Vinegar...the Windex of remedies

Remember the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"?  In it, the father would swear that Windex could cure anything.  Have a zit?  Windex it!  Sore joints?  Windex!  I've never tried Windex on anything but windows.  Maybe it works great on other things, I don't know.  However, I recently discovered something that's been around since Jesus was a child, yet I had never used it except in recipes...White Vinegar!  Seriously, it's my new favorite thing.  Why?  Because it works as so much more than a nasty smelling ingredient!

Whenever I'd go to the chiropractor, I'd let my kids play in the kids' room.  I'd always see a spray bottle of "homemade" disinfectant.  What was in it?  Vinegar!  I never really thought about vinegar being a disinfectant.  I always just used Lysol.  Recently we bought a cool mist humidifier for each of the kids' bedrooms.  While looking at the cleaning instructions, it recommended using VINEGAR to clean it!  Really?  Not bleach or some other super expensive cleaner?  Nope, good ol' cheep white vinegar.  Dilute with warm water and let sit.  It was that easy!  Hmmm....vinegar is looking like a good product.

Noah's been pretty cranky lately.  He had croup a few times, plus the classic drippy, snotty nose grossness.  I started to wonder if he had an ear infection because he just seemed to cry at the randomest of times.  But no fever, sleeping pretty well, eating ok.  I really didn't want to take him to the doctor if he didn't have any other symptoms except fussiness.  I had a feeling I'd be labeled as "that mom".  So a few days ago I used my mommy secret weapon...google.  I figured there would have to be other moms who had fussy children and thought perhaps ears were the culprit but didn't want to go to the doctor quite yet.  Yep, there were about 9 million sites that came up (perhaps a huge slight exaggeration there).  Guess what many moms suggested putting in the child's ears?????  (If you don't have an answer, you're not paying attention).  VINEGAR!

SO I decided to try it.  The website said to warm up the vinegar in the microwave just a smidge then put a few drops in the child's ears and let it soak in.  Ok, easy enough.  I thought I'd better try it on myself first just in case there was searing pain or something.  (well, let's be honest...if Joel had been here, he'd be the guinea pig.  But he was already gone for the day).  I tipped my head to the side and dropped a little in there.  Weird. Even though it was warm vinegar, it felt cold.  It kinda stung for a few seconds then felt pretty good.  It's like my ear got a good cleaning.  I figure if vinegar can disinfect toys and humidifiers, it's not too bad for my ear.  Ok, now for Noah.  He was a little confused why I was tipping him sideways but stayed pretty still for me.  After a few seconds, he cried.  That was probably when the stinging sensation hit.  After a split second of crying, he stopped and stared at me.  I waited a few minutes then did the other side.  Same thing.  A second of crying then fine.  Within a few minutes, he was up and playing again.  So far, he's acting like his old self!  Now, granted...I don't claim that vinegar can cure cancer or something.  If Noah had signs of an ear infection, we'd be going to the doctor for sure.  But since I suspect he just had ear pain, not infection...a home remedy works just fine!