Self-proclaimed ‘mum hack guru’ Medina took to TikTok to share her top tips to help young children feel better, especially if they caught a bug. But not everyone was convinced by her home remedies
If you’re a parent, you’ll probably agree seeing your children sick is one of the worst feelings in the world, even if it’s just a cold.
While there’s plenty of medicines available to help sooth symptoms of the illness, sometimes what people swear by the most is different old wives’ tales remedies.
One woman named Madina, known online as the ‘Mum hack guru’, took to TikTok to share her top five old wives’ tales which she follows whenever one of her kids feel unwell.
The first thing she was seen doing was freezing a big bowl of water until frozen. She then puts this in her child’s bedroom to make the air colder, as it might help the child to breathe better and more easily.
Madina then was seen applying a thin layer of iodine solution under her child’s foot. Topical iodine is used to prevent and treat infections that may occur in minor scrapes and cuts. It works by killing bacteria which can cause infections. However, there is no proof that putting it under someone’s foot will accurately absorb into the body.
She then took out the baby-safe vapour rub, but instead of using it on her son, she put a dollop of it into a candle and spread it out before lighting the candle.
The last thing Madina did was take a sock and fill it with rice to make a homemade heating pad which she microwaved to make it warm before putting it in the crib with her baby.
While the video racked up thousands of views, several people were critical to what Madina was doing.
One person said: “The candle is super unsafe. Put the Vic in a humidifier,” to which another person replied: “Don’t put it on either! It doesn’t break down like you think and clogs the humidifiers filter,” and to instead put it in a wax melt burner.
Another added: “The rice does work at a heating pad of sorts we use them all the time. However… DO NOT USE MINUTE/INSTANT RICE. It will burn and/or catch fire pretty much the first time you microwave it.” Someone else chimed in: “Maybe some medicine? Or a doctor.”
Bear in mind there is no scientific proof any of these home remedies work and it’s always advised to speak to a doctor or pharmacist if your child gets sick.