On this second Thursday, we ponder home remedies experienced or witnessed as kids.
On a recent trip to Louisiana, my godmother offered an unusual remedy for my post-Covid cough. Spoiler alert: it didn’t work.
That experience caused me to think about other home remedies, and memories flooded back.
Now, it’s your turn. Share your quirky home remedies in the comments section below.
And remember, the only way to do this wrong is to not do it at all!
Growing up mom and dad had their own home remedies. Dad had just one. Dad’s remedy was whiskey for whatever ails you. For teething babies, rub whiskey on their gums. For a cough or cold, a shot of whiskey with a teaspoon of honey will cure the sniffles and cough. If you can’t sleep at night, a shot of whiskey in warm milk will bring you sweet dreams. Mom was a natural woman. I always referred to mom as a woman before her time. Not sure nowadays with life as we know it. I think it’s better she’s not around… Read more »
Nancy kind of beat me to this, but I think I can top her.
Home remedies were a way of life in the family I where grew up. As Patricia alluded to, doctor visits were expensive. They might cost as much as five dollars a trip. Why squander money if you could doctor yourself? Enter our gooey, beige cure-all in a squat clear jar with a blue and yellow label and a white screw on lid. Denver Mudd, our miracle drawing salve, held an honored spot in our medicine cabinet. It was the first thing we grabbed when we were afflicted with a stubborn splinter or an infected sore. Applied liberally to the affected… Read more »
Hi Linda – I looked up Denver Mud and found this written on the label. An Antiphlogistic Poultice: Powered Silicate of Aluminum, U.S.P. Glycerine, Resorcin, Boracic Acid, Oils of Peppermint, Wintergreen and Eucaliptus.
Thanks, Nancy for investigating! The only ingredient that sets off alarm bells for me is aluminum. Anything else?
Writing friends, I am in turmoil with domestic activities with little time to do justice to this prompt, but will surely ruminate about our home remedies. Several brought big smiles such as: Sock filled with salt, sealed with a safety pin, heated with an iron, and held to my aching ear. Mom made a concoction with onions and something else that smelled to high heaven but cleared congestion. Everyone can confirm the healing qualities of real homemade chicken soup for a cold or any other ailment. I plan to write about my Dad buying a live Rhode Island Red Rooster… Read more »
I agree about the potatoe slice rubbed on a wart then buried in the yard. I actually did that with a wart I had on my hand and by golly it worked. Wart disappeared. If we had a cold or cough my mother would put a generous amount of Vicks VapoRub on our chest and neck then get a piece of material about the size of a kitchen towel and wrap it around our neck. She then would fasten it with a huge safety pin and we would leave it on all night as we slept. I don’t remember how… Read more »
Yesterday I read a chapter of “Emma Stirling-Died Unmarried”. Chapter 22 The Peonage Charges – Florida’s Turpentine Camps. Sap was collected from trees and stilled in backwoods camps to produce turpentine. One of the best-known products produced from turpentine oil is Vick’s Vapor Rub – first produced in 1905.
This discussion reminds me of one of my favorite movies, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, in which the father of the bride believes any ailment, from Psoriasis to poison ivy, could be cured by spraying Windex on it. 🙂
Good morning everyone. My grandma Beasley had a remedy for bad coughs and colds. She rubbed my chest with Mentholadium. Sp? Then covered my chest with a hot towel and bed covers. Seemed to do the trick. I could have used a hot toddy as well. Out of the question!
A home remedy I used as a child. See attached.