For a couple of months now, our home has been afflicted with one type of sickness after another. Nagging coughs, fever, flu, nasal drip, deep chest congestion, earaches, and sinus problems are among the things that have been cycling through our home.

We’ve all been to the doctor with varying degrees of success in dealing with the various ailments, but we’ve also had an assortment of home remedies offered by friends. Some of them sound reasonable, others a bit hard to believe, and still others just too strange for words. Among the well intentioned recommendations were the following: For a nagging cough, apply Vick’s Vapor Rub to the bottom of the feet and wear a pair of socks to bed. Bites of fresh garlic washed down with a glass of water was the suggested remedy for deep chest congestion. And for the flu, we have been told to take 1000mg of vitamin-C each hour.

Seemingly every home remedy is accompanied by this caveat: “I know it sounds strange, but it really does work.”

The bites of fresh garlic to clear chest congestion fell somewhere between sounds reasonable and hard to believe. But desperate for some relief, we decided to make the purchase and give it a try.

I’m not saying that this particular remedy NEVER works, but I can say, it didn’t work in our home. And I knew the next time we saw the person who recommended the garlic bites, she would ask if we tried it, and how it worked. Furthermore, I knew her response would be disbelief when I answered, yes we tried it, and no, it didn’t work. I was right.

Why is it that people can’t believe their sure-fire home remedy doesn’t work for someone else? Lest I be thought to be throwing stones at those who cared enough to offer ideas, let me say thank you for caring. I’m not throwing stones, I’m just thinking out loud about how funny people are; and I include myself because I’ve been known to offer a home remedy or two myself.

Here’s a photo of an in-season, crate-full of home remedy for deep chest congestion.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor (I don’t even play one on TV), and the contents of this post should not be construed as medical advice – either for or against home remedies. I am simply telling my story; your mileage may vary.