A hot egg and a black eye.

A hot egg and a black eye.

Two seven-year-old kids were running on the playground. One of them fell. There was a bump on his right forehead.

Young aunt ran to get a towel with ice cubes. She placed it over the swelling on his forehead.

Next, his mum came running. She had a hot hard-boiled egg wrapped in a towel. Anxious over her only child, she threw away the ice. She rubbed the ‘warm egg’ compress over his forehead. The boy cried in pain.

His aunt grimaced to think about the dilation and more tearing of the tiny blood vessels. These will cause more bleeding!

“See! It is so effective! The swelling has subsided!” The mother exclaimed proudly. “This is an age-old practice!”

A few days later, both of them went to the aunt’s house. The boy had a black eye!

“The doctor said his right eye was not injured. His skull X-ray was ok. This bluish-black discolouration is blood collected around the eye. It will go off after a week or two!”

*****