Onions tend to catch a lot of flack for being one of the more pungent scented veggies. In fact, they’re the villain for making you cry in the kitchen every time you go to chop them. Would you believe, though, that it’s their particular stench that makes them a miracle drug in the natural remedy department?

Believe it or not, onions have myriad benefits to offer to human health. In a day and age where our collective health is seemingly under constant threat, it’s as important as ever to build up our knowledge base of effective natural medicine as possible.

If we’re going to that, onions are a great place to start. Here are 12 remarkable onion remedies that are surprisingly effective.

1. Loosen up chest congestion

If you’ve got a deep, dry cough, a fantastic and super affordable way to combat it is by using onions. Often classified as an expectorant, onions possess near-magical properties (in the form of sulfur-compounds) that help reach deep into the chest and loosen up phlegm.

Why would you want to loosen phlegm? To make your coughs more productive and rid your lungs of harmful bacteria.

A simple way to use onion for this is to make a poultice. There are varying ways to do it but, in a pinch, you can crush onion with olive or coconut oil to form a mash-like paste. If you have a cheese-cloth, it might be wise to spread it over the chest before spreading a thick layer of the mash on and covering with a hot, moist dishtowel. The cheesecloth will protect sensitive skin and the warmth of the dishtowel will help open up the pores and let the medicinal compounds penetrate faster.

Let it rest for 20-30 minutes and repeat daily, 2-3 times per day until you feel better.

2. Cough

Onions are well known for having powerful antiviral and antibacterial properties. As such, they are the perfect go-to for killing colds on the spot. As it turns out, turning your onions into a heavenly cough syrup couldn’t be any easier.

Simply slice an onion in roughly 1/4 inch slices. Then, lay one onion slice into a wide-mouthed jar. Cover with a layer of sugar roughly the same thickness, then repeat the process until the jar is filled. Cover with a lid or plate and let sit for 6-8 hours or overnight. Then take a spoonful or two after it has turned into a syrup and watch your cough disappear.

3. Hair loss

Yep, you read that right. People spend endless amounts of money to regrow their hair and stop thinning, but who would’ve known you could have been growing your solution right in your yard? It turns out that there is a fair amount of science to back this up, not to mention endless anecdotal evidence.

So, how do onions help in the hair department? With their juice. Onion juice contains high concentrations of sulfur and antioxidants, both of which are key ingredients for healthy hair. Not only will it promote growth, but it promotes circulation, disinfects the scalp, eliminates dandruff, and even slows and stops premature graying.

Check out this article from Style Craze to learn 12 different ways to use onion juice in your hair.

4. Cure for colic

If you’re a parent then you likely know the grueling nightmare that a bout of colic can wreak not just on your baby, but on your whole family. The good news is that onions help with this, too, and the recipe couldn’t get any simpler.

Onion tea is all your baby needs to settle their belly for a good night’s rest. Just simmer four 1/4 inch thick slices of onion in some water for about 10 minutes. Once it is cool enough for the baby to drink (tepid), give them 4 tablespoons twice per day, making sure not to exceed 3/4 of a cup in a single day. According to this testimony, it saved a man’s family and their sanity.

5. Soothe insect stings

If you find yourself getting stung this spring and summer season, head for the kitchen and grab an onion. The anti-inflammatory properties help break down venom and treat the stinging symptoms nearly immediately. Just cut an onion in half and apply the cut-side to the sting.

6. Heal an ear infection

Ear infections can present you and your little ones with some of the worst pain you have ever felt in your life. Thankfully, onions can help with that, too. Particularly onion juice. Just bake and onion at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, remove and let cool to the touch. Then, squeeze all the juice possible from the onion and suck up with a pipette or dropper and add a few drops to the infected ear.

7. Heal cuts

As we said before, onions contain naturally occurring antibiotic properties. Applying the juice of an onion to a fresh cut can help not to just disinfect the wound, but also to speed up the healing process.

Simply slice into rounds and apply to the cut.

8. Soothe your sore throat

One compound these crisp, fleshy bulbs contain is quercetin. A miracle drug in its own right, it has antiviral, antibacterial, and antimicrobial properties and helps produce anti-inflammatory effects as well. Simply juice an inion and drink it down. Alternatively, you can sip on onion tea throughout the day.

You can also make onion syrup using honey instead of sugar and harness the potent medicinal properties of the honey as well.

9. Stop vomiting

Just as it relieves colic, onion juice also stops vomiting in it’s tracks. Just juice an onion or squeeze grated onion pulp through a cheesecloth or paper towel to get a tablespoon and have at it. For added effect, you can also grate a teaspoon of ginger to take with it.

10. Purify the air

It has long been said for centuries that these root veggies are so potent they can even clean the air. Indeed, onions are remarkably absorbing. If cut and left out, they will suck up most of the toxins and impurities there within the course of a few hours. Many people swear by it and you have nothing to lose…other than a few onions.

Just cut them in halves or quarters and leave them in open bowls out in whatever areas of your home are used most frequently. Toss every 1-2 days and replace with a new cut onion to get through cold and flu season.

11. Soothe abrasions and sunburns

You’ve heard of Aloe for sunburns before, but did you know it’s in the same family as garlic and onion. Known as alliums, onions carry many similar properties to its long, green, fleshy leaved cousin. Next time you have a burn, thinly slice an onion and lay them over the affected skin for a while then reapply as necessary.

12. Kill a fever

Another age-old, classic folk remedy using onions can not only break a fever, but they can make the flu or common cold disappear entirely. How? By pulling it out through the feet.

Slice an onion thinly and place on your feet, then cover with a sock to hold them in place. Do this before bed and the onions will help draw out toxins and impurities from your body while you sleep, and you’ll wake up feeling much, much better.

Did you have any idea how useful these pungent little globes were? Us either, but we sure are grateful that we do now. Please SHARE this with your friends and family, and don’t forget to bookmark it for later use.

H/T: Relieved