Grandma knows best - the secret to surviving other peoples' winter colds

It's 11:30 PM on Sunday and the end of a fun filled weekend. It was last of the autumn birthday parties in my household. Every family seems to have one of those expensive periods during the year when there is a convergence of birthdays. My family’s is September/October. Between 2 September – 4 October there are seven birthdays; nine if you count the birthdays of the now departed family members. This has meant some for or birthday celebration each weekend for the last for weeks and I'm glad it's finally over.

As I sit here and write my blog, my concentration is periodically broken by the hacking sounds of my youngest son coughing and sneezing. Yep cold season is back!

The worst thing about a child with a cold is the constant begging for medicine. They don't seem to get that the words "do not exceed stated dose" apply everyone and they aren't exempt because they are sick and therefore need medicine on tap. Unfortunately, most cough syrups work for about an hour before they wear off and if you have a troublesome cough that is causing your whole body to ache due to the strain on your abdominal muscles, then what you really want is relief not an annoying mum telling you that you cannot have any more medicine.

Enter grandma with the solution; a recipe for an effective cough syrup that you can drink to your heart’s content and that works just as well as the store bought varieties. It's based on onions and is very easy to make. Therefore in case you need it for yourself or a troublesome male with a cold (yes male, women are far more stoic when it comes to dealing with a cold) the instructions are below.

You will need:

1 onion (large)

Sugar (six tablespoons)

A small container with a lid (jam jars are really good)

Method:

Peel and slice up the onion thinly – you can dice it if you prefer. Put a layer of chopped onion into your container and cover it with sugar (about a tablespoon full). Repeat this process, alternating layers of onions and sugar until the onions and sugar are all used up. Put the lid on the container and store it in the fridge. Leave for 4 – 6 hours or overnight. The onions will seep and produced a clear sweet syrup.

To use: take a desert spoonful of the syrup to ease your coughing as required. The onions should continue to produce syrup for a few days (3 – 5 days depending on how often you take the syrup). When no more syrup is produced discard the onions and start again.

Hope it helps

Do you have any home remedies? Please share, I'd love to read about them.

NB : this is a home remedy for a cough syrup and is not meant to replace professional medical advice. If you are worried about your health or if you have cold symptoms that persist for more than a few days then seek professional advice from your medical practitioner.

image by Sick Man by David Castillo Dominici