. The list included peppermint for stomachaches, garlic for colds, menthol for sinus and chest infection (specifically Vick's, according to the students) and a few others.
In Middle Eastern culture - and the Islamic religion, in general - there are a few natural products that families - especially old grandmothers - tout as being better than any medicine. These two things are olive oil and honey. Mothers will rub olive oil all over their children's chests and backs to rid them of colds. Religiously, it is recommended to eat olive oil every day - mixed in salads, on food, or used as a dip for bread with a thyme and sesame seed herbal mixture called zaatar - the same as some Western cultures promote daily vitamins.
Honey is also known as a proponent of health. It's added to tea in many places around the world. It is also recommended, Islamically, to consume one tablespoon of honey per day topped with black seed (nigella sativa) to stave off ailments. In fact, the last time I had a chest cold, I almost went crazy with the number of random people - from multiple ethnic backgrounds - suggesting I drink honey with lemon.
It's clear both olive oil and honey have natural, healing powers. But it wasn't until yesterday that I realized exactly how far the healing powers of honey ran.
I was over at my best friend's house working on The Paper. We decided to stop for a snack, and I'd picked up some popcorn before I came over to make at her place. I know it sounds odd, but I couldn't recall if she had a microwave or not - she doesn't cook frequently, and they're not provided with our furnishings. Anyway, it didn't matter, because I've become accustomed to popping corn on the stove in big pots. It's fresher, and I know there aren't any weird chemicals or ingredients in the mix.
So, there I am in the kitchen, popping corn. It's time to take the popcorn off the stove, and I grab an oven mitt to move it to another eye. (I'm totally a green-eyed monster when it comes to her stove. . .she has a HUGE cooker. Mine is quite small and barely fits two pots comfortably.) I sit it down, and I hear this noise as if the new eye is on. A few more kernels pop, but I don't care because I'm wearing an oven mitt. I even grab ANOTHER rag - dry - to double-insulate my hand. And I go to grab the pot to pour it into the snack bowl.
I didn't even get my entire hand on the bowl before I withdrew it and hissed a not very nice word a little louder than under my breath.
I quickly jerked the mitt off to look at the damage. My poor thumb was stinging, but it didn't appear to be blistered. Just a little (read: a lot) red. I went to spooning the popcorn into the bowl.
When my friend came into the kitchen, I warned her not to even think about touching the pot. I let her spoon the popcorn while I ran cool water over my hand. The stinging subsided, until I removed my hand from the water. Then it hurt again.
Now, before you start thinking that I grabbed olive oil to ease the suffering, I'm not an idiot. I wasn't about to put butter or any other oil-based food onto my burning digit.
We were also going to make chocolate milkshakes, so I pulled the ice cream out of the freezer and stuck my thumb on the side. It felt good, but it also kind of attached, so I took it off.
Over the next half hour or so, the pain in my thumb wouldn't go away. I thought, "I just have to forget about it." But it was throbbing and literally shaking. Not my whole hand. Just my poor, scalded thumb.
I asked my girl if she had any aloe because that was the only thing I knew soothes burns. She didn't, but she ran to her room and retrieved two bags of ointments and aides.
"Can you use calamine lotion?" she asked.
"...you're gonna need an ocean...of calamine lotion....the minute you start to hang around....Poison Ivy".....popped into my head
"No, that's for itching," I called.
I grabbed my computer, went online and typed "burn remedies" in the search box. I clicked on the first link.
Reading the posts and suggestions, I saw most of them mentioned pure honey.
"Do you have honey?" I asked.
"Yes. Sure, I do. But what about.........ah, not petroleum jelly...."
"No. Have any Band Aids?" I looked up to see her putting a huge bag of cotton balls back in her bag.
"No," she said. "But I have these....and.....medical tape." She grabbed a roll of tape. "Um, well, this is not medical tape. It's double-sided tape."
I leaned over and spotted a familiar white box.
"This is a first aid kit," I said, grabbing it. Inside was a goldmine of bandages and gauze.
"Is there any ointment?"
I took a gauze and bandage and threw the rest in the bag. "I think I'll try the honey."
"Honey?"
"Yeah, it says pure honey soothes burns. I'll try it out. Can't get any worse." I imagined the site being a joke for imbeciles and the honey causing my thumb's skin to peel off.
Luckily, she had a huge jar of pure, local honey sitting on her dining room table. I got a spoonful and slathered in on my thumb. With my friend's help, we wrapped the gauze and some Band Aids around the honey. And I waited.
And, sure enough, about ten minutes later, the pain was all but gone.
Today there is a small bump where the burn was. But there is no pain and no blister.
Many of you may have already known this, and if so, that's wonderful. My father-in-law said that's how they used to treat major burns in the past.
For those of you who didn't, I wanted to share as a verifiable source that honey is a wonderful salve for treating burns. And since it is probably more likely that you'd have honey in your house than an aloe plant, it's also more convenient.
In the end, I just want to say I am not offering ANY medical advice.
If you've been severely burned, please head to the nearest ER instead of dousing yourself in honey.
But if you find yourself in the same situation as me, a victim of the kitchen's wrath, a little honey can ease the pain and help you avoid a bad blister situation.
What about you? Are there any home remedies that your family uses to fix boo-boos and colds? Any passed-down traditions of healers-gone-by?
Share your tricks and suggestions in the comments!
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