My Hispanic Remedies Explained

0k, I’m alive!!

It’s definitely been a trip. I’m not sure what is worse: being sick enough to have to miss work and just hate life or not being technically sick enough to have to go to work because you already have time off planned the next week. This past week has been a mess of everything. I’ve gone through so much stuff to keep me functioning as a human and more so as a human with a job in customer service. It’s not that I was contagious or anything, just felt like an incubus of viral plague.

Now, as a Hispanic woman, there are a few stereotypes that flow with being sick that society tends to mock but to be perfectly honest, there are a few reasons that they are home staples besides the fact that it works. Allow me to elaborate a tad:

Vicks vaporub, it’s creamy/gelly/absorbing and yes it has to be Vicks brand (and no, of course it's not sponsored, it's just brand loyalty). I don’t misplace this jar of amazingness. Sinuses backed up and now your throat is screaming from the dry air. Some people will go and buy a humidifier. Don't get me wrong, they are great, and even Vicks has their own line of humidifiers from cheap to people-spend-that-much-on-that? But when you’re at home and not wanting to encounter people in general, you do what you can.

Pop the biggest soup pot on the stove full of water and pop a spoonful of Vicks in it and let it simmer. Remember to check it every now and then so that it doesn’t end badly but the dry throat and nose will thank you no matter which room you are in. I have a relatively small place so it gives moisture to the air and even after I turn off the stove at night, because duh, I'm still able to save my throat and my voice. I've also been that person that's had it all over my chest, on the bottom of my feet with socks, and around my nostrils to one sooth my nose from the boxes of tissues and two, to smell it allll in. I had it a lot as a kid and it just reminds me of home. I'm not at home anymore and it sucks a lot when you have no choice but to take care of yourself, but it's stuff like this that helps you physically as well as mentally.

Manzanilla/Yerba Buena – Hot tea is a hot trend but it’s never been a fad when you consider the benefits of herbal tea. Now myself, I prefer Manzanilla (chamomile). Any stomach issue on down can be soothed with a steamy cup of tea. My bf prefers the good herb, mint. He is also the type who is not a fan of medicines, doctors, chemical compounds that are not included in car parts, etc. He’d rather drink some tea and tough it out. A lot of our culture is like that. If you aren’t holding your intestines inside your body then you’ll be ok. I don’t have that kind of patience but again, it works.

Sprite and/or 7up. The two are interchangeable really. Not saying that they taste the same but whichever you can get first, go for it. Anytime you get sick, you know to keep the fluids going but who likes being sick and waterlogged? Sometimes the bubbly goodness of Sprite doesn’t feel as heavy after a while and it gives your taste buds a break. And as a woman who’s had countless UTIs, mixing the Sprite to tone down the super tartness of straight cranberry juice helps keep the goodness going. You get some flavor and have the fluids to move things along

Caldito aka soup – it goes back to the keeping the fluids going but it also makes sense that especially if something is making you feel bleh, you have to eat something that is easy on the stomach and will be homey especially when you’re in an empty house taking care of yourself. Some people use chicken noodle soup. My family has a secret family chicken soup recipe that is easy to make and to eat. I’ve never not felt better after eating a bowl because then I’m warm, I’m full and I’ve given my body something that can help it fight whatever is keeping me down.  And if you make a big pot, then it lasts for days. 

Now I would have had pictures of my wonderful soup and Sprite, however comma, I ate and drank it all. But trust me, it goes back to the home feeling. I may not be at home or have someone to take care of me all day, but when you have a better attitude when you're sick, I think it helps so that way you won't be as miserable. So call your parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents who may have some home remedies but of course, be smart and go to the doctor too.




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