Because childhood is a difficult time for us in any culture, there are many folk medicine cures aimed at the problems of childhood, such as bedwetting. The cures in this article are not recommended and are for entertainment purposes only. Many of these folk medicine cures for bedwetting are dangerous to you and/or the child in question.
Folk Medicine Cures for Bedwetting – Wear It!
Many folk medicine cures for bedwetting are rather embarrassing. For example, one tradition maintains that if you drape the urine soaked sheet over the child’s head and make then stand in the sunlight until it is dry, this will cure the bedwetting. Just think of all the poor children who were made to tolerate this bedwetting cure!
Folk Medicine Cures for Bedwetting – Hot Bricks
Another of the folk medicine cures for bedwetting is to have the child urinate on a hot brick. It was believed that a child playing with hot ashes before bed would certainly wet the bed. But, this affliction could be cured by heating a brick and having the child urinate on it before bed.
Folk Medicine Cures for Bedwetting – Umbilical Cord Handling and Care
The next of the folk medicine cures for bedwetting is proper care of the umbilical cord at birth. It was commonly believed that what you do with the umbilical cord can cause or prevent a child from wetting the bed as they get older.
Laying the umbilical cord down after it has been cut will cause the child to become a bed-wetter. But, if the umbilical cord is burned right away, it’s believed the child will never wet the bed.
Folk Medicine Cures for Bedwetting – Grave Cures
Another of the folk medicine cures for bedwetting, and also one of the strangest, is to urinate in an open grave. In folk medicine, it was believed that burying something in a grave will cure the person associated with it. So, from here stemmed the belief that if you could get a child to urinate in a grave, they would be cured of bedwetting.
Another of the related folk medicine cures for bedwetting is to have the child urinate in a bottle. Then, poke a small hole in the cork of the bottle and throw it into the grave before it is covered. When all the urine drips out, it is believed that the child’s bedwetting will be cured.
Folk Medicine Cures for Bedwetting – A Drink of Urine
Another of the folk medicine cures for bedwetting, and among the most dangerous, is drinking the urine from the bed. Parents have been known to squeeze the urine from the sheets, mix it with sugar and milk and make the child drink it. Of course, we know today that this folk medicine cure could cause problems much worse than bedwetting.
Folk Medicine Cures for Bedwetting – Mice and Rats
Some of the strangest folk medicine cures for bedwetting involve mice and rats. One folk tradition remedy is to boil a mouse for tea and have the offending bed-wetter drink it before bed. Another treatment is to cook a mouse or rat in some way and have the child eat it.
By far the weirdest of the folk medicine cures for bedwetting is to wrap a mouse in a piece of cloth and bite its head off. Then, tie the cloth with the head in it around the child’s neck and make them wear it for a few days. This could, of course, make a child or the head-biter very sick. Don’t try this at home!
WARNING: Once again, these folk medicine cures for bedwetting are for entertainment purposes and should never be tried at home!!
