10 fun facts about health care in Germany: From home remedies to house doctors | Meet the Germans

Have you ever heard of "Biowetter" or homeopathic "Globuli"? Rachel Stewart examines the German approach to health.

Rachel is on a mission to investigate the quirks and idiosyncrasies of daily life in Germany. Every two weeks she explores a new topic - from beer to nudity to complicated grammar - and heads out to get some tips from the Germans themselves.

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[BrambleBeeRose]

You forgot the Hühnersuppe... Chicken soup? It is magical when you are sick 😂

[sebastianholz]

Fun fact: You can call an ambulance without risking your whole life savings

[teecana]

Me, German, currently wearing a scarf while watching this video:
"I have never felt so offended by something I can 100% agree with"

[jamesclarke]

Without fail every German's suggestion when you're feeling sick: "drink some tea"

[Bageera]

My mother is German. Her home remedies work. The cold towels do work to reduce fever. Chamomile tea as an eye wash cured my conjunctivitis as a child. And as for onions, she made a special cough syrup made with onions, honey, & other ingredients. She has other remedies too.
This was a fun video to watch. Thanks DW & Rachel!

[randyzhu]

At least their health costs won't cost an arm and a leg.

[staytiny]

Können wir mal anmerken, das unsere Krankenversicherung so gut wie nichts kostet, selbst wenn du arbeitslos bist noch Krankenversichert bist und immer zu jedem Arzt gehen kannst egal wann und wie oft :))

[fraserseifert]

You forgot the magical teas! There's a specific tea to cure every ailment.

[mathildewesendonck]

We even do many of these „health tricks“ at hospital! Like salt sticks, we have supplies of them on every ward for patients with low sodium level. And it works! Oh, and you forgot to mention Zwieback and camomile tea for gastroenteritis!! We also have Zwieback on every ward at hospital. And we do „Wadenwickel“ even on ICU to bring down fever.

[rcsfjo]

I love this woman! Keep her content on youtube please and no one else.

[RikoScouse]

Her: Biting into a raw potato
Me, a German: So you have chosen death.

[kiliipower]

Salt sticks and cola!
Sounds funny at first. But with diarrhoea the electrolyte balance is often disturbed afterwards. Which can be dangerous for children. And salt sticks and Cola means to supply the body quick salts and sugar in a sufficient amount of liquid....and it tastes!

[nevsclowntown]

everytime there is a cold coming up i do really wrap myself into a scarf and even wear it to bed. It does work! magical healing powers

[marcuszaja]

Yes, when I was young my mother the calf wraps when I had a fever. Another thing I know is "Zwiebelhonig" (onion honey) that helps against a cough. Cut an onion into little cubes put them in a glas jar, put three spoons of honey on top of it and seal it for 12 hours. Strain it through a sieve. After that you can drink it.

[leavoda]

So the scarf thing actually does make sence. You don't just wrap your neck with it, but the upper back too. This results in warming up the upper back and neck area. The blood vessels get more relaxed and opened, circulation is better and the whole area gets warmer. This can eliviate the symptoms of headache, neck soreness, shoulder and upper back pain and sore throat.

Ingwertee or ginger tea is a wonderfull remedy against sore throat or a cold. Just wash and grate a small peace of ginger root, pour hot water over it and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Drink with lemon juice and honey or straight. Works wonders and warms up the whole body. It has a fruity and spicy flavour.

I allso find german way of carefully giving out painkillers or antibiotics more than ideal. For example, I come from Croatia and every time my child would have ear pains, he would be perscribed an antibiotic. When we moved to Germany, my boy woke me up one sunday night howling with pain in his ear. We quickly rushed him to the hospital and the kind female doctor checked him up. She asked me if we gave him any medications prior to coming to hospital. I said no, because I wasn't sure how this type of thing was handeld here and explained how we allways got antibiotics in Croatia. She explained to me that he only needs pain medication because he does not have a fever or swelling of the eardrum. She allso made sure to be very clear that if he should develop fever or further pain, we should visit his Pediatrist. Turns out he had earpains because of a pressure change in the surrounding air (it was a warm night and the window was tilted open) that made the pressure in his eardrum spike suddenly (he was 3 y.o. and his ear canals were still developing). He didn't need any subsequent medication or visits to the doctor. It schocked me that that kind of an option was never even considered in Croatia.

Edit: grammar and one more story 😅

[MarleneM]

Fun fact 11: We do not have to produce and sell crystal meth when we get seriously ill. ;)

[noaoah]

I, as one who goes to Germany quite often, and am fluent in German, can confirm that the draft is the ultimate enemy of the German

[touficjammoul]

we actually put Garlic in the ears when there's some kind of headache caused by a flue, due to its anti-inflammatory ingredients. but that's fun to watch how other cultures deals with such situations at home.

[lwwells]

I've been living in Germany for four years (American). My god I love this channel. I always learn new things.

[Neyjina]

Wadenwickel works. You even learn how to do them in Nursing School. They are great to lower a mild fever without medication.