Old Wives cures.

A child with whooping cough was taken to smell the tar where a road was being repaired. Black bullets (sweets) were boiled in vinegar to make a cough syrup. A stocking was filled with salt, heated and tied round the neck for a quinzy (sp) throat. You used to be able to get a foul smelling disk with a hole in the middle to tie round the neck to ward off germs.

Wrights Vaporisers were wonderful. I always thought it was because a flame was involved that they were discontinued.

I remember my mam taking me to where the men were tarring the road. There were always several children around the hot tar. Also every autumn I started taking 'The Linctus' and stopped taking it the following Spring. I often wonder if I had winter asthma rather that the winter bronchitis the doctor diagnosed. Maybe the treatment for asthma was pretty useless at the time and it was less scary to be told you had continuous bronchitis lol.

Wrights vaporizers got me through three children they were wonderful the night time coughs died down amazingly and we never set the house on fire ?

Indeed. Artemisin is a drug used for Malaria. It was discovered by a Chinese woman scientist. I was reading earlier about attempts to genetically engineer other plants to produce it, as its a slow process growing it via artemisia plant.
Then there is digitalin and aspirin...

You can put a paste of Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) onto a splinter to draw it out. No idea how it is supposed to work.

In the course of looking at old 19th century newspapers for my family history stuff I encountered a lot of adverts for quack remedies for all sorts of diseases. It makes an interesting diversion.

Thanks Chicken for that tip about getting rid of cramp. It really does work. OH had trouble recently with a severe pain in his thigh. Doc thought OH had a clot in his leg. All checked out and no clot. But he still gets severe cramp like pain in his thigh. Tried your tip of putting a finger in between nose and top lip, pressing hard and magic the pain goes away? So thanks again.

Sticking duck tape over a wart gets rid of it pretty quick!

Yes miep that would work well. I had a wart on the lower part of my finger when I was at school and wore my signet ring to cover it. It dropped off (yeuch!) after a few weeks. So, I think you can suffocate them.

Thank you Nanevan. Glad it works for your OH as well. That's a couple of ticks for me in St. Peter's ledger!

Does anyone remember Friars Balsam? You put some into a bowl of boiling water, put a cloth over your head and the bowl and breathed the steam. It was our family cure for coughs and sore throats. I and all my 5 children were given Woodwards Gripe Water as babies and it worked well. Vicks Vapour Rub on the soles of the feet was also a favourite. As a child I loved Liquifruita cough medicine and at 3 years old my mum found me hiding behind the wardrobe swigging it from the bottle.

I've got some Friars Balsam in the cupboard. My mother used to make us have a spoonful of cod liver oil and malt every day. Yuk! Awful stuff.

I inhale menthol crystals dissolved in hot water for sinus headaches. Quite powerful so only a little is needed. Put a towel over your head for maximum effect. It works!

I nearly blew my head off Liaise when I tried menthol crystals.

A hot steamy bowl of Friars Balsam is just what I need right now after this pigging awful cold I have. Earlier I was inhaling the damp warm air from my cup of tea.

I find mustard handy for small burns,relieves pain almost instantly and seems to stop blisters forming.