Article: Vinegar - An Ancient Medicine and Popular Home Remedy

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Vinegar: An Ancient Medicine and Popular Home Remedy

 

By Bonnie K. McMillen, R.N., B.S.N., College Health Nurse, University of

Pittsburgh at Bradford, Bradford, PA, mcmillen+

 

Vinegar is an old time home remedy that really delivers relief when you

need it. It is a weak acid and has been used as a medicine/antiseptic

for thousands of years. In the year 400 B.C., Hippocrates, the father of

medicine, used vinegar to treat his patients. This naturally occurring

germ killer was one of the very first medicines.

 

 

Vinegar is made when fresh, naturally sweet cider is fermented into an

alcoholic beverage (hard cider). Then it is fermented once again. The

result is vinegar. Apple cider vinegar contains more than thirty

important nutrients, a dozen minerals, over half a dozen vitamins and

essential amino acids, and several enzymes. Plus, it has a large dose of

pectin for a healthy heart. (Source: The Vinegar Book by Emily Thacker,

page 6.)

 

 

As much as I enjoyed The Vinegar Book, personal stories are sometimes

even more convincing than anything we may read.

 

 

I have a high regard for vinegar since it has come to my rescue more

than once. I was stung on the hand by a bee while in the garden one day.

The sting was very painful and frightening. I came running into the

house, yelling to my husband that I'd been stung. I proceeded to tell

him how painful it was.

 

 

I'm the nurse in the family so I should have known what to do, but

sometimes when the injury is to yourself and you're in a lot of pain,

you don't. My dear husband took over; he told me all about the vinegar

book he was reading and how vinegar would take the pain away. I was

quite leary. I knew that vinegar was acetic acid and I was afraid it

would make it hurt more. My husband poured vinegar over my inflamed

finger and within 15 seconds the pain was completely gone! The finger

never swelled and the redness that had already started went away

completely! I had no more pain and I was able to go on with my day and

use my hand like nothing had ever happened!

 

 

The next time vinegar came to my rescue was for an ongoing problem I was

having with plantar warts on the bottom of my foot. I contracted the

pesky virus from the local Y's locker room floor. It was spreading and I

was dreading going to the podiatrist because I knew it would involve

pain and money. Instead, I luckily thought of vinegar....it saved me

before....could it get rid of plantar warts? I decided it was worth a

try. I soaked my foot about three times a week. I should have done it

every night but I just couldn't remember to do it every night. Nothing

happened for about 2-3 weeks but I was determined to make life on my

foot very uncomfortable for these warts. So after every soak I would rub

my foot vigorously with a clean towel. Finally after about 2-3 weeks I

noticed the nasty little black warts were loosening their grip on my

foot and some were being toweled away!

 

 

This was incredible but it made perfect sense! Salicylic acid is the

common ingredient in over-the-counter remedies for treating warts, and

vinegar is acetic acid...still an acid but a much more gentle treatment.

I continued to soak my foot every night and within 5-6 weeks or so from

the beginning of treatment the 15 or 20 black warts were completely gone

and have not recurred. I also learned to wear shower shoes at the gym

and to never walk around a locker room or pool area in my bare feet.

 

 

I marvel at the hundreds of uses for this golden liquid we take for

granted and simply call vinegar. If you're not an apple eater, or even

if you are and would like to enjoy the added health benefits of vinegar,

just drink a teaspoon or so in water every day. Ingesting apple cider

vinegar is said to be helpful for digestion and bowel function, lowering

cholesterol, improving memory, preventing ulcers, and relieving pain and

slowing progression of arthritis.

 

 

Always have vinegar on hand and take it on vacation in a small spray or

squirt bottle. It's so much more than an inexpensive window cleaner!

 

 

Editor's Note:

Vinegar is also a great remedy for sunburn. remember getting the worst

sunburn of my life on a Florida beach. I did use sunscreen, but at the

time I was taking Bactrim, and I completely forgot about the warnings to

avoid the sun while taking that medication. The result was a sunburn so

painful and blistering that I could not even sit down comfortably. I

took some acetaminophen and whined a lot. Then our neighbor suggested

using white vinegar on the sunburn. I put a washcloth soaked in vinegar

on my leg and it immediately quelled the fire of the sunburn. I will

never forget the relief that the vinegar provided.

 

 

I'm also happy to hear of the health benefits of ingesting vinegar. I'm

planning to eat more salads with balsamic vinegar!

 

 

P.S. Bonnie has completed her first year in college health here at

Pitt-Bradford. She has a great interest in self-care measures and home

remedies which can be very useful in college health. One of our nursing

roles is to teach our students self-care skills that will be useful for

a lifetime. Thanks, Bonnie, for writing this wonderful article for our

Connections Quarterly readers! We will print it on colored paper and

place copies of it on our literature rack in the Self-Care Center for

our students to enjoy. I invite you all to do the same with this or any

article in CQ which you find useful to your college health practice.

 

 

--Carol Mulvihill, CQ Editor