SOME old-fashioned home remedies may work as well, or better, than commercial remedies for treating common childhood aches and pains.

Dr. Kenneth Haller, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, suggests that sometimes you need to think outside the medicine box and use some cooking ingredients to cure common ailments.

"Turn back the clock and listen to what grandma recommended," he says.

Haller offers some of his favorite treatments:

* Freeze a bagel and give it to your child to gum when he or she is teething.

* Stuffy nose. Mix a quarter teaspoon of salt in half a cup of water and spray or drop the solution into the nose. It helps clean out nasal mucus.

* Sore throat. Drink plenty of fluids. A dried-out throat is more prone to infection.

* For swimmer's ear, mix a solution of half vinegar and half water. Put the solution in the ear and then let it drain out.

* If a child has diarrhea, feed him or her a lot of starches and the BRAT --- bananas, rice, applesauce and toast --- diet. For constipation, avoid starches and serve plenty of fruits and vegetables, high-fiber foods and water.

 
Editor: Wings