Home remedies, amusing or serious ones.

[Rodney Mills]

My father was by no means a viscous man, neither did he have much of a sense of humor. I can only remember him giving me a wallop once. It came about like this.

My dad was a 'clippy' (conductor) on the London buses. One day he limped into the house looking down in the mouth, proper crook. My aunt Jean asked him what was wrong, "I've got great big boil on me bum" he replied. Aunt Jean said she would have a look, so he coyly eased his trousers down one side of his backside, sure enough, dead center of his cheek is a large angry looking boil, but not quite ripe as they said back then in England. Aunt Jean said "We can draw it out". So into an empty clean milk bottle, she pours about half a cup of boiling water and with a long lighted kitchen match in her other hand, places the large mouth of the bottle over dad's boil and the match under the bottle bringing the water back to boiling pitch to create a suction. Had it worked as planned the suction would have drawn the pustular--sounds much nicer than pus--from the boil, splattering it into the water and leave a nice clean crater in the center of the deflated boil. However, the suction became too strong and the mouth of the bottle too large. Half of dad's left buttock, boil and all, was sucked into the milk bottle, dad screamed, jumping up and down, trying to pull his trousers up with one hand and yank the bottle off with the other, aunt Jean rushes to the fire place and grabs poker, dad starts running around the room, my sister starts to cry and I'm rolling on the couch laughing my head off. That's when it happened, 'I copped a right hander' as dad ran past, aunt Jean smashed the bottle, glass everywhere.

I think there should be a warning on all milk bottles....Warning! Do not use for boils.

Cheers, Lt. Col. Rodney. Alabama Militia ret'd
.

[Rodney Mills]

Ointment for fungus under the toenail is very expensive. This home remedy really works. After showering I took a little vick's vapor rub on my finger and forced it under my toenail then I rubbed some on top of the nail. I did it once a day untill the nail grew back-in looking normal (takes a while) and I continue doing it daily as a maintenance program.

Cheers, Rodney

[Rodney Mills]

My English Grandma's cure for chillblanes (?) urinate into a pan and soak your toes in it...no sharing.

For a chest cold (?) (tb or whatever) brown paper slavered with goose fat...(if no goose, lard in a pinch) wrapped tightly of a night time, chest cold gone in ten days...whoopee!

Remember, 200 years ago the standard cure for hemophilia was leeching or bleeding, I'm sure my english granny could do better than that. I thought at least I would get the cure-all prescribed by the purser...two tablespoons full of black-draft (? again)... and if he said "I think we should have the Captain look at that", you wished your mom or granny was there.

Jeez!...Rodney (no titles or honorifics).

[happy daze john in oz]

Remember when I was young and mum made a cough remedy by hollowing out a swede and filling it with brown sugar.
My great grandad was a bit of a hebalist, I have his book of remedies published in mid 1880's, and I recall him telling me that the root of the dandelion was the key to most herbal remedies. He told me I should look for roots where ever I could. Took his advice but some of those roots got me into a lot of trouble. Maybe I misunderstood what kind of roots he was on about?

[alf corbyn]

i used to like rubbing vic on my chest. (she was a girl i knew) victoria.

[alf corbyn]

hi rodney. when i worked at enfield cables the girls used to do that to the new boys. stick their JT in a steam filled bottle, and you had to break it to release the vacuum. very dodgy.

[John Arton]

Wifes mother was a great believer in Belladonna Plasters for any aches and pains and bacon poultice for chest colds.
My mother was a great believer in syrup of figs or castor oil daily to ensure regular bowel movements (most important that so as to ensure you did not end up full of shite) and a terrible medicine called I think Flamazine or something similar which tasted awful but she insisted pouring down us at the first hint of a sniffle.
rgds
JA

[Captain Kong]

My Grandma, always gave me a spoon full of Brimstone and treacle in the 30s, I still dont know why, it was awful, I think she wanted to get rid of me.

[Captain Gordon Whittaker]

My old Granny's remedy for sore thoats was to have you gargle with hot water and vinegar, (50/50). It tasted vile but your throat was cured in the morning, honestly. A stye, or eyelid infection was treated by applying a mixture of wet tea leaves and soft bread, as a poultice. The tannic acid drew out the infected core overnight.

[Jim Brady]

Not medicinal but my dads (Irishman) preventive action for a future occurrence of an accident.My sister was changing a light bulb the electricity was still on so she recieved an electric shock and fell off the ladder.The remedy HE CHOPPED UP THE LADDER declaring that wont happen again!!!!A true story believe me.
Regards.
Jim.B.

PS.I also remember one of my sisters kids having I think Whooping Cough.There were donkey rides on the beach here at the time and my dads remedy was to take the child to the beach as pass him under the donkey three times