Home Remedy Revelation, Or The Apple Cider Vinegar Trick

If my great-grandmother was still alive, I might have gotten rid of this pesky cough a lot sooner than this weekend. Yes, I'm talking about the cough that has plagued me -- and the family and friends who've had to hear me hacking away -- for the past two months at least. Just before Matt left on Friday, he said if I was still coughing when he got back, he would take me to the doctor himself.

Although I thought the cough was on its way out, the sore throat seemed to be getting worse, so last night I got on-line and Googled my symptoms: sore throat on one side, difficulty swallowing. I was looking for a home remedy and knew there had to be something I could do besides eating orange ice lollies (or popsicles, if you live in America), which was the only thing that seemed to ease the pain, and that only temporarily.

The first site that I clicked had posted endless testimonials about the wonders of apple cider vinegar. Since I had a bottle on the counter, next to the olive oil beside the stove, I tried one of the recommended recipes: 2 Tbs. honey, 2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar, 1/2 glass water, 1/2 glass orange juice.

It burned going down, but in a good way. I went to bed with high hopes. Woke up this morning and my throat was still sore. Still very inflamed, as in it hurt to swallow my vitamins. Made another dose of the concoction. Again it burned a bit, but not so much that I was worried or thought I'd made a horrible mistake.

The pain in my throat had been setting in by 4:00 each day, increasing until bedtime and not subsiding until about 9:00 the next morning, but around 5:30 this afternoon, I realized that it hadn't come back. My sore throat was gone! I drank another dose tonight just to be sure, but really -- I can now swallow, easily and without pain, for the first time in a long time. And the cough is gone, too! Who knew the healing properties of apple cider vinegar? In my generation, I mean.

Ahhh. Now I'm going to bed for my favorite home remedy of all: a good night's sleep.