I used to get sick quite often growing up. Whether it was the flu, chicken pox or strep throat I couldn’t get through any of it without my parents taking care of me.
I am so grateful for their knowledge and quick solutions that helped me recover…thanks to their 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚙𝚘𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜.
This is what I like to call it. It seemed they knew every remedy to get my siblings and I well again. It was close at hand almost as if they reached in their back pockets to look at a guide with all of the treatments for each ailment.
I was always amazed that they knew exactly what to do when sickness came. I had no doubt I would get well soon with them whipping up homemade medicines in the kitchen.
We did use over the counter medicines as well like Pepto Bismol and Tylenol but if there were things in our pantry they were able to whip up that’s what they went for first.
For instance, when we had upset stomachs before they reached for the Pepto they would fix us baking soda water…it was disgusting as heck but it worked. Or when a sore throat came we were drinking tea with lemon and honey and gargling salt water on top of that.
All of these remedies are embedded in me and I now as a parent rely on these back pocket remedies for my own kids. I even reach for my own newly found remedies to use.
I realize that a lot of my natural remedy love first came from how my parents took care of us. We weren’t making quick trips to the doctor’s office because they knew what would make us feel better without having to go.
Our kids barely have to see the doctor because we have a list of natural remedies that have worked well for us. We know what to keep on hand like teas, lemons, garlic, oils (plant and essential), honey, ginger, fruits etc.
We recently had the spread of pink eye happening over here but were able to stop it thankfully after our two youngest got it. We used black tea to get the job done. We put a few drops of it directly in their eyes as well as putting the warm bags over their eyes for ten minutes at a time.
There was no need for going to the doctor or spending money on over the counter solutions. This back pocket remedy works every time.
Another one we use often is for ear infections. When that strikes we use garlic oil (it’s made by infusing garlic in olive oil). We drop a few drops in each ear and gently pull on the ear lobe to get the oil down in there good. Usually after one or two treatments the ear infection is gone.
We have added so many new methods to our pocket list because each child experiences something different. I love gaining knowledge on ways to fight sickness right in our own home. We do so much reading and research and always try the treatment on ourselves first before administering them to our kids.
It’s just a matter of learning about the properties and benefits of fruits, vegetables and oils and knowing how and when to put them to use. I’d rather be healed by something that’s naturally consumable over something that’s made chemically in a factory. This is at least our first go to before we reach for over the counter solutions.
These back pocket remedies will continue to be passed down because just like I remembered my parents using them, I’m sure our kids will too. My hope is that they will first reach for their back pockets before rushing their children to the doctor's office. I want these remedies to be their first line of defense and their source of healing knowledge.
These remedies may take longer to get the job done but I’d rather be cured than just pacified. I learned a long time ago that visits to the doctor and using prescription medications only gave me temporary relief because they pacified the ailment instead of curing it.
This is why I reach for our 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚙𝚘𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 before trying anything else that could potentially be more harmful to our bodies than more helpful.
