Old Wives Tales
The collection of old wives tales below are based on my personal experience that I have tested over the years. However, I do not guarantee that they will or will not work for everybody.
Hammer myth
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When my mother told me about using a hammer to treat bumps and bruises following a fall I actually laughed at her and said what nonsense. |
Reason
Nobody knows. True or False? |
Answer: True
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One day Marie fell down and had a great big ‘bungalow’ on her forehead and my mum showed me how to use the “hammer technique”. True enough Marie did not have any bruises or bump. Now I use this technique every time a child falls down and it works all the time. It works for adults too. Sometimes you will see a red patch immediately after the massage but it will all disappear the next day. To make it work you must massage the bruise immediately it happens. |
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Lay the baby in your lap and apply a drop of oil onto the bruise. |
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Next apply a little oil on the hammer head.
Can you see the bump on his forehead? |
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Gently massage the bump in a circular, up and down and sideways motion until the bump is almost flat. Do not panic if he cries which is more from fear and being held down than pain. |
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This was taken the next day. See – no bruises or bump! |
If you think that it is too drastic to use a hammer, an alternative is to use ice pack which will reduce or prevent swelling but it does not remove the bruise. This must be applied immediately before the swelling gets too big. Ice packs or soaking in ice water is very effective for treating sprains too.
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Place a few ice cubes in a handkerchief. Wrap the ice up and hold in your hands so that the ice will melt. |
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Place the ice pack on the bump. Initially, the child will cry because it is cold but after a few minutes most children will accept it. Leave it on for about 5 minutes. |
One important thing to do is to monitor your child for signs of internal head injury for 48 hours. At any time during the 48 hours, if your child starts to vomit or becomes drowsy you must take your child to the nearest hospital for further tests.
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