Some of what we think of as time-tested home remedies are actually bad ideas.
Read on for home remedies that can actuallymakeyou sickor worse.
Syrup of ipecac
This used to be a first-aid kit staple.
Families were told to keep a bottle of ipecac around to induce vomiting in case of accidental poisoning.
Some substances will do additional harm on the way up, like if a child swallowed something caustic.
And whats more, sometimes ipecac would keep people vomiting for a whileafterthe poison was gone.
This could make it impossible to take medication to deal with symptoms of the poisoning, for example.
Ipecac isno longer available for sale, either prescription or over-the-counter.
(Now you know where I got my debunking reflex.)
In fact, just keep food off your burns, OK?
Egg whites can containSalmonella.
Both are full of, well, crud.
Do you want crud in your burn?
For everybody else, my god, what are you doing?
But lets not forget that breast milkis a bodily fluid from another human being.
It can carry many of the same diseases as blood or other bodily fluids.
Thats not going to help your pink eye at all.
(It may or may not do anything, but it probably wont hurt.)
But when taken in large doses, for example as a tea, it can be dangerous.
Arnica gel may also be harmful if applied to broken skin, and can cause skin irritation.
Arnica is also considered unsafe to take during pregnancy.
But on the skin, it can cause irritation and even burns.
A milder approach, one might guess, is to follow the opposite of advice for a healthy pregnancy.
Adults can also get this condition, especially if they are elderly or have heart problems or breathing problems.
St. Johns Wort is one of these.
It can interact with birth control, making it less effective.
ensure to ask your doctor and/or pharmacist about potential side effects and interactions.
These cells are responsible for healing, so using peroxide may actually interfere with the healing of the wound.
Experts say its best to flush the wound with plain water and cover it with a clean bandage.
But baking soda can make gastrointestinal issues worse, and in extreme cases, can lead to stomach rupture.
Chemically, baking soda is known as sodium bicarbonate.
The body responds to the high concentration of sodium by pulling in extra water into the digestive system.
This can cause vomiting and diarrhea.
And then there is the bicarbonate.
In severe cases, the gas can expand so much that it causes stomach rupture.
