More old wives tales - causes of illness

No 1- not wearing a vest!

Warts - playing with egg shells.
Biting tongue - about to tell a lie!

Don't sit on the you will never get married ...don't know what happened on no 3 now

Definitely not wearing a vest! And as I've got older, I get that

Sitting on a cold surface causes piles.

Not wearing a vest was virtually a criminal offence to my mother! She was always checking.

sitting on a wall will give you a chill, and if you dont wear big knickers that will give you a chill in the kidneys also !

The vest thing
No hair washing during a period
Don't go out straight after washing hair

Constipation - Syrup of Figs was the cure for all that ailed you.
Wear a liberty bodice

Don't pick your nose your head'll cave in.

Hiccups - talking while eating
Burping - eating too fast
Coughs and sneezes - not wearing a liberty bodice
Trouble getting to sleep - being idle/lazy

Don't sit on the ground - you'll get ants in your pants
Don't sit on the wall or kerb - you'll get a cold bottom

Bellanona I was told the hair-washing things too but could never understand why you shouldn't wash hair during your period?

Syrup of Figs was compulsory in our house every Friday night and if I didn't get top marks in class it was because I'd been picking my nose and pulled my brains out. Yuck!

My mother was still telling me to wear a vest when i was in my fifties

Wear a vest or you'll get a chill on your kidneys. If you are hit on your breast (eg with a hockey ball) you might get cancer.

Sitting on a radiator will give you haemorrhoids

Reading will give you headaches

Eating cheese at night gives you nightmares

Cucumber will give you indigestion without exception its guaranteed.

If you swallowed chewing gum it would stick to your heart
and you would die.

If you washed your hair during your period you would get pneumonia.

If you got a stye on your eye, rub it with a gold ring and it would go away. (Gold rings were scarce in our household).

LOL Annie! Earlier this morning after a walk in the cold air I had a pain in my back and thought was my mother right? Should I buy a vest? I'm now 74, but I remember being mortified aged about 14, when my mother complained to my Dad that I was going out without a vest.

I can do without the extra bulk around my middle now.

Belladonna, I had Bell's palsy once and was told it was because I went out with wet hair sometimes whatever the weather. I've no idea whether that was true. Incidentally, my mother used belladonna politices on an ulcer.

We survived so they must be true.

Even though most are a bit extreme, there was some sense in them. I must say the gold ring one worked for me! And being continually cold (which we often were - no central heating etc.) can lower the immune system so a vest wasn't such a bad idea. Syrup of figs definitely works! Does anyone remember Dr Collis Browne's cure for tummy upsets? I believe it had morphine in it when I was young.

Sitting on cold walls/floors gave you Kingcoff- never knew what that was!
Washing hair during period was dangerous.
Going out with wet hair gave you a cold.

My mother in law always says "Always have a pair of clean pijams available in case you need to go to hospital" - my husband has never worn pijams!

If one of your ears burns after coming in from the cold -
Left for love, Right for spite.

My mother never told us not to wash our hair when we had a period. I've just remembered another one, though - if your foot itched, you had eaten too much sugar.

And if you hurt yourself and it looked worse than it was, she always said "No sense, no feeling". She said that a lot!

Same as Bellanonna, plus, I wasn't allowed a bath either. Had to have one when Mother was out!

I call my vests camisoles or base layers if they are long sleeved thermals. It makes me feel less old lady.
Any aches, illnesses or pains in my house were put down to sitting in a draught.

I wear lace trimmed vests with long sleeves...........as instructed by my gran, however, I rarely wear anything on top of them, why waste the loveliness of lace. I ask my kids to wear vests as it seems like good sense to me to stay warm and if I am cold (not often) they have to put a jumper on.

I am never sure about the rules for cutting nails, is it Fridays or Sundays to be avoided?