Colds: treat home remedies are often a blessing, but hardly explored

If the sore throat, helps a hot milk with honey. Grandma said that already. In the case of a cold, a Cup of doing a good hot lemon, with ears onion can create pain bag remedy.

The Knowledge of home remedies passed on from Generation to Generation. And they are often applied to a study of 2007 estimated that in Germany approximately half of the population.

Help honey, onion and lemon, really? That is not entirely certain. Because: home remedies and their effectiveness are largely unexplored.

Bad Study Location

“Home remedies are, in fact, has never been explored properly,” says Stefanie Joos, General practitioner and Director of the Institute for General medicine at the University hospital in Tübingen.

It was a great pity, because “it funds, some of which are really very long Tradition.” There are only a few well-crafted studies in which the effectiveness of home remedies has been tested.

Why is this so? “When pharmaceutical companies Fund research, then the are not interested in home remedies. It would require a public research funding,” says Joos. These home remedies but these were not innovative enough.

And home remedies are often used for simpler, self-limiting diseases. As funder says, “well, a cold is not so important now.”

No interest in home remedies research

Jörg Meerpohl, head of the Institute for evidence in medicine at the University hospital of Freiburg, has confirmed the. The industry rarely have the interest to invest in home remedies research. The funds would have to come from the public sector.

The funding guidelines of the Federal Ministry for education and research, funders of public research, in health research program are not subject, they say. Also, studies could be supported on the effectiveness of home remedies.

In fact, no research had been previously submitted applications with a direct reference to it. Also, the Association of Research-based pharmaceutical companies (vfa) is not a project to be known, in the case of the known home remedies are tested for their effectiveness, said spokesman Rolf Hömke.

Doctors regret the lack of research

That is not researched in-house resources, the children’s doctor sea Pohl claims. “From an academic-scientific point of view, I would wish me that you can tell people clearly whether a home remedy works, for example, in the case of the common cold or not.”

From a medical point of view, he thinks, it is perhaps less important. A lot of people used home remedies, and were thus subjectively better. “Whether the house resources has helped a lot, just a little bit, or merely a Placebo effect exists, it is perhaps not crucial to know.”

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E. Joos deplores the lack of research. “Home remedies are always ridiculed a bit – ungrateful way, because the onion bag can act in individual cases, better than the pain pill. In order to give reliable recommendations, you need to know the studies.”

Believe in the effect of home remedies is important

Home remedies is to use makes sense for various reasons, says Joos. In addition to the actual effect was, it is good that the Patient makes themselves something: “This Conviction, I can do something for me, I don’t need to always go to the doctor.”

If you home remedies to and prepare, for example, the onion bag against ear pain in children, added to this is the aspect that you give someone attention and time.

This is an important point in the case of a home remedy. Also touches about Wade from wrap to reduce Fever resolved “with certainty” anything.

Self-studies conducted have shown that especially older people and women more home remedies apply.

The reason for this is that the Knowledge in the older generations is even stronger than in the younger. Here is the Knowledge lost in the polls, according to more.

The most popular home remedies are according to the survey, chicken soup, hot milk with honey, the Inhalation of salt water or hot water with lemon.

Home remedies for colds from around the world

That once again “new” home remedies will be discovered, keeps the Doctor unlikely. “I think it is more likely that globalization and Migration have home remedies from other cultures to come.” In other countries, there are partly other home remedies.

So the potato games in the house-pharmacies in Russia a large role, as well as the vodka. Ginger is also an example. 15 years ago no one would have to drink in Germany, ginger tea for health, today the look is different.

Even if there are not many studies to home remedies – a couple of proven to help. “Nasal irrigation are relatively well studied, which will definitely help,” says the Doctor Joos.

Similarly, the calf wrap to reduce Fever and honey as an expectorant and cough suppressants. “You have to say very clearly that home remedies are a symptom-oriented treatment. They relieve pain or cough, but probably not to shorten a disease.”

Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa)

*The contribution of “colds treat: home remedies are often a blessing, but hardly” researched and published by FitForFun. Contact with the executives here.