One of the natural remedies that I use when someone in my family is sick is garlic! Garlic is known to have strong antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties… and there are no known side effects (other than smelling like garlic!) 🙂
The most used garlic remedy in our household is a garlic poultice. It’s super easy to make and very effective! We use it on everyone (babies and adults) and it has helped to reduce fevers and to get rid of coughs & congestion.
Here’s how to make one:
Get a few paper towels or a cheesecloth and lay it on the counter.
Crush or mince a few cloves of garlic into the middle of the paper towel or cheesecloth.
Fold the paper towel or cheesecloth to cover the garlic area.
Get the paper towel or cheesecloth wet with hot water (but NOT boiling).
Then put the wet garlic poultice on whatever area is bothering you. For example, if you have a cough/congestion then you would put it on your chest. You can also put it on the bottoms of your feet if the smell bothers you. Just make sure you don’t leave it on too long (more than around 90 seconds) because garlic can eventually cause burns since it’s so strong.
Do you use garlic when your family is sick? What are some other ways you’ve found garlic to be helpful?
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It seriously helps with chest congestion and coughing? Ohmygoodness, my girls have been hacking away the last 3 days. I am so trying this! I’ll let you know how it turns out. {giggle}
I used to consult with a nutritionist. She taught me to use garlic as a antibiotic. She said to eat 1 teaspoon 3 times a day. I chop it instead of mincing b/c that makes it too strong to swallow. I usually mix it with cream cheese or something and spread it on a few crackers. It has worked on everything, including salmonella poisoning. Don’t do this for more than 2 or 3 days in a row. Combine this with 2000 mg of vitamin C ever 2 hours ( about 500 mg per 50 lbs.). Drink LOTS of water, too!
@Rachel, Thanks! I will add garlic bread to my diet for the rest of this week too!
My neighbor SWEARS by garlic enimas. Whenever her family gets sick….yep they get one.
hmm… what do you think of already minced in a jar??
same medicinal qualities?
@Debra, From what I’ve read, the medicinal properties of garlic are gone within 15-30 minutes from when it’s minced. I have TONS of the already minced garlic in my fridge too, but when I make the garlic poultice I always use fresh.
I am a massage therapist and nutritionist. I have been using garlic as a cure for vaginal yeast infections. These I don’t suffer from but hormonally with the onset of perimenopause and overwhelming stressors in my life, I researched this as an effective antidote to yeast overgrowth.
By inserting 1 clover of garlic with an applicator nightly for up to 5 days, removing it the following morning and repeating this process for up to 7 nights, the yeast will be cured. Since garlic is a natural fungus remedy to yeast plus a reliever for the itchy and burning side effects as well, this is a great alternative to OTC creams on the market and far less expensive too boot.
I also discovered quite by accident, a concoction in my kitchen one day when the itching became unbearable and I had had a repeat episode of yeast.
Yeast Antidote Soup
4 cups water
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 small onions, finely chopped
small pinch of sage, thyme, and clove powder (grind up cloves if you don’t have the powder)
simmer to slow boil all ingredients for up to 1/2 hour. Serve with a dollop of PLAIN (live acidophilus and yogurt cultures) yogurt.
In the meantime, avoid all sugar and starchy products as these will only feed the bodies lowered immune response to healing the yeast overgrowth in the vaginal tract
This is a far healthier alternative to over-the-counter creams and applications on the market since these have a harsh chemicals.
Good luck ladies!
how did you apply this remedy?
We use garlic in almost every night time meal cooked. No flu in this house for 7 years! I do take the colidial (sp?) silver 1 tsp at the onset of a sinus or cold and it is great. Don’t know why people are cranky about it, works much better than any of the antibiotics my fabulous MD has prescribed over the past 4 years. Guess anitibiotics just don’t work in my body!
my homeopath told me that I can remove foreign objects that have been under the skin for years by using a poultice of garlic in a bandaid and leave it on continually but changing it a couple times a day. He says that it takes about 5 days for the skin to break open and the object will fester to the top and then can be removed. I am trying it on a spot on my pinky. Don’t know what is in there but will hopefully find out soon. It does get a burning sensation when I first put the garlic on. Has anyone tried this I would be curious to know their results. I trust my homeopath but just curious. thanks.
You can put a sliver of garlic on a wart and cover with a bandaid (all sides should adhere to the skin), this will take away the wart and it won’t come back.
I do not even know how I ended up right here, however I assumed this put up was great.
I don’t understand who you are but definitely you are going to a well-known blogger when you are not already. Cheers!
I was always throwing away dried up garlic bulbs, until someone told me to do this.
Take a fresh garlic bulb and peel it, then seperate the pieces.
Take a very small jar with a cover and put the garlic pieces in the jar. Then cover the garlic with olive oil, or vegetable oil, then cover the jar tightly and refrigerate. (I use vegetable oil) DO NOT CHOP THE GARLIC PIECES UP!
After it’s been refrigerated for awhile, the oil with get SUPER THICK and CLOUDY looking.
When ever you need a piece of garlic, take it out of the jar and it will be like you just picked it up at the grocery store… nice an fresh! I use the oil that the garlic has soaked in for just about anything I am frying up, like thin sliced potatoes and onions… just add some of the oil the garlic is soaking in and you’ll get that garlic taste without chopping up garlic!
I got rid of ringworm with garlic. I must have gotten it when i had to take the subway downtown for a job. Nothing else had worked and I was not anxious to go to a dermatologist. I was getting pretty desperate bc I’d had it for weeks. I was ready for something drastic.
I crushed the garlic and placed it, raw, on the affected area – straight on the skin, without a barrier of any kind. The i placed a bandage over all of it and left it there for days – changing it it as needed.
What can I say – it worked marvelously! It did burn, hurt, and layers of skin peeled right off – like 4 or 5 – but after it all healed all itchiness and rednessnwere completely gone – and the disgusting thing never came back! Garlic definitely works but it is very harsh.