For centuries garlic has been rumoured to be a panacea for many things ranging from scaring vampires to curing cancer. But it is difficult to know what is true and what is fiction. Vohra revealed in her article that for upper respiratory infections in children there was a 1.7 fold reduction in bacteria when compared with a placebo and a 2.4 fold reduction when compared with dibazole, a commonly prescribed drug. She found that warts cleared up after three to nine weeks after garlic application. Painful ear infections stopped after an application of a herbal mixture that contained garlic, though she conceded that the data did not show clearly the role of garlic.
Garlic does have some antibacterial, antipyretic, and antiviral properties mostly from the chemicals allicin and sulfenic acid in it especially after crushing and allowing it to sit for 7-14 minutes. Vohra's article discovered three studies in which garlic applied to children's skin for minor infections caused second degree burns, probably from the sulfenic acid. Because of this, she cautions parents not to use garlic directly on children for such ailments.
