Traditional Mexican Remedies
My maternal grandma lived to the age of 98 years old. She lived a long and healthy life. I never heard her complain of any aches and pains. She was a very strong woman.
Whenever I was sick as a child, my mother did not take me to the doctor. Instead she took me to grandmas house to care for me. My grandma would diagnose me and heal me with natural remedios (remedies).
These are my grandma’s home remedies, I’d love to hear your own home remedies in the comments below.
Vicks VapoRub
If I had a cold or a fever she would smear Vicks VapoRub on my chest. She would also spread vapor rub on the soles of my feet and have me wear socks to bed.
Homemade rubbing alcohol
If I had a fever she would soak a towel with a homemade green rubbing alcohol and placed it on my forehead. The homemade alcohol had floating herbs inside the bottle including romero (rosemary) and marijuana (interesting, right?!).
Hot Herbal Teas
If I had a stomachache she would either brew some manzanilla (chamomile) or hierbabuena (mint) tea. The herbs she used were fresh from her garden — she never used tea bags.
Té de manzanilla (Chamomile Tea)
There’s just something soothing about chamomile, and it’s not just an old wives’ tale.
Té de manzanilla (chamomile tea) brings back so many warm memories. My grandma grew chamomile in her backyard and she always made me a warm cup of manzanilla if my tummy hurt or before bedtime.
I continue to drink chamomile at night to wind down and, when my children have a tummy ache I make this chamomile tea for them. Even when they were babies I’d make them some té de manzanilla sweetened with honey and gave it to them in their baby bottle. A warm cup can be just the ticket to calming your child.
This is a great tea to drink after dinner, before bedtime. Chamomile tea has soothing, calming, and relaxing properties. You can either use dried chamomile flowers or chamomile tea pouches. Chamomile is best served hot and is delicious with a bit of honey.
Hierbabuena (Mint Tea)
Mint relieves digestive symptoms, such as gas, bloating, and indigestion (read more science-backed benefits).
Té de Oregano (Oregano Tea)
If I had a cough or a sore throat, she would make me Té de Oregano (Oregano Tea) made of dried oregano and would have me gargle with salt water, and for dinner I knew delicious caldo de pollo would be on the menu.
Té de canela (Cinnamon Tea)
Both my grandmothers drank té de canela (cinnamon tea), as well as used the aromatic spice in savory and sweet dishes. After researching, I realized there are surprising health benefits and unique healing abilities associated with this beloved spice.
Evil Eye
Sometimes if I was sick for no apparent reason she would say, “Alguien te dio el mal de ojo” (Someone gave you the evil eye).
She would sweep an egg over my body and begin to pray, then she would crack the egg in a glass of water and place the glass on the floor under my bed, and in the morning she would say the evil eye was gone, and magically I felt better.
Empacho
There were other times that she blamed illnesses on empacho, literally meaning an impacted stomach. She would crack a fresh egg (over-easy style) on my tummy and roll the yolk back and forth until it broke. Then she would smear Vaseline on her hands and massage my legs to work out any knots. It was a deep tissue sobada (massage) that was quite uncomfortable as a child.
She especially did this if I accidentally swallowed my chewing gum because she would say the gum would go down to my legs and needed to be worked out before it caused other stomach issues.
More home remedies
Then there were the common cuts and scrapes that were treated with fresh aloe vera squeezed from her aloe plant accompanied with “sana, sana, colita de rana…”
Of course, if I was really sick like when I had the chickenpox in the second grade then I was taken to the doctor. I remember the doctor recommending some pink calamine lotion for my itchy body. My grandma ended up making her own concoction that relieved the itching far more than the pink stuff. I’m not sure how she made it, but it worked.
No matter what remedy grandma tried, I knew she would always make me feel better. As a mother I make herbal teas for my children and rub their chests with Vicks, and make them homemade chicken soup if they are sick.
I even bought my children some evil eye bracelets to keep el mal de ojo away. I’m all about trying the tried and true first before running to the doctor. My children love the extra attention and I prefer to try simple old-fashioned remedies first.
I’ve always thought that I could write an entire book on the home remedies grandma had for any ailments. She was such a wonderful healer in more ways than she knows.
Check out more home remedies
- 16 Cross-Generational, Home Remedies Mothers Swear By
- Survival Healing: Traditional Mexican Remedies
- Home Remedies – Herbal Home Remedies – Natural Herbs
If you have natural home remedies that work for you, please let me know in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
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Photography by Raemi Vermiglio
76 Comments on “Traditional Mexican Remedies”
Thank you Yevett !! For it brings back alot of memories about what my nana would fix us to get well. When I fell as a little girl my mom said I needed stitches my nana got some sipder web , flour, and made a paste with alcohol and put on me and wrapped my knee after doing this a couple of times my cut closed up but had to have it wrapped for a week till it was healed .
Thanks for the memories,
I also lived in El Paso in the lower Valley, Now I am living in Michigan. but I
still do the Sana Sana to my grandbaby’s and tell them about my Grandma. Great memories
I also had the evil eye all the time that my grandmother made a small cloth wrap to place the eye of a deer in it to pin to my clothes & protect me from the evil eye, always having pink cheeks got me in trouble (pink cheeks on a Mexican was very unusual).
My grandma used to have us drink this warm tea can’t remember the Herbs she used when we got the flu or something but it was nasty don’t smell don’t taste it drink as much as you can cause it would clean you out from anything you had..
Can you find out what the chickenpox one was? Please, please, please do! And please write a book!
OMG !!! I remember all of these my mom had a neighbor friend who did the remedies you mentioned , the one I went through was the Empacho only difference was no egg was involved and yes was not comfortable actually was painful the worst part was when she would pull the skin down my spine Ahhhhhh, soo many memories. Thank You
I love this post! Brought back so many memories of both my mom & maternal grandma, especially with the herb teas.
Both had herb gardens, so I had first-hand knowledge, especially with the yerbabuena & manzanilla teas.
My favorite, though, had to be the Vick’s on the chest. Mom always placed a warm piece of flannel on our chests after. She’d also rub the soles of our feet with it, then have us wear wool socks. Worked every time. Yet, it never seemed to work if I did it myself. Go figure….
Thanks for bringing back some great memories.
Thank you for sharing. Brought back memories. My mom would use so these remedies on us. She is 91 years old. ❤
>The homemade alcohol had floating herbs inside the bottle including romero (rosemary) and marijuana
Interesting… so your grandma knew about the healing properties of cannabis even way back then. She was clearly a very wise woman 🙂
The classic “grandma remedies” have stuck around for so long for a good reason – because they work :). I must admit though, the evil eye bracelets are new to me! Though I did have a dream catcher when I was a kid, which seems kind of similar.
I remember those remedies too, especially the green rubbing alcohol for her knees & the evil eye (I always had the evil eye), in the morning the egg would look like an eye.
If I had a cold or a fever she would smear Vicks VapoRub on my chest and soak a towel with a homemade green rubbing alcohol and placed it on my forehead. Thank you so much!
Loved your post, my grandma Andrea was such a Christian grandma and we still practice her home remedies. Thank you for posting this.
Great story Yvette! This is totally reminds me about my own childhood! My mom was all about the home made healing and she had a huge garden with various herbs . I am still using her home remedies to heal my body when it needed it. Lemon water with punch of soda and sugar or fresh ginger tea helps settle the upset stomach. The wash cloth with light vinegar water placed on a forehead helps reduce the fever…. I have so many remedies under my belt from my mom, I may need to share them with others Thank you for sharing this!
My mom (American born, but lived in Mexico for years) swore by many of these. Just last month, she made a huge batch of caldo de pollo for my husband’s cold, and sure enough, it went away.
And don’t get me started on her manzanilla obsession.
I’m sorry to hear about your abuela. Abrazos.
What a lovely tribute to your grandmother.
I really enjoyed this post! Although my grandparents are Greek, they use similar remedies. We always eat avogolemono soup (Greek-style chicken soup) for colds, and it seemed liked peroxide was used to cure everything. When I lived in Mexico, the señora that I rented from would always make me té de limón with leaves picked from her tree in the garden. It loved the taste of it! Glad to see these traditions continued 🙂
I’m sorry for the loss of your Grandma. May your happy memories make up for your sadness.
She sounds like a smart lady and her home remedies are worth preserving. My friends don’t believe me when I say Vicks is a miracle product. I use it for chapped lips, sore muscles, and dry skin. It works like magic to heal a hangnail overnight. Thanks for reminiscing; your story brings back many happy memories of my childhood in Las Cruces, NM.
I had to laugh at the little saying for the “misc” cuts and boo boos. My Argetine husband used to say the same little ” sana sana colito de rana” to our kids. His Spanish mom and abuela taught him the same saying–precious!! Love your blog!❤️
that was exactly how my MamaMairawould give I all her unconditional love and be our resonate healer with all same natural remedies. I remember my cousin and I didn’t want to to school bad cough okay let’s go to mama house, we hid under the covers and she would rub thick Vicks on our chest and the warm towels those were priceless moments that I will never forget! Love your blog my daughter just started her own blog mijainthekitchen sique adelante
Yvette, you brought back some memories of both my grandmothers especially my moms mother she did the same thing, with the eggs,and the herbs boy did I smell, I miss them dearly both were over 110 when they went home to god to help him, no telling what they are doing now, Thank you for the memories , Mary
Thank-you for sharing your wonderful story of ‘Grandma’s Remedies.’ I truly believe in the natural herbs etc in dealing with illness and pain. It would be great if you were to write a book on these natural remedies. Thank-you again for sharing.
Thank you Yvette for bringing back memories I had with my abuelita!
Thank you Yvette. A good list to keep on hand. I believe in all natural remedies. Have a good weekend!
Wow, Yvette! I have leaned of many of the same cures you mentioned, from Mexican friends. I really wish someone would write an honest guide that the “curanderos” keep secret. Only grandmas and they know the true secrets, which do often work. I wish I knew both the Spanish and English names of the herbs used; that has been a major stumbling block, even if one knows how to do it in Mexico, finding the same herbs, without a translated name is almost impossible here. I am very familiar with the “green” alcohol! I have never seen anyone else who knew that besides my friends and me! So, I am impressed with your knowledge. This is a dying art. When I was in Mexico, there were abuelas that could make drinks for various ailments or conditions, as well as the topical applications. I was amazed by the wealth of knowledge, and the way people used nature to heal. So much better than taking a pill for everything. I would welcome a bi-lingual book on healing. Maybe in your future to write? I hope so!