An emergency room pediatrician has revealed the risks of trying popular home healing remedies during cold and flu season, and it turns out that most of them aren’t very effective.
The information was shared in a new video posted on TikTok this week by Florida-based Dr. Meghan Martin, who specializes in pediatric emergency medicine.
She often takes to her social media platforms to share tips, warnings, and other safety precautions to take with her little ones, and this time was no different as she debunked the effectiveness of some at-home treatments.
The first remedy Dr. Martin talked about was putting potato slices or raw onion in your socks overnight, which some claim can draw “toxins” out of your body while you’re sick.
However, this is not exactly the best thing to do, he cautioned.
“When you wake up, it’s a darker color and people say it’s drawing out toxins, viruses or mucus,” Dr. Martin explained.
“It’s rusty, that’s science,” the expert continued about the phenomenon.
“There is no mechanism in the body to eliminate toxins, viruses or mucus through the feet.”
Dr. Meghan Martin has revealed the risks of trying popular home healing remedies during cold and flu season, but it turns out that most of them aren’t very effective.
The first remedy Dr Martin talked about was putting potato slices or raw onion in your socks overnight, which some claim can draw “toxins” from your body while you’re sick (stock image).
However, he noted that trying this is “pretty low risk” when it comes to health.
“It’s uncomfortable to sleep with something cold and wet on your foot, you may smell like onions, and the risk of skin irritation is low,” Dr. Martin shared.
He then moved on to another remedy, which also included an onion.
“There’s another onion one, where you peel an onion, cut it in half, and put half of the onion under your bed when you sleep,” he explained.
Unfortunately, this trick could pose some damage to your home if you have pets.
“Now, this is a problem if you have pets, because onions can be toxic to dogs and cats, so don’t do this if you have pets and there is a risk that they could get to them,” the doctor warned.
However, if you don’t have pets and are simply trying this out yourself, the risk is much lower.
“Your room will smell like onions, but the medical risks are low,” he said.
“There is no mechanism in the body to eliminate toxins, viruses or mucus through the feet,” he warned.
“When you wake up, it’s a darker color and people say it’s drawing out toxins, viruses or mucus,” Dr. Martin explained (file image).
And last but not least, there was a popular one that Dr. Martin has seen a lot this year, which was when people stuck peeled garlic up their noses in an effort to relieve congestion.
“This is not one I would recommend, because peeled garlic actually irritates the inner surface, the mucosa of the nose,” he said.
This can create even more problems for nasal congestion, creating “more mucus” and inflammation.
“That damage can actually cause viruses and bacteria to get into those tissues, so this one could be really harmful; I would leave it out,” Dr. Martin suggested.
“Food is very expensive right now, if you have some vegetables left over and you’re not feeling very well, consider making a soup, that nutrition is more likely to benefit you more than potatoes on your feet,” he concluded.
In the comments section of the video, many people seemed to agree with her opinion, claiming that home remedies did not work for them.
‘I put a cut onion on a saucer on the nightstand. My husband woke me up at 2am saying he thought we might have a gas connection… I started laughing a lot…’ one person wrote.
Another shared: ‘Yeshhhh. I think a good potato soup with onion and garlic would make me happier, if not healthier.’
“Potatoes make me laugh because anyone who has cooked with them knows that they turn black when exposed to air,” someone else wrote.
Others, however, claimed that their home remedies had worked.
“All I can tell you is I had a horrible dry hacking cough every time I breathed, put potato slices in my socks and stopped immediately,” one commenter said.
Another chimed in: “My husband’s grandmother made a packet of onions for everything, she survived the Spanish Flu, the Great Depression, and lived to be 101. I’m using the onion.”