A woman with blonde hair, wearing a green coat and wide brimmed hat is smiling into the camera. She is standing on a pavement in a market town with a cobbled street next to herImage source, BBC News
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Deborah Powis says putting her feet in a bag of chopped onion helps reduce her cough

ByJo MakelEast Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
  • Published8 November 2026

Deborah Powis has a trick she swears by when she gets a cough.

I have stopped her on the street in the market town of Horncastle, Lincolnshire, to ask what cold remedies she turns to at this time of year.

"You chop up an onion," she begins. "You put it in plastic bags, put your feet inside and put your socks over the top.