Home remedies fhqt work - Michael V. DeLollis, MD

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JUNE 2OOA
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Home remedies fhqt work
Some troditionol cures hove stood up to scientific scrutiny.
ating artichokes for low libido. Standing
on your head while drinking a glass of
water for hiccups. Rubbing a radish on
your skin for warts.
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Avoiding overexposure
While people swear by their favorite
home remedies, most-including the three
described above-remain unproved. Every
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now and then, however, a piece of folklore is
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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, per-
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sonal 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 SALTWATTR BATH TOR THT N*SE
An ancient Indian yogi treatment for a stufr,
nose from aliergies, sinusitis, or other causes is
now a hit on drugstore shelves and YouTube
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.
A2007 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
[Continued onPage 4]
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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. The study was
funded by Goemar Laboratories, maker
of the seawater rinse used in the study'
"saline irrigation won't reverse
an
infection, but it helps remove mucus from
the nasal cavity," explains Andrew Lane,
M.D., 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 ciliatiny hairs in the nose that push mucus
along-to work more effectivelY.
There are two kinds of irrigation kits,
made by different companies, which cost
about $15 to $40' One pushes saline into
the nostrils with pressure from a squeeze
bottle, bulb syringe, or water pic' The
other-a pot with a small spout-uses
gravity to deliver the saline. "People
claim success with both kinds," says
Lane, "but gravity drainage is probably
the mildest." Try it in the morning and at
night, and clean the device dailY.
THE WONDERS OF
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might lose its flavor on the bedpost
overnight, but it can still have medicinal
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value. Research shows that after abdominal surgery, chewing gum for one hour,
three times a day, 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 ifyou're not ready for it, yet
it might help stimulate intestinal activity,"
says )effrey Drebin, M.D., 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'"
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JUNE
2008
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Consumer Reporls on Heolth
continued from pose
doesnt 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
t
A
2002 fapanese studY showed that
gum-chewing patients recovered faster
after laparoscopic colon surgery' In 2006
researchers
at Santa Barbara
Cottage
helps prevent dehydration.
What's more, research shows that
chicken soup may have a mild antiinflammatory effect. Steven Rennard,
Hospital in California found that gum
chewers who had undergone conventional large-incision surgery moved
their bowels 26 hours earlier than
other patients. So with your surgeon's
approval, pack some gum, PreferablY
M.D., a pulmonologist at the University
of Nebraska, and his colleagues used his
sugarless, before heading to the hospital.
Studies suggest that chewing gum also
excessive
relieves heartburn, which results when
acid from the stomach backs up into the
inflammatory responses that make cold
esophagus, a disorder called gastroesophageal reflux. In a 2005 British
study, 31 people with the condition
consumed a fatty, heartburn-inducing
lunch on tlvo days, and were randomly
selected to chew gum for 30 minutes
afterward. Acid levels were significantly
lower when they chewed gum. An earlier
study found that chewing gum for one
hour after breaKast 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,
M.D., professor of medicine at the
University of Alabama. The treatment
may especially aPPeal to Pregnant
women who want to avoid medications.
Chewing gum may also dull the
appetite.
ln
a 2007 study sponsored by
the Wrigley ComPanY, 60 PeoPle were
offered a sweet and salty afternoon snack
after chewing gum or not chewing gum.
They reported less hunger and consumed
fewer snack calories after chewing gum.
But a 2006 study from Purdue University
researchers found no such effect.
CHICKEN SOUP FOR A COID
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Grandma was righu Chicken soup helps
fight the common cold. Studies show
that it can reduce symptoms' although it
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 it prevented
buildup of virus-fighting cells
called neutrophils, which trigger the
sufferers feel so rotten. Rennard reports
that the soup was effective without
matzo balls, although "it doesnt really
taste right without them"'
YOGURT FOR BELLY ACHES
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Before refrigeration, people preserved
milk by adding fermented milk to it.
The result was a yogurt drink loaded
with "friendly" bacteria. A growing body
of research suggests that those bacteria,
known
as
probiotics, may provide multi-
ple health benefits.
Probiotics take up residence in the
intestines and prevent disease-causing
bugs from settling in. They're found in
Iive-culture cheese, kefir' and yogurt, as
well as in supplements. According to
a
2005 report by the American Society for
Microbiology, probiotics show promise
for relieving diarrhea, eczemain children,
and urinary-tract and vaginal infections.
Other research suggests that probiotics
might also improve digestive problems
and irritable bowel syndrome, offset side
effects from antibiotics, and shorten the
length and severity of the common cold'
To try probiotics for one of these
problems, look for a yogurt or yogurt
drink that contains live active cultures,
preferably Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, the two most widelY studied
strains. Or consider yogurts or drinks
labeled "probiotic," which may
have
higher amounts of those organisms.
Yogurt that contains the beneficial
bacteria usually bears the National
closely related
worl removql off
the lisr of duct lope's
mony uses. A study of tO3
children found thot the tope
wos no better thon corn pods,
the plocebo treohent, in
& Active
Cultures seal. You could try
probiotic pills, but they often
Yogurt Associationt Live
contain less good bacteria than
yogurt and don't include as many
eliminoting worts. And t 5
percent of rhe kids who
healthful nutrients.
The probiotics in live-culture
yogurts and other foods pose few, if
any, risks to healthy adults, children,
and toddlers. But they may be risky in
people with severe health problems or
compromised immunity.
For example, in a 2008 study Dutch
used duct rope hod
qdverse skin reoclions,
researchers randomly assigned 298
Administration said that over-the-
patients with severe acute inflammation
of the pancreas to receive conventional
counter cough medications posed unac-
or
a
placebo, both administered through
a
treatment plus either probiotics
feeding tube into the small intestine.
Twenty-four people in the probiotics
group died, compared with 9 in the
control group, a result that
the
researchers could not explain.
talk with your doctor before trying
probiotics if you have a serious acute or
chronic illness.
So
HONEY AND COUGHS
ceptable risks to children under age 2.
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-halfteaspoon ofhoney to children ages 2to 5,1 teaspoon to children 6
to I 1, and 2 teaspoons to those ages 12 to
18. That higher amount is a reasonable
dose for adults as well. You could try a
smaller dose for children ages I to 2. But
honey shouldn't be given to children
under age I because it can cause infantile
a rare but potentially
A simple folk remedy appears to trump
botulism,
over-the-counter cough medicine. In a
2007 study published in the Archives of
Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 105
children ages 2 to 18 who suffered from
upper-respiratory infections received no
threatening health problem.
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 study was supported by a grant
from the National Honey Board, an
of the U.S.
of Agriculture. The
industry-funded agency
Department
to
cranberries, also
worked. But several other fruit
researchers said that honey might soothe
irritated membranes in the back of the
throat, and has well-established antioxidant and antiviral effects.
That's welcome news, because in
lan.nry 2008 the U.S. Food and Drug
life-
CRANBERRIES AND THE BTADDER
If symptoms worsen
or last for more than a day or two,
second ingredient.
contact your physician.
STAYING WARNA TO STOP COI.DS
Mothers who warn their children to
bundle up in winter 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
9 percent of the others. Other research
North American Indians were the first to
suggests that
tap into this berry's infection-fighting
powers, and today it's promoted as a
swift and sure remedy for urinary-tract
vessels
infections. Skeptics have long held that
the benefits have nothing to do with the
berry, but rather reflect the bladderflushing effects of the water in the juice,
or the inhospitably acidic urine created
by juices like cranberry juice.
But research has demonstrated something truly special about the juice of a
cranberry. In a series of lab tests, an
Israeli team found that it kept infectious
bacteria from sticking to the bladder
wall. fuice from blueberries, which are
juices-
including grapefruit, mango, orange,
and pineapple-had no such effect.
A 2008 analysis of 10 studies
comparing cranberry products
with a placebo, other juices, or
water found that a daily dose of
cranberry juice or capsules significantly reduced bladder infections,
particularly in women who get them
often. It's still not clear whether cranberries are best taken as juice, tablets, or
capsules, or what the optimal dose
might be.
Drinking cranberry juice as soon as
symptoms appear may clear up an early
bladder infection. Look for drinks that
list cranberry juice as their first or
chilling the feet causes blood
in the nose to narrow That limits
the supply of infection-fighting white
blood cells in the nasal
passage, where
cold viruses most often enter the body.
The researchers say that previous
link
studies that found no
betlveen
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 in winter,
particularly by wearing warm socks and
water-resistant shoes. For more protection, wash your hands frequently and
avoid people with colds.
www.ConsumerReportsonHeolth.org
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JUNE
2008
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