Forget the humidifier, the vapor rub, the saline, and the pain relief. Your best plan of attack against any cold or flu? A humble potato.
Yep. This age-old remedy, dubbed ‘potato socks’ is making the rounds again thanks to TikTok and mums are absolutely blown away by how it works – and how well it works too! You literally only need one thing – a potato. Slip a sliver of raw potato into your child’s sock at night and let the potato’s healing magic happen.
According to several parents who have tried it, the potato will absorb all the sickness from the body. Expect the potato to change colour from white to dull grey – a sign that the potato has drawn out the cold.
It sounds almost too good to be true. But, hey, when you’ve got snotty-nosed kids who are coughing all night, you’ll try anything!
Mum tested and approved
Mum-of-five Laura Kathleen decided to give it a go, quite skeptical that it would actually work. She tried it out with her sick daughter, but she also placed a potato in her own sock as a control.
As Laura explains in her now-viral TikTok video, her daughter’s potato came out completely black in the morning while Laura’s own potato sock was pretty much the same colour as when she put in on the night before.
@laura_kathleen5 The Internet tells me that potatoes on my feet when I’m sick is a hoax, but I don’t believe you Internet!! #potatocure #potatoesforlife #homeremedyforcold #naturalremedies ♬ Similar Sensation (Instrumental) – BLVKSHP
But did Laura’s daughter’s cold disappear? Sort of – she said it didn’t completely go away but she didn’t seem to get any worse.
“It is blowing my mind, it is drawing something out,” Laura said.
Doctors weigh in on potato socks
While plenty of parents have shared their own success stories, what do doctors say about the potato sock trend?
Well-known TikToker and paediatrician Dr. Tommy Martin claims that the potato sock hack won’t do much to treat colds and flus.
“No judgment to this momma, so thankful your kiddo is doing better,” he wrote in his TikTok.
“Although thankful this worked for you but for others, this does not substitute seeing a doctor if your child is ill. Stay safe this respiratory season.”
Dr Karla Robinson echoed this notion.
“There isn’t much evidence to show that potatoes are effective at drawing out toxins or will help you get over a cold faster. I don’t think it will harm you, but it probably won’t add many benefits.”
While the potato sock trend is quite popular on TikTok, it’s also been around for ages, possibly since the Middle Ages.
Onion sock instead?
Similar to the potato sock trend is the onion sock one, which involves placing a raw onion in your sock overnight to dry and draw out the infection.
Again, there is no scientific evidence to support this, but onions are known to have some healing benefits and many people have claimed this little trick really does work.
The next time you or your child start to get the sniffles, there’s probably no harm in shoving produce into your sock overnight. Onion. Potato. Whatever’s on special at Woolies. We say go for it!
But maybe stock up on some vapor rub too, just in case.
Another produce-inspired TikTok trend is to use lettuce to help you fall asleep. Simply place hot water and a lettuce leaf into a cup (maybe a bit of tea to spice it up) and sip… According to many, this mixture will have you snoozing in no time.
