Friday, April 11, 2008

An Old Wives' Tale

When one of my sisters was born she developed a common ailment among new born babies, called "Thrush." Thrush is actually a yeast infection, or fungus that occurs naturally in the mucous membranes of the mouth and on the skin. The use of antibiotics during pregnancy promotes the overgrowth of yeast by killing off the 'good' bacteria that normally keep the yeast from multiplying too quickly. During pregnancy, yeast infections are more common because high levels of estrogen lead to elevated levels of sugar and yeast feeds on sugar making you more susceptible to yeast infections and Thrush. The mother can also have Thrush.

All that being said, my mother had heard this old wives' tale that if someone who had never seen his, or her, father-- if their father had died before they were born--would blow his breath into the baby's mouth it would cure the Thrush. How unbelievable!



Anyway, my mother was at her wit's end to get rid of the Thrush in my sister's mouth. She happened to know a man who was eligible to cure the Thrush. His father had died before he was born. So she and my dad went to him and asked if he would perform the procedure on my sister. He did so.

Miraculously. the Thrush went away in just a day or so! Perhaps not miraculously, but coincidentally. The information I read said that Thrush could go away quickly and possibly even without treatment. So I am sure that was the reason for the Thrush going away and not because someone blew his breath into my sister's mouth! Of course You would never make my mother believe anything except that he had done the miraculous cure!




Watch out for those OLD WIVES' tales!

28 Comments:

At April 11, 2008 at 5:12 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have seen the procedure done, too. My sister had the thrush when she was born. Despite several weeks of medicine, the thrush persisted to the point that her mouth was bleeding. Grandma insisted she be taken to someone who had never seen their father. A neighbor lady knew a lady whose father had died before she was born, and she put Mama in touch with her. The lady said she had helped several babies with the illness. I watched the lady as she laid the baby on her lap, gently touched her lips, leaned over, and exhaled into her mouth. In a couple of days, the thrush was gone. Mama was a little intimidated by our family doctor, and she said she just laughed to herself when he said the next week, "Looks like that medicine did the trick."

 
At August 22, 2011 at 8:27 PM , Blogger Pon Dace said...

My Dad was a "Thrush Doctor". He passed last year and would not like me telling this. However It is apart of our heritage in the southern Appalachian mountains of Virginia and these stories should be told.

I do need to point out that my Dad did not believe for one second that he could cure the Thrush by blowing in a baby's Mouth. His mother, my grandmother did believe. Thru out Dad's youth in the 1920s and 30s people would bring their babies to him. He was embarrassed and hated having to do it.

I do remember along in the mid 1960's when I was about 11 or 12 years old there was a young couple called him for the cure. My dad tried to discourage them and tell them to see a real doctor. He also at the time was sick with a bad cold. He knew he would make their baby even more sick. But they insisted and said they were coming by anyway.

At that time my dad hung up the phone, spoke to my mom and went out the back door and did not return to the house for about five hours. What he had done was to go straight out the door and walked to the other side of his 50 acre farm and straight to the top of the mountain and waited until about 11pm to return.

The best I can remember this is the last time anyone actually ask him to blow in to a baby's mouth.

 
At October 11, 2011 at 7:21 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have a 7wk old grandson that was being treated for thrush, he was put on a prescription that required giving him 4 doses a day, after one week there was no improvement at which time they prescribed him a stronger Med, this didn't seem to be helping much either and then a family friend related the old wives tale that said if someone who has never seen their father blew three times into the child's mouth that it would get rid of the thrush, I found this story to be totally ridiculous but having the infants half brother who has never seen his father at hand I figured we had nothing to lose so we gave it a try, YES the thrush went away in less than 48hrs !! Now maybe the meds finally did their job or maybe.........

 
At June 4, 2014 at 12:43 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

As crazy as it sounds, IT WORKS ! My dad's father died before he was born and I have witnessed the thrush going away in less than a day with many of babies that have been brought to him throughout the years including my own! He will not let anyone see him do it and has even done it right in front of me without me seeing lol crazy but true

 
At July 12, 2014 at 5:30 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

This may sound unreal but it is true! We always wondered how our family friend could cure thrush and then my mother told me this wives tale: anyone who hasn't met their father can cure thrush.

 
At August 8, 2014 at 10:44 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

It really does WORK, I've done this many times. It started in grade school and right on in to high school. It only happened once after I was married and had two children. I'm 73 now and I think God gave this talent to the ones whose father died before they were born. I think you have to have Faith that it will work and the parents of these children really did and so did I. So never underestimate the Power of God, just believe.....

 
At December 31, 2015 at 3:41 AM , Blogger Dr. Becca E. said...

Thank you for sharing. I was told my father had this ability and I wondered where this belief came from. He was from southern Illinois and his great grandfather was from Virginia.

 
At February 28, 2016 at 1:59 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am the seventh son and was raised by my father, yet my mother still believed in this old tale and had me do this regularly. I can't say that I had any faith that it was my doing, but the babies did get better within a day or two...

 
At March 11, 2016 at 8:32 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

When I was an infant I had a terrible case of thrush that wasn't reacting to the medicine. My Daddy took me to a 'healer' and my Mother had never witnessed what was about to happen. This lady breathed into my mouth and my thrush was cured and I've never had a case of it again. My Mother was amazed and grateful! My Daddy's family is of French and Native American ancestry and I don't know what culture influenced him. But it worked.

 
At November 6, 2016 at 1:50 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

You don't even have to believe in it to have it work. My son got thrust. I noticed it and i didn't know what it was in my baby's mouth. So i went to the woman I've always went to when I needed answers, my mom. She said it looks like thrust. I immediately made a doctor appointment for the next day. Then, My mom told me about the old wives tale about someone who has never seen their father to blow in the baby's mouth, tho she doesn't know if it really world or not. My best friend was with me, when i took my baby to my mothers house to and I knew that her father has never been in her life. So i asked her "do you ever remember meeting your father?" she said "No but it wasnt because he's died, he just left my mom when she was pregnant. I don't know if he's even still alive or not."
With nothing to lose, i asked if she would blow in my son mouth. She lend down and blew one time in my baby's mouth. The next day, my son doctor looked at me like i was crazy. cuz when I brought my son to the doctor saying he had white spots in his mouth when He didn't.
My son was cured within 24 hours of my best friend blowing my my son's mouth. None of us believed or had faith that it would work. And the person healing the thrust, only has to never let their father. Their father doesn't have to have died before they were born. Don't have to have faith or believed. It just works for some reason that cannot be explained.

 
At April 9, 2017 at 7:33 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have a friend that told me about this the other day because I'm so stressed over my sons thrush he's had it a month now been on medicine for a month now they have upped his dose and still nothing so yesterday she stopped by and did it said its worked on her niece so I totally believe this is possible but how long should it take for results

 
At May 6, 2017 at 2:30 PM , Blogger Bugkeeper said...

My mother had this healing ability and the wives tale applies as her dad died just before she was born.She cured many baby's mouths by blowing into them. Why it works I don' t know but it does. She also would tell the parents to not treat it with meds as they made it worse. I saw this happen with a cousin who had brought her baby for treatment and afterwards treated it with medicine and that poor baby had an awful time afterwards. One of those strange things in life. Would love to know the origin of the tale.

 
At June 1, 2018 at 3:10 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

It really does work. My grandmother had never seen her dad and my mom told me stories of ladies lining up with their children so that my grandmother could blow into their mouths to heal thrush. When I had my daughter in 1995 she developed thrush when she was about 3 months old. I tried medicine from the doctor because my husband did not want my grandmother blowing into our baby's mouth and thought the idea was ridiculous. When the medicine didn't work, I took her to my grandmother. She blew into her mouth and that was the last time I saw thrush in my daughter's mouth. I don't understand it, but it most definitely works!

 
At September 15, 2018 at 7:20 AM , Blogger Unknown said...

My brother would get so mad when someone would ask him to blow in there babies mouth but he would do it and it worked every time

 
At April 17, 2019 at 11:07 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's true my grandmother could do it. She never seen her father. She would have people come from all over. Even my friends took their babies to her. I would always sit and watch her blow. She's sinced passed. It's definitely true

 
At November 8, 2019 at 7:36 PM , Blogger Gigi said...

I remember doing this as a child less than 5 years old. I didn't understand. But, my aunt told me what to do. There was a line of children waiting for me to blow in their mouths. Must've been an epidemic back then. I'm 51 born in 1968. My dad died in 1967. So yeah!

 
At February 12, 2020 at 11:14 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I was born in 1971 in Appalachian region of southwest Virginia. As a baby I developed oral thrush and my parents took me to a woman known for her ability to cure the problem by blowing into the baby's mouth.
They said that it worked. Further, in my 48 years of life, I have not had another case of thrush since.

 
At February 22, 2020 at 4:00 AM , Blogger Unknown said...

I've never met my dad but he's not dead I never spoke to him either does that count

 
At February 22, 2020 at 4:01 AM , Blogger Unknown said...

I've never seen or spoken to my dad but he's not dead does that still count

 
At May 18, 2020 at 7:06 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

I was always told it had to be a 7th sister that could blow in baby mouth n also cute collic. My mom q a s c a 7th sister n my grandma would take her all over making her blow in babies mouth n supossidy it heal them but could been coincidence n also I don't think my mom had ever seen her dad he had died in world war2 think bless her heart

 
At May 18, 2020 at 7:07 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

sorry. Out the misspelling n skipping letters supose to been there this new cell very sensitive n it changes my words have the time

 
At July 20, 2021 at 4:25 PM , Blogger Drq1968 said...

Father didnt have to have died. I was adopted at an early age and never saw my bio father (to my knowledge anyway-small town-lol) but i was asked to lerform this procedure 3 or 4 times a year from the time i was 3 till i was about 14. By different people, every summer, like clockwork. They believed, and no one ever complained that it dodnt work!

 
At April 7, 2022 at 7:06 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes, I have never met, seen or talked to my father and I have been asked many times to blow in someone's mouth to cure thrush, and it has always worked. I don't know how it works or why it works, but it does. And this is a treatment along with many others that have been passed down through the generations of my family.

 
At April 7, 2022 at 7:12 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Your father does not have to be dead for it to work, as long as you've never met him or seen him, it will work. My father left my mom when she got pregnant, I don't even know his name, never saw him, met him or even talked to him, and I have been asked to do this many times throughout the years.

 
At March 1, 2023 at 12:10 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

People do this, I have seen it work, but then doubt the power of pray🤷🏼‍♀️

 
At March 29, 2023 at 6:07 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm looking for help for my mom. She has thrush and she's had it now for almost 2 weeks. She went to the doctor and they have gave her medicine, throat sprays, and now she's on antibiotics and nothing is working. I wanted to know if this ritual can used on adults, if so, how do I contact someone. I stay in Childersburg, Alabama

 
At September 11, 2023 at 3:13 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

It works for my nephew, son and brother no medicine. Happened overnight

 
At March 10, 2024 at 8:15 AM , Blogger smethvin said...

My Mom was adopted and she could do this too. She cured my cousins

 

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home