Background: 

The informant is my aunt from my mother’s side of the family. She is a second generation American citizen and is the oldest of six children. After high school, she paid her own way through college and supported herself at the same time. As a result of her hard work, she has worked as an RN for almost 30 years at LA County Hospital. 

Informant: 

When we were kids for some reason we always had a stye in our eyes. My guess is it was from always playing outside and not washing our hands afterwards. Which has a lot to do with how I’m a germaphobe now. (laughs) But anyways when me and your other aunts would get a stye in our eyes, Grandma would never give us actual medication. She has this method that she learned in Mexico which was to dip bread in milk and place it over the stye to make it go away. I spent a good majority of my childhood with a piece of bread dipped in milk on my eyes (laughs). Grandma swore by this remedy, but I honestly can’t say I every remember it actually working and making the stye go away. But without fail each and every single time my sisters and I got a stye we had a piece bread on our eye. Grandma had learned it from her mother when she lived in Mexico so I’m guessing she would get the same treatment as a child.

Analysis: 

There are several home remedies when it comes to sickness and infections. I know my fair share of them, but up until now I have never heard of this one. I asked my aunt if at any time it hurt, but she said it never did. She said the bread would literally just be laying there as if it were for decoration. I want to know how this remedy came about and why the choice of bread dipped in milk was made. Family remedies are often passed down from generation to generation but seeing as times are progressing and modern medicine is reaching new limits a lot of this type of folklore is being lost forever.