Parents often try to ease children’s illnesses and injuries with unsupervised home remedies, but pediatric staff at Dana-Dwek Children’s Hospital in Tel Aviv say these methods regularly make things worse. The article cites common examples, including black coffee on cuts, unpasteurized goat milk for mouth sores, alcohol to bring down a fever, toothpaste on burns, and warm olive oil in the ear.
Sivan Mazor, a registered nurse and clinical instructor in the pediatric emergency department, said the hospital sees such cases at least once a month. She explained that powders and spices such as coffee, turmeric, and cinnamon can get into cuts, increasing infection risk, causing inflammation, and making it harder to clean and assess the wound. In one case, she said, what might have required only light sedation ended up needing deep sedation so the wound could be thoroughly cleaned.
Mazor also warned against giving children unpasteurized goat milk for aphthous ulcers, saying it can contain bacteria that lead to serious, prolonged infections. In some cases, she said, exposure requires further medical evaluation, and in extreme cases hospitalization and intravenous antibiotics. For mouth sores, she recommended fluids, avoiding spicy and acidic foods, and using doctor- or pharmacist-recommended treatments.
She said alcohol and vinegar used for fever can irritate the skin, sting the eyes, be inhaled or absorbed, and even cause poisoning, while toothpaste on burns can irritate the skin, increase infection risk, and obscure the severity of the burn. The first aid for a burn, she said, is to rinse it under cool running water for about 20 minutes and remove jewelry or clothing that is not stuck to the skin. She also cautioned that warm olive oil in the ear can burn the ear canal and worsen injuries, especially if the eardrum is perforated. Mazor’s advice was simple: consult a doctor or nurse before using any “grandmother’s remedy,” because what seems natural can cause more harm than benefit.
