Onions in socks cures a fever

[snopes]

Comment: My boyfriend's family has this odd home remedy. They believe
that if you put sliced onions in a child's socks, that it will reduce a
fever. Have you guys ever heard of this? I don't know if it was due to
the onions, but my son's temp did go down. When we removed the onions,
they looked brown, as if they had been overcooked. Any idea where this
remedy may have orginated?

[Eddylizard]

I'm not sure about whether it helps cure the sufferer, but it certainly helps reduce the transmission of colds and flu, since no-one will want to go near the sufferer while his socks are stuffed with onions.

Originally Posted by snopes

When we removed the onions,
they looked brown, as if they had been overcooked.

By itself, that sentence looks quiet normal.

It's obviously a transfer of heat from he's feet to the onions if they are overcooked.



When I saw the thread title, I though of Mo singing "I put some onion's, inside my trousers" from an episode who's name escapes me at the moment (the log one?).

[Mad Jay]

We have a UL that is exactly the opposite. Putting onions under your armpit will elevate your body temperature. So, you can use an onion to pretend that you are sick and use that as an excuse to skip school.

[Syllavus]

Originally Posted by Mad Jay

We have a UL that is exactly the opposite. Putting onions under your armpit will elevate your body temperature. So, you can use an onion to pretend that you are sick and use that as an excuse to skip school.

Is that what that's supposed to do? There's an episode of "Are you Being Served?" where a character is trying to get out of work by faking sick and he puts an onion under his armpit. I always assumed that it was supposed to make him smell like he was sick or something and that was why he was doing it.

[Four Kitties]

I was wearing an onion on my belt (which was the style at the time).

[/Grandpa Simpson]