What home remedies do you remember from childhood?
Posted by ascaffo@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 686 comments
My DIL has an ear ache. I automatically and half jokingly suggested warm oil drops. My mom did that for me and I remember feeling a bit of relief. And, that got me reminiscing.
HornetParticular6625@reddit
I think I was eight years old and we were living in the upper peninsula of Michigan. I had a really bad upper respiratory infection.
My mother's aunt made a poultice or something... I seem to remember the words "mustard plaster".
I remember it stunk and burned my eyes a little.
But, I didn't die, so that's good.
Lyra_in_Space@reddit
I’ve remember these. My mom made them for my brother and I when we were really sick. It was a cooked flour paste on the stove and she mixed in powdered mustard. Put the paste between two soft cloths and put it on your chest. The heat was supposed to loosen up the mucus in your lungs. It stunk so much. This was in Tennessee
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
Someone else in this thread mentioned mustard plaster too. I've never heard of it.
LindaNoKings@reddit
Its a traditional old time cure.
HornetParticular6625@reddit
This was fifty years ago
rharper38@reddit
Coke Syrup Scrape an apple for diarrhea Rubbing you with Rubbing Alcohol to try to bring down a fever Bleach on poison ivy (it works, but I have never used it--I am immune to poison ivy) Vicks on your throat, sealed in with an old diaper Jello water for diarrhea Ginger ale
SadRepresentative919@reddit
Tiger balm for period cramps, noxema for sunburn, flat ginger ale for stomach bugs
zuuzuu@reddit
I swear Noxema is still the best thing for sunburns.
SadRepresentative919@reddit
I didn't even know you could still buy noxema!!
zuuzuu@reddit
They've messed with the formula a bit, but it's still available in Canada.
Ghee-Buttersnaps-@reddit
My mom sometimes used wet tea bags
Cazmonster@reddit
Not a home remedy, but the ‘yellow cough medicine’ was absolute torture. I had to look and it was probably Triaminic.
Happy_Cat_3600@reddit
The orange Triaminic was delicious and not bad to take. The I got the yellow Triaminic and it tasted like nasty chemicals and I hated every second of taking it.
CatPurrsonNo1@reddit
Yes! Triaminic was my mother’s go-to for colds! And the orange one tasted good, but the yellow one was vile.
I think those liquid meds were the reason why I learned how to swallow pills so young.
Cazmonster@reddit
Remember fighting my parents and screaming as they tried to get Triaminic in me. I was six, maybe seven, lived in a house with a two pack a day smoker and had to have a tonsillectomy before I could breathe reliably.
HBJones1056@reddit
Yellow Triaminic tastes like Galliano liqueur, or at least the two sure seemed similar coming back up when I overdrank the liqueur as a teenager.
MissPlum66@reddit
Absolute disgusting torture. As was Robitussin and Sudafed and my kids never tasted those horrors in their lives.
Vast-Government-8994@reddit
I remember having to take Dayquil, bright orange 🤢
OrganizationNo3457@reddit
Coca cola syrup
Pristine_Frame_2066@reddit
We always get citron honey because my husband is Chinese (Asian market has big jars of it. Scoop a tbsp of pulp and syrup out and you make tea with hot water.)
Sometimes when are both sick I splash some whiskey in and we have hot toddy Asian style.
He also likes tiger balm for congestion and leg cramps.
I am all about double antibiotic (not triple or neosporin ) and soaking swollen booboos hot in salty water. or gargling with warm salt water or neti pots. Salt pulls fluids out, reduces inflammation in specific areas. Great for stuff like sore throat/big tonsils and achey feet tired feed. Neti uses physics (valsalva pressure and water tension) to pull crap out of sinuses. I am also a fan of medical grade olive oil spray for ear canal, especially if itchy, but not peroxide. Drops of alcohol in the outer canal can help prevent swimmers ear, but once you have it, antibiotics and hot wet compresses and anti inflammatory nsaids.
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
I'll have to check out tiger balm. I used a netti pot for years until I got an awful infection from saline that got trapped in there. I haven't touched it since.
Feminine_Adventurer@reddit
Dmso
SheCantGoHome@reddit
Bag Balm and Watkin’s Salve
Commercial_Okra7519@reddit
Bread and milk poultice on bee stings. Mustard on your chest with a warm compress for fevers and cough.
Watermelon_Sugar44@reddit
Put baking soda/water paste on a bee sting. Gargle with warm salt water for a sore throat. Brandy on gums for teething. Epsom salt baths for sore muscles. Burn sage to cover the smell of pot smoke.
questionerfmnz@reddit
My mother had raw onion and brown sugar soaking in a Tupperware container in the fridge. She made my brother drink a spoonful of the juice everyday for his asthma. All that happened is that he hated onion in any shape!
Testy_Coyote_@reddit
For an ear ache it was a little melted butter on a cotton ball in the ear.
HavBoWilTrvl@reddit
Vick's vapo-rub for any chest congestion. God, that smell....
Also, my dad would give a tablespoon of brown sugar with Rock & Rye poured over it if he thought I sounded croupy.
cuzitsathrowawayday@reddit
Rock & Rye for the win! 😃
mr_alfaro@reddit
My mom used to roll a newspaper into a cone. Insert the small end into my ear canal and light the other end on fire. The crazy thing was it actually worked.
stuck_behind_a_truck@reddit
I want to know what weird science is behind this.
mr_alfaro@reddit
I remember it used to release pressure. I'll give you another one. One time she had a family member send liver oil from a boa constrictor. She poured it into a tablespoon, handed me a piece of lime, and told me swallow the oil and immediately bite into the lime. That'll guarantee that I'll never get asthma. I'm asthma free. Lmao.
Gloomy-Community-199@reddit
Not a home remedy but it was always in the closet - Coca-Cola syrup. I’m not sure what it was supposed to do but I loved it when I got it.
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
Coated the tummy nicely
Traditional-Panda-84@reddit
My grandmother believed that since Vicks rub worked so well from the outside, but the source of the illness is inside, putting it inside would work better. So we got to eat a spoonful of Vicks for a cough.
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
Ewww
Electronic_Shine9448@reddit
A friend of mine did that. Swallowed a scoop in front of me!!
stuck_behind_a_truck@reddit
Holy shit.
NaturalFinancial5478@reddit
Heat guarana (soda) for the ones with flu. An alcohol soaked nylon sock wrapped around neck for sore throat (really dangerous, i almost choked once)
MishtotheMitt@reddit
My mum used to make a poultice for boils etc. She made one for my sister with bread and milk. Sister was working in a department store and realized she stunk. Coworkers were asking what the smell was.
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
Funny
DamYankee77@reddit
My grandma made me sip Blackberry Brandy when I had cramps. In high school.
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
Same with my mom who probably learned it from her mom.
shhhdidyousmellthat@reddit
Honey and aspirin
kynwatch71@reddit
Wet cigarette tobacco on bee stings.
Strong black coffee mixed in baking soda for poison ivy/oak. Seemed to work for brother and sister. I'm not allergic so don't know.
Extra chores for anyone that said they were bored..... It worked great. I was only ever bored once!
jennynachos@reddit
Heat some salt and put it in a sock…use for earaches!
Left-Nothing-3519@reddit
Marmite on dry toast and rooibos tea with honey. For everything from sore throat to chicken pox to rubella and bad bad cramps. The other was a concoction for flu so horrid I will never utter the name.
EnjoyingTheRide-0606@reddit
Rice broth for a stomach ache.
GoldberryoTulgeyWood@reddit
Warm and salted. Works great.
It's the first alternate to water I use to test if the vomiting person can keep down solids like saltines.
Feisty-Lifeguard-550@reddit
Bicarbonate of soda for upset stomach and brushing teeth if we ran out of toothpaste Raljex
tcat1961@reddit
Toothpaste for a bee sting
GoldberryoTulgeyWood@reddit
Mud face mask for a bee sting. It pills the stinger out
stuck_behind_a_truck@reddit
Rubbing alcohol for a mosquito bite.
realityqueen68@reddit
Blowing cigarette smoke into my ear when it hurt
Gloomy-Community-199@reddit
My dad used to say he’d put cigar juice (just his spit really 🤮) on our injuries. Luckily he never did
teamdogemama@reddit
And then stuff a cotton ball with mineral oil on it.
It worked, but why? The warm breath?
SillyNluv@reddit
it’s the heat. A hot water bottle does wonders.
teamdogemama@reddit
Makes sense
mournful_soul@reddit
My grandma did this for me.
Dahrache@reddit
My mom would pour hydrogen peroxide in my ears when I had an earache. It works pretty good. I still have my husband pour some in when i get an earache. If it doesn’t make me feel better, that’s when I know I need the dr.
Electronic_Shine9448@reddit
Rubbing heated cooking oil on my belly for stomach aches.
Other_Television_805@reddit
Salt and Crisco for ingrown toe nails. Why oh why did I have so many ingrown toe nails. My kid has had zero.
stuck_behind_a_truck@reddit
We didn’t get new shoes until the teachers started saying something?
Difficult-Future-450@reddit
Wearing shoes that were too tight.
letmereadstuff@reddit
Honey, whiskey, and lemon juice and a cold / cough. Bit of a buzz, then off to bed
Ok-Till-5285@reddit
doc just told me to do that last month!! 1/3 of each! Not for kids, but no kidding he just told me that it is best for coughs.
Ghee-Buttersnaps-@reddit
I think the whiskey suppresses the cough and the honey soothes the throat
Sea_Ad_1219@reddit
My dad did those for us, he called them a hot toddy.
MishtotheMitt@reddit
Hot toddy family checking in.
Difficult-Future-450@reddit
Still sip a hot toddy at night when I have a cold
Smorsdoeuvres@reddit
I also lived in a toddy household for a time
Intrepid_Practice956@reddit
Three generstion hot toddy family!
WarriorGma@reddit
Irish Penicillin!
siberiansnowcat@reddit
Yup. My Dad would mix honey, lemon and whiskey with boiling water. I drank it before bed, slept deeply and woke up with no more cold.
Ok_Raspberry_5655@reddit
Coke syrup for upset tummy
ThickAsAPlankton@reddit
yes!
nomiesmommy@reddit
This got me through a couple hard morning sickness pregnancies.
Difficult-Future-450@reddit
I know, right? My daughter got zofran. I actually felt a twinge of jealously. I was hospitalized with hyperemesis while pregnant with her.
nomiesmommy@reddit
Uggh it was the same with my daughter, I definitely had that same jealousy. 😂
MrRetrdO@reddit
I still have the prescription bottle of Coke Syrup Mom got when I was a baby.
Academic-Travel-4661@reddit
Cotton ball soaked in scotch for toothache.
thoughtsanddesigns@reddit
Vicks on the bottom of your feet when you were congested. It weirdly still works.
RadiantCarpenter1498@reddit
My stepdad’s cure for everything was a sip of blackberry brandy
MishtotheMitt@reddit
As a British person, my mum used E45 for everything. If my arm fell off, she would have slathered it on.
ElSordo91@reddit
For the ear, you can use a few drops of hydrogen peroxide. Let it sit for a few minutes, then tilt your head and let it drain out. Gently flush out the ear after with a little water, but be careful. You don't want too much water or water pressure.
This is what my parents did with me when I was little, since I had lots of wax.
If you have a infection or a problem with the eardrum, skip the home remedies and see a doctor.
upsidedown-funnel@reddit
I do this when I get water in my ear, and ensuing vertigo (Which is anytime I shower, if I’m not careful).
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Do you shower with earplugs in?
upsidedown-funnel@reddit
Just plug my ear on each side to wash. Otherwise it’s ok.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Ok, good to know! Bodies are so strange. Why would your body protect you from water in your ear (by giving you vertigo) but most bodies have no issue with it. Crazy!
ElSordo91@reddit
Too much water can cause problems. Not the first time I've heard of someone getting vertigo that way (and vertigo is not fun, as compared to "Vertigo".). Too much water pressure can damage hearing, thus my caution.
upsidedown-funnel@reddit
Fortunately my hearing is perfect, just had to keep the water out!
ElSordo91@reddit
Good to know! Yeah, prevent vertigo and infections...
upsidedown-funnel@reddit
No infections since that first go, luckily!
upsidedown-funnel@reddit
I think it’s due to a bad case of swimmers ear when I was younger. I can dive deep in pools anymore without my ears hurting a little either. (Wearing earplugs).
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Got it. OWWWWWWWW!!!! My cousin has a perforated eardrum and has similar reactions to what you described. I’m sorry!!
upsidedown-funnel@reddit
Oh no! That would be miserable! Perforated eardrum sounds really painful!
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Flying was a nightmare for her.
vivietin@reddit
Warm salt in a pan , put in paper bag, put in a sock and press against the ear.
Ghee-Buttersnaps-@reddit
Olive oil simmered with a clove of garlic, then strained and cooked, for ear aches
cheweduptoothpick@reddit
Teaspoon of vinegar for hiccups. It works and I still use it.
BunnySlayer64@reddit
My great grandfather was a doctor, and he always told his patients that the best remedy for a cold was 3 fingers of brandy, repeat as necessary
Perfectly_i@reddit
A raw clove of garlic placed gently in the ear for earache relief. I never thought it would really work, until my 5-year-old woke up in the middle of the night and I gave it a try. (No baby aspirin, NSAIDS in the damn house.) She was pain-free and asleep in about 5 minutes. I took her to the doctor the next day and told him what I used. He said that garlic has a property that helps with inflammation. Please note that the clove was not placed IN the ear but was rather laid next to the opening of the offending ear.
Pinkbeans1@reddit
A spoonful of hydrogen peroxide cured my ear infections when I was younger. I had seen a friend’s mom do that when I was like 4 or 5 & remembered when it got so bad I couldn’t hear.
Cleared it up.
Fee_is_Required2@reddit
Face down over boiling water with a towel over my head to trap the moisture. Clear the sinuses when we were kids and as teens we did it for clearer skin lol
zuuzuu@reddit
Still do this for sinus headaches.
-SQB-@reddit
Yup. With a dollop of Vicks Vaporub or Tiger Balm dissolving bin the hot water.
SittingHereWithMyCat@reddit
If you have a wart, cut a potato in half and rub the cut side on the wart, then throw the potato into the garden.
Also, a spoonful of sugar for hiccups.
Ok_Possession4936@reddit
Paregoric
The most vile liquid ever.
Inner-Confidence99@reddit
Nope that was Mothaliaide.
EducatorAdditional89@reddit
My mama made and still does make a pine pitch to draw our infection and soreness.
Difficult-Future-450@reddit
Bacon fat for a splinter. Baking soda and water for a bee sting.
Creative_Chemistry33@reddit
A baking soda and water paste for bee and wasp stings works. High pH of the paste neutralizes the low pH of the venom and takes away the pain virtually instantly.
AccomplishedOnion405@reddit
‘Tussin.
HBJones1056@reddit
Some older teacher at my daughter’s school told us hydrogen peroxide would work on swimmer’s ear and that tip saved us 410 trips to our pediatrician.
nottodayautoimmune@reddit
It works better than Debrox to remove hard ear wax from an eardrum, too.
Intrepid_Practice956@reddit
I still do that. My teacher in elementary school did it and my parents were skeptical and took me to an ent to make sure it was OK. He said yes, but acted like he'd never heard of it before.
Fee_is_Required2@reddit
I cleaned all my kids ears weekly with that. Had an actual pebble boil out of one of my son’s ears.
Out_of_Darkness_mc@reddit
Vick’s with socks on the feet and sometimes neck (eeew)!! Hot liquid Jello, a cold washcloth, and a baby aspirin! They about killed us not taking us to the doctor!
For cuts and stings, it was always peroxide!
Now, I use Vick’s for EVERYTHING! Cut? Vick’s! Got a burn? Vick’s! Got a headache? That’s right, Vick’s!
In fact, I rub it on my face every night! Started doing it for sinus issues but I swear, it helps with wrinkles, too! At 55 going on 56, I just have laugh lines which so does my 30 year old!🤗
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
I remember reading in some aromatherapy book in the 1990’s that peppermint oil on the soles of one’s feet then covered with socks to keep it in place is a remedy (to what degree I’m not sure) for LUNG issues—such as minor coughing and even bronchitis. I don’t know how this could work, but it’s the same idea as Vicks and socks. What was your Vicks/socks remedy meant to help/cure? Lung stuff?
Out_of_Darkness_mc@reddit
Yes!! For chest congestion! Eucalyptus is supposed to help and sickness comes out through the feet or something like that!!
Early_Lobster_7286@reddit
I took my parent's use of Vick's when I was sick with a cold and doubled it as an adult, using it for most issues. Sore throat, sinuses, backache, neck pain, headache, coughs, rib pain, tummy pain -- Vick's.
Out_of_Darkness_mc@reddit
I’m not alone!!🤣People laugh at me and then they try it and can’t believe it works!!
AnUnexpectedUnicorn@reddit
My great-grandmother used petroleum jelly on her face and hands - except for a few laugh lines, her skin was as smooth as a baby's when she died in her 90s.
Out_of_Darkness_mc@reddit
Oh yes!! So did my aunt! She died at 87, but her skin was beautiful!!
happy_traveller2700@reddit
Mom would put fingernail polish on “chigger bites.” To this day, I don’t know what a chigger is and why did fingernail polish help?
Fee_is_Required2@reddit
Little insects that burrow into the skin. The polish suffocates them and stops the itching.
Intrepid_Practice956@reddit
Chiggers are like ticks but much smaller. I think theyre related. The ones that I was around when I was growing up were red and about a millimeter or less in size when not puffed up from blood.
misting2@reddit
A diluted bleach bath. No idea if it worked or not.
Ok-Recognition1752@reddit
If they're still attached to your skin, it will smother them and help with the itching. If the chiggers have already fallen off though its less effective. Their mouth piece breaks off in your skin and causes the rash
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
We did that with ticks when we weren't burning them.
Itchyboobers@reddit
Vernors hot or cold
Ok_Possession4936@reddit
Paregoric. This was my mother's go-to for almost every complaint.
This liquid was so vile, that I miraculously recovered immediately upon seeing the bottle come out of the fridge. Even double pneumonia wasn't enough to convince me that I needed it.
OkManner7521@reddit
My Michigan friend!
BamaKitty1@reddit
Clear nail polish to smother chiggers. Stops the itching, and you scratching. .
Intrepid_Practice956@reddit
Yes, we did that and if we were going on a hike or something we'd sprinkled powdered Sulphur in cracks and crevices where chiggers preferred...like the elastic on your underwear. Usually seemed to help but I have no idea how safe it was.
Waystation_Mama@reddit
The most useful trick my mom ever taught me for menstrual cramps was to lie on my back knees up feet on the ground. Worked every time to lessen the pain.
Difficult-Future-450@reddit
Mine told me to put my legs up on the wall. It did help with the lower back pain.
MrRetrdO@reddit
My Ex used Catnip tea when her cramps were bad. I always had the heating pad ready for her too.
Cold_in_Lifes_Throes@reddit
Damp tobacco on a wasp sting. Putting a tiny square damp brown paper bag under your top lip to stop a nose bleed. I had so many as a kid. Drop of sweet almond oil for earaches. And a tiny squeeze of lemon juice with a pinch of salt in your palm that you would lick for stomach upset.
sits_with_cats@reddit
Warm ginger ale for stomach bugs. I hated it & refused to drink it. So Mom took it away, added green food coloring & came back with Martian Ale. Still tasted like crap, but I drank it.
Man, I miss her!
Intrepid_Practice956@reddit
We used to have room temp, somewhat flat ginger ale when we had tummy bugs. Also saltines.
Intrepid_Practice956@reddit
One of my old teachers would make a paste of spit and tobacco and put it on a bee sting. I only remember him doing it once, and he had to bum a cig off some other guy in the park because he didnt smoke. This was in yhe mid-70s.
Disastrogirl@reddit
Gentian violet for cuts and scrapes. I liked it because it was purple.
Cold_in_Lifes_Throes@reddit
And it didn’t burn like the other options!
Any_Flamingo8978@reddit
Black salve to draw out splinters. Bluing in bee stings. A lemon honey concoction for sore throats. Oatmeal bath for hives.
PunkZillah@reddit
We used a piece of uncooked bacon fat for splinters. I have no idea why it works but it does.
Hungry-Violinist-729@reddit
My mom would put bacon fat on my splinters. It never worked because I couldn't stand the smell and would take it off too quickly. Makes me gag thinking about it.
bippityboppitybooboo@reddit
baking soda (paste) on a bee sting
good_sandlapper@reddit
We always used tobacco on a bee sting.
bippityboppitybooboo@reddit
I'd never heard of doing that, quite interesting!
Onceuponafeverdream@reddit
Using meat tenderizer on a bee sting
heidiatwood@reddit
We had a "doctor book" of remedies that my mom pulled out but core memories unlocked cause so many! Sitting on the floor in the bathroom with the shower running hot so the steam would help with coughs, mentholatum rubbed on your chest, baking soda mixed into water for sour stomachs. So many!
heidiatwood@reddit
Found it!
ManyBonus865@reddit
Was it the big red book?
heidiatwood@reddit
I think we had two? I think one was blue and green? God, I would give anything to have those now.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Do you remember if it was a published book or a family heirloom?
ApplesBananasRhinoc@reddit
We had that book, it was just a published paper back book.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Interesting! I would love to know the name, although I bet that no one will remember it—I bet every household even mine had one so no one knows the actual title. I feel like I heard someone’s mum say, “I’ll get the book” or “Go get the blue book” kind of thing….maybe someone does know the title??
midlifecravings@reddit
Mecurichrome for all your cuts and boo boos!
Joker7099@reddit
Monkey blood
jumpyjumperoo@reddit
I kept my grandfather's old bottle when he passed and I still have it. I'll never use it but I like having it around as a memory.
Significant-Way-7893@reddit
Price is Right TV show, Vernor's ginger ale and chicken soup.
heidiatwood@reddit
Perry Mason at noon and then hopefully a good movie at 1:00. And a bowl to throw up into in case you couldn't get to the bathroom, lol.
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
Oh yes, and Phil Donahue, action new, and then the soaps.
nomedent@reddit
Dinah Shore too.
NaturalForty@reddit
I watched PBS or old movies. I was born to be a nerd.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Same. Even when mum went to work I didn’t watch anything else. I found The Ghost and Mrs Muir and Sleuth staying home with strep throat as a kid.
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir- what a lovely little movie.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Luciaaaaa!!
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
I watched Wendy my mother had on the TV. One game show and the rest was news, talk shows and soaps. But, it was nice because my mom was always there when I was sick. Me on the sofa and her in the recliner.
lifeisfascinatingly_@reddit
Add saltine crackers and that was my sick day lol
tinyoop@reddit
Chicken soup and ginger ale.
Professional-Bed1847@reddit
My old Sicilian grandmother would warm up a shot of blackberry brandy and give it to you if you had a cold, no matter your age. I don’t know if it worked or not but after awhile it didn’t matter😂😂😂
Davmilasav@reddit
My old Sicilian grandfather would make us drink anisette mixed with water. To this day I can't smell black licorice without thinking of him.
winkleftcenter@reddit
ichthammol ointment
WithoutDennisNedry@reddit
The only home remedy we really had was baking soda paste on bee/wasp stings. I still do it, not because it works (I have no idea the validity of baking soda and water “pulling out the venom”), but because I still find it soothing. It’s probably psychosomatic but I’m okay with that.
upsidedown-funnel@reddit
Just looked it up really quick as I wondered the same “Its alkalinity helps neutralize the skin's pH, which can soothe the inflammatory response to insect saliva.” So there is something to it.
WithoutDennisNedry@reddit
Huh!
pdxtee@reddit
As kids, we were out hiking off trail, & all got stung. The adults made a paste with dirt & water. It was soothing too.
AnUnexpectedUnicorn@reddit
That was in a Little House on the Prairie book
IONaut@reddit
I do think I vaguely remember this one. I could see it working if there was some sort of acid component to neutralize but I don't know if that's legitimate.
capt-wow@reddit
Three letters. The ultimate cure-all for every scrape, cut, and sore throat.
T.C.P.
I’m pretty sure that dabbing TCP on a wound is outlawed by the Geneva convention.
BrushOk7878@reddit
What is T.C.P?
Creepy_Radio_3084@reddit
A liquid antiseptic very common in the UK. Bright yellow and with a very distinctive smell (because it contains phenol and halogenated phenols. Used diluted for cuts and grazes and sore throats, undiluted for spots/pimples and mouth ulcers.
RaccoonHaunting9638@reddit
Ipecac syrup !! My grandmother always put a few drops in a teaspoon of water if you had a chest cold!!
No-Face713@reddit
Why induce vomiting for a chest cold?
jumpyjumperoo@reddit
It gets you to push out all the mucus from your lungs and can clear your sinuses. Maybe not all, but a lot.
RaccoonHaunting9638@reddit
She just put in a few drops, not to make you puke, diluted in tsp of water. It worked. I think people from different countries had old school ways they brought with them
FadingOptimist-25@reddit
I was wondering that too
IrishMo8@reddit
Castoria, for constipation, I think.
No-Conference1424@reddit
I had a hot water bottle for my frequent earaches (asthma baby). We didn’t even have a heating pad but that felt so good in our old cold house. Also running a hot shower for croup which I also used for my babies & they use for theirs.
ChiJazzHands@reddit
Angostura Bitters and water for a cold/sore throat
MrRetrdO@reddit
Camphor, Lard & Iodine!!!
You melt it all together in a can on the stove. Smear it on your chest just like Vick's Vape-O-Rub.
Also, Rubbing Whiskey on a teething baby's gums if they're in pain.
IONaut@reddit
No milk or dairy when you had a cold because it causes you to produce more mucus. This one is not true.
Flat Coke when you had a stomach bug because I don't know why.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Is it not true? Interesting!!
Indaliai@reddit
Coca cola syrup always worked for us. And it actually tasted good. Not too many medications that taste good.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
I still wonder about the milk NOT causing more mucus—
YukonSunset@reddit
When I was a child and feeling nausea, my mom told me to lie down on my left side.
It worked. I remember it was soothing for me that my mom had all the answers, so I always thought this was a mind-over-matter type of placebo effect.
After many years and thanks to the internet, I learned that lying on your left side really does help for an upset stomach. (Googleable.) So she wasn't wrong. But how she knew that I don't know. She didn't work in the health industry, and there was no internet to refer to in the 70s.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
I like to think that her soothing greatgrandma taught her grandma as a child and her soothing grandma taught her mum as a child. Maybe even before that! How delightful to imagine.
YukonSunset@reddit
You're probably right. People always seemed to know things before the scientists in university labs knew things and made it official.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Yepper.
desertkayaker@reddit
My fondest DIY mom doctor prank was the good ole tie a string to a loose tooth and the other end to a door knob, count to three, and slam the door. Oh, and burning the head of a tick stuck in my leg with a matchstick to kill it.
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
Yes. The tick. I refused the tooth thing though. My brother had no problem with it. I was a big baby.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
If you could take the burning of a tick on your skin, you are far from a “big baby.” The door slam business could cause damage that wiggling the tooth by hand never would. I think you were being SMART and not a follower!
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
I approve of your perspective.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
👏👏👏👏
zeitgeistincognito@reddit
I had that matchstick tick removal done too as a kid
Le_Mew_Le_Purr@reddit
Cloves of garlic in the ear stops sore throats. The sore throat where you can feel it in your Eustachian tubes. Take a clove, cut it in half so it’s big enough to not fall into the ear canal and get stuck. A safer way is to crush the garlic and smear the inside of your ear with its juice.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Does this actually work? Which gave you found is more effective: not-too-small clove or garlic juice in the canal?
Le_Mew_Le_Purr@reddit
The not too small clove. It works great. But…one time the piece was too small and got stuck in my ear canal. I went to urgent care to have it removed and when the doctor came is i said, “what’s that doc? I can’t hear you because I have an Italian restaurant in my ear.”
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Hahahahahahahahahah!!!!
CoffeeLover127@reddit
My grandma used Jamison for everything! Toothache? Rub Jamison on it. Period cramps? Shot of Jamison.
Additional_features@reddit
I like your grandma!
CoffeeLover127@reddit
She was the best! I’ve also been sober almost 14 years now.
pmg_can@reddit
Dettol (diluted) on any scrape or small cut. I was a clumsy kid so I got very familiar with the smell. It seemed kind of funny that it would be used on my knee and then used full strength to clean the bathroom.
Trismesjistus@reddit
My dad's mom's mom would pour moonshine over rock candy in a Mason jar and use it as cough syrup. I don't remember it helping with a but it did make you glad you had it. It may be noteworthy that her husband did hard time during the Depression for making 'shine
Possible-Practice351@reddit
Urine takes the pain out of jellyfish stings.
EngineeringTom@reddit
This is true. A few years ago on a beach trip a friend of mine, who likes to swim in the ocean at night for some reason, got a jellyfish wrapped up on his lower leg his lower leg.
It was night. We were on the other side of a case of Coors light. Nobody was out there but us and our wives, so he had me piss on his leg. It actually worked. I tell ya, the things we do for our friends…..,🤣
Chigrl13@reddit
I got stung by a jellyfish and that is actually an urban legend. You have to take meat tenderizer and water, make a paste and slather it on the sting. Hilton Head Island, SC August 15, 1985.
EngineeringTom@reddit
Worked on him. 🤷🏻♂️
Chigrl13@reddit
Ok
Possible-Practice351@reddit
😆I know! I had my son do the same things when his sister got stung. This was years ago and they still joke about it.
jkrm66502@reddit
Brown paper grocery bags soaked in plain vinegar and cut to size then placed over sunburn skin. Supposed to take the burn away. This was waaay before sunscreen.
Cold-Pizza111@reddit
Spoonful of sugar for hiccups. The key was that you let the sugar dissolve in your mouth then swallow the sweet saliva mixture very slowly. Still works though I don’t get hiccups very often- bummer. 😄
BunkyIV@reddit
This actually works for me and the kids
Wonderful_Adagio9346@reddit
Placing a candy on an owwie. You could have the candy when the hurt went away
God_Bless_A_Merkin@reddit
Sheer genius!
Wonderful_Adagio9346@reddit
The other brilliance was when toddlers wouldn't go to sleep.
"Oh, if you'll close your eyes and be still, you'll see the Feather Ball!"
Worked every time!
Capsicumgirl@reddit
This is fantastic
GothKittyLady@reddit
Hot Dr Pepper with lemon for a sore throat - I had tonsillitis all the time growing up because Dad wouldn’t let them take my tonsils out. I still use it when I have a sore throat, just with Diet Dr Pepper now.
IM_The_Liquor@reddit
Whiskey and lemon juice, served hot…
kimmy-mac@reddit
Whiskey, honey and lemon juice for a cough or sore throat. I had strep a lot.
Secret_Fun_1612@reddit
Yes! A Hot Toddy! ❤️
Dependent_Top_4425@reddit
My best friend's mom would blow cigarette smoke in my ear for an ear ache. I don't remember that working.
My Dad's girlfriend would give some sort of cola syrup for stomach aches. I don't remember if that worked either.
My Aunt put meat tenderizer on a bee sting of mine. I somehow remember an actual piece of meat being involved but that may be an example of how unreliable human memory is.
thecrowsallhateyou@reddit
Put Vicks on a cotton ball and stick it in her ear.
This must be going around, I blew out a wad of crap earlier today. Like a piece of Tetsuo. Still feeling crap and feverish.
HoraceBenbow@reddit
Hot Todies for sore throats. Like my Mom saw I was sick and decided I needed bourbon and sugar.
ExpertBest3045@reddit
My mom used to mince up raw fresh garlic, squeeze a lemon, and mix up all that with a teaspoon of raw honey and make me drink it. So then I was sick AND reeked of garlic! Also, once she sprained her ankle and wrapped it in raw bacon (she was a vegetarian, too). She was a character!
walker42@reddit
A spoonful of Cod Liver Oil every day before I went to school, starting at the age of 5 until I was 10
omfgwhatever@reddit
A friend suggested I give this to my kids, so I tried it. They got this weird look on their face, so I tried it. I threw it in the trash and told them I'm sorry. Lol
BBorNot@reddit
Are you Tom Sawyer?
LumpyShoe8267@reddit
Vinegar and honey on a spoon for a cough.
Always cherry jello and butter toast for an upset stomach.
Easy_does_it78@reddit
Vics rub and Mint Tea with honey & lemon
qetral@reddit
toothpaste for mosquito bites
peroxide mixed with water for swimmer's ear (seemed counter intuitive to me, but mom swore it worked. It didn't)
gargle with hard liquor for sore throat (this actually worked for me when I had drug resistant strep - vodka was my go to, but I never swallowed it because I hate alcohol)
Additional_features@reddit
My daughter’s pediatrician told me to use 1/2 peroxide 1/2 rubbing alcohol. The alcohol to help evaporate the water, the peroxide to kill anything growing in your ear. Works like a charm.
LumpyShoe8267@reddit
When I kid in the early 90s at camp, the counselors would squirt this out of a baby bottle into our ears after swimming in the lake. I just now realized there was no disinfectant in between kids. It was also warm too from sitting in the sun. Never got swimmer’s ear though.
Honest-Layer9318@reddit
Maybe she was worried straight peroxide was too harsh. I used to love the way peroxide bubbled but it never made my ears feel better.
I was a swimmer and my coach swore by white vinegar and alcohol for prevention. I was told the alcohol dries up any water and the vinegar changes the PH.
crazygalah@reddit
Prune Juice! The smell all these later would probably cause dry heaves.
AZhoneybun@reddit
The burning newspaper ear candle
Hippiechic0811@reddit
My grandparents would blow cigarette smoke in my ear.
LogicalCustard7000@reddit
Coke syrup for stomach aches. Tasted great, so I may have taken a swig at other times.
LumpyShoe8267@reddit
Imetrol syrup is like that now.
TooOldForACleverName@reddit
My mom had a bottle of Coke syrup. She'd pour some over crushed ice and give it to us for nausea. Heaven.
No_Buy7475@reddit
My mother used Save the Baby!
Luv2Dnc@reddit
Towel soaked in vinegar for a fever.
Vinegar on mosquito bites (note: does absolutely nothing)
I hate the smell of vinegar now.
Extra-Blueberry-4320@reddit
We used vinegar for sunburn. It does help with that, but you have to put the vinegar on the burn immediately. And you smell like pickles for a while, haha.
RelativeEye8076@reddit
I was looking for someone else who grew up doing this
EuphoricReplacement1@reddit
We used Noxema .
Luv2Dnc@reddit
How does putting acid on a burn help? My first thought would be that it makes it hurt more.
MariaK716@reddit
Mercurochrome on every cut. Never mind how dangerous it is and it's now banned.
Loose-Bookkeeper-939@reddit
They still sell Mercurochrome, but it's not the same formula. It's now a completely different product, a known effective antiseptic. Apparently the old school stuff wasn't actually all that effective. Oops.
murdermeMickey@reddit
It's banned? Why?
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
Mercury
murdermeMickey@reddit
Oh. Makes sense
Fee_is_Required2@reddit
Oh god yeah that shit was the devil.
Additional_features@reddit
Fletchers castoria for constipation. Also, warm prune juice. That one really works.
denvergardener@reddit
When we got sick, my mom loaded us up on Sprite and Gatorade.
EuphoricReplacement1@reddit
With mine, it was Jello for tummy bugs. Both chilled and as warm liquid. I guess she figured she was getting our fluid intake up!
geolaw@reddit
I remember at the hint of a cold my mom lathering us up with Vicks vapor rub 🤣 I still use it when I'm sick but my wife refuses to come near me
judithsparky@reddit
Hate Vick's. But it does work.
foodweneedfood@reddit
Coca-cola syrup for an upset stomach.
Tealme1688@reddit
For the worst colds with a hacking cough, my mother would give me 2 tsp of terrpin hydrate—an orange flavored syrup laced with codeine. Knocked me right out. Not sure if you can get it anymore.
LindaNoKings@reddit
This is what the Army gave my Dad in the 60s. They said it worked great.
geolaw@reddit
Also I remember a concoction my mother used to make for colds ... Honey, butter, and some kind of booze ... I'm sure most parents today would freak
perfecthand29@reddit
Yes !! I also was given a “Hot Toddy” back in the day
ahshucks54@reddit
My friend makes it with whiskey 🥃 yummy! Keeps you warm in the Midwest winters too.
Loose-Bookkeeper-939@reddit
Ah yes, warmed "sweet oil" (olive oil) with a cotton ball to keep it in. I remember it feeling good. Sugar water for persistent diarrhea, wine rubbed on a baby's gums when they were teething. Good old mercurochrome (back when it still contained a bit of mercury) on all those scraped knees. Times were different.
Leucotheasveils@reddit
My mom had us make a paste with baking soda and water and put it on mosquito bites.
edcod1@reddit
Did it help? Mosquito season in right around the corner!
Relative_Fishing3351@reddit
Yes, which makes sense since I think the stuff in Accent breaks down meat.
Relative_Fishing3351@reddit
We did meat tenderizer and spit: Lick the finger and rub the bite, then shake on meat tenderizer, like Accent brand. You could rub it in, if you wanted, but not necessary.
someguymark@reddit
Accent brand, with the white top and red bottom container was the only MSG wasn’t it?
Loved licking my finger then pouring some on. I think I probably ate more than got on the meat.😄
Solarfri-@reddit
Jello water or paregoric… never knew what you might get for an upset stomach. 😳
Thedustyfurcollector@reddit
Remember both of them well. And I still have a bottle of paregoric in my cabinet. Throw up once, the time you take it, and then never again
Solarfri-@reddit
Amen to that!
Rude_Parsnip306@reddit
My MIL would give my kids Jello water
Slightlysanemomof5@reddit
I still equate jello with an upset stomach, and I grew up in 60-70’s when jello salad was a big deal.
Impressive-Yak-7449@reddit
Hot toddy!
Helpful-Macaroon-654@reddit
Vernor’s ginger ale is a cure-all in Metro Detroit
MzBehsving01@reddit
LMAO my grandma swore by Vernor's for everything, I'm in Toledo
mjh8212@reddit
My grandma was from Michigan and she would sometimes find vernors in the store in MN and I had it when I was sick. I’m closer to MI now and it’s in the stores and I buy it when I’m sick.
kdrachael1@reddit
A finger of SoCo and crushed up baby aspirin mixed in a spoonful of strawberry jelly. Which I still cannot eat to this day.
Just-Temporary2657@reddit
Probably only Canadian Gen Xers know this one, but Buckleys cough syrup. Your body would get better just from the threat of a second dose
someguymark@reddit
So very true! Tasted god-awful, but it seemed to work. Is it still around, do you know?
Oh, and Zam Buc medicated ointment, in the little metal tin. Which I may still have one with the dregs in it, under the bathroom sink. Haven’t seen that one either, in forever.
Just-Temporary2657@reddit
They did about 10 years ago, but I havent looked since! I hope they do. As awful as it was, it is kind of nostalgic for me.
NewRecommendation287@reddit
Oatmeal bath for poison ivy, chicken pox, or any other skin related issue.
Just the thought makes me queasy. Yuck!
gregrph@reddit
That's basically what Aveeno Bath is. A long standing treatment for poison ivy
Indaliai@reddit
Colloidal oatmeal
FabricArsonist@reddit
My parents were not home remedy types. I think dad grew up with them, and mom was an RN.
Alcohol fixed every boo boo. One time, my brother fell down a cliff and skinned his balls and asshole nd it got infected. They were going to take him to the ER, he threw a fit, and dad said then put alcohol on it. He did. Screamed like a horror girl, fainted, and dad couldn't force him to te ER for doing it. The infection went away, and I crack up 45 years later every time I tell this.
Alla seltzer plus for colds, allergies, sinus, headaches etc.
Neosporin for cuts and scrapes, camphophenique for bug bites.
I was strangled as a kid and the whole remedy I got for the first week (my neck was black for 8 months, I couldn't talk, couldn't eat, and barely got liquid) was dad's Tylenol 3. Dad also got sulfur pills at that time for a broken back, and I ate them like candy because I was chewing match heads.
Also, all of this relies on my parents seeing me for the most part. I generally only saw mom 1 to 2 hours a day and dad 2 to 3.
God_Bless_A_Merkin@reddit
How the fuck were you strangled?! You’re just gonna drop that in casually with no explanation?
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
This!
SaintsSmileShyly@reddit
Yellow onion sliced thin, layered with raw honey and thinly sliced cloves of garlic and a sprinkle of salt---you put that in a dish in the fridge, and use the syrup, juices that come out after a couple of days for cough/sore throat.
Two raw garlic cloves minced fine and mixed into softened butter on a Ritz, 3x a day as a natural antibiotic.
Hot Barry's tea with a couple pieces crystallized ginger soaked in for menstrual cramps or back ache (add a heating pad to that).
Brioschi for acida (acid stomach/heartburn).
Alka Seltzer for "sick headaches"
ReverieJack@reddit
A bottle of pure Coca Cola syrup that was purchased from the pharmacy in a medicine-looking bottle and given for tummyaches
Indaliai@reddit
Brown bottle, right?
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
I do not remember this. But, we did use coca cola from the store.
modest_irish_goddess@reddit
We always had a bottle of Coke syrup in our medicine cabinet. I was an upset tummy kind of kid.
XXOO1960@reddit
My sister lived on Pepto Bismol. I can’t stand it.
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
I had a friend that would guzzle it down.
Puzzleheaded_Pear330@reddit
They used to play a game with my brother and me to take that nasty stuff: one was syrup and the other one was actual soda. Spoiler: they were both syrup.
Chatty_Kathy_270@reddit
Coke syrup for stomach virus
jtalbain@reddit
I was given a 7-Up that had gone flat. It had ginger for your stomach and some electrolytes.
Fee_is_Required2@reddit
That worked a treat. I always had a flu when I was growing up. Found out decades later I have Crohns, lol.
RedditSkippy@reddit
I started using Vick’s again when I have a cold. I run some on my nose. Not only does it (seem) to clear out the congestion, it also keeps the skin on my nose from getting chapped from all the tissues.
pinknewf@reddit
Flat Coke for stomach issues.
Hot lemonade for colds (aka hot water with a squirt of “lemon” from those plastic lemons 🤢.
Toothpaste on bee stings.
GinX-@reddit
Remember when you could buy coca-cola syrup from the pharmacy?
Indaliai@reddit
Yes!!!!
pinknewf@reddit
As of 10 or so years ago you could still order cola syrup at the pharmacy.
Starkville@reddit
You still can!
WeirdRip2834@reddit
Where, please?
stilleastofeden@reddit
I remember it vividly. Coca Cola syrup over crushed ice. Best nausea relief!
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
The plastic lemons!!! So cool and modern looking and SO DISGUSTINGLY sulfurous tasting. I always thought it was a “me problem” until I go to college and discovered….real lemon slices. WHAT the HELL.
Apart-Cream-4940@reddit
Mud on a bee sting
KaterinaKiaha@reddit
In my household chewed up tobacco is what you put on a bee sting.
SpookyBeck@reddit
And on jelly fish stings.
TPBlvr420@reddit
Ours was a piece of cigarette moistened with water
kelimac@reddit
Vicks Vaporub put on the soles of your feet, then wear socks to bed.
Vicks Vaporub under your nose.
Hot mint tea and honey.
Use your fingernail to press an X into the top of a mosquito bite to stop the itch.
Baking soda paste on bee stings.
Vinegar on sunburn.
Press into the spot between the base of your thumb and your pointer finger to stop a headache.
Indaliai@reddit
The thumb acupressure never worked for me.
Happy_Cat_3600@reddit
Still do the first 3 and I swear by them.
MrsHorrible@reddit
I actually did "Vicks socky feet" for my kiddo on multiple occasions when they were a baby and I don't know if it did anything but they always seemed to like it at least.
NaturalForty@reddit
This is a Michigan thing, but Vernor's ginger ale. It's more gingery than regular ginger ale. It really does help with stomach upset but people drink it whenever they feel sick.
It's still a thing: when COVID hit, Vernor's was the first item to disappear from store shelves.
Indaliai@reddit
We used to get coca cola syrup at the drug store. Early 70's. It actually take care of nausea.
pdxtee@reddit
Ginger ale is a must in most Black American households. We don’t have Vernor’s on the west coast but do select a specific brand.
Appropriate_Answer_2@reddit
You just made me realize they stopped distributing out here! I'm in and from California but my old supervisor was from Michigan and was so excited when he found Vernors at Bevmo, he brought in a bunch for our team to try. I love ginger ale so I'd buy it when I ran across it in a store. Dang, now I'll have to get it shipped if I want it!
memeof1@reddit
It’s a Windsor thing too.
NaturalForty@reddit
You're born and raised in South Detroit? 🙌 🇨🇦
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Did you take any midnight train? Going anywhere?
Matookie@reddit
Lol my next door neighbors moved to TN from michigan 20 years ago. They were telling me the other day they only drink Vernors!
1043b@reddit
Wisconsin and Illinois jumping in to represent with the Vernors. We always keep a 12 pack in stock for sick tummies
AnUnexpectedUnicorn@reddit
I'm originally from the Midwest/Great Lakes (not Michigan though), can confirm Vernors ginger ale was the best for an upset tummy.
International-Ant174@reddit
Definitely this! Very Michigan, but a deep part of many childhoods.
MrsHorrible@reddit
My mom's home made cold remedy was to crush an aspirin between two big serving spoons, drizzle honey over the aspirin powder, then fill the spoon with whisky. I can remember taking it all in one gulp. It worked really well but I am surprised I don't have Rye Syndrome.
someguymark@reddit
Well, you may have Rye Syndrome, but on the plus side, you don’t have Reye’s Syndrome!😄
Indaliai@reddit
Bacon on slivers on my feet to draw them out. I remember it working fairly well and I loved how my feet smelled the next day, lol.
PunkZillah@reddit
Same! I still use this for slivers, not a fan of the smell tho. lol
Seven_bushes@reddit
My dad would tell us to put kerosene on cuts. He believed in the powers of kerosene like the dad in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding believed in Windex. It was a cure-all.
God_Bless_A_Merkin@reddit
Kerosene was the old Appalachian cure-all!
AllAboutTheQueso@reddit
If I had a cold, especially where I was congested, my father would take me outside for a long walk on the boardwalk, even better if it was freezing cold out, he said the fresh air would clear me out. A friend told me this is an Irish thing.
MostlyOrdinary@reddit
Vicks Vapor Rub (cold/flu). Vernors Ginger Ale (belly ache). Hot Toddy (sore throat). 1/2 Alcohol and 1/2 Vinegar Ear Drops (swimmers ear). Fress Air and Garlic and Vitamin C (ounce of prevention).
PunkZillah@reddit
Vernors for everything! The Stuff is magic.
Ramona_Lola@reddit
Spoonful of castor oil once or twice a year because…reasons.
MNConcerto@reddit
My dad used to blow cigar smoke into my ears when I had chronic ear aches
Long ago in the dark ages before tubes were used to help children with chronic ear infections.
CK_CoffeeCat@reddit
Mustard plasters. Cloth with a powdered mustard and water paste, put on the back or chest to heat and loosen congestion.
MissPlum66@reddit
I read about that in a book as a child and tried it with Guldens. Had no idea powdered mustard existed.
worstpartyever@reddit
My mom had a spice can of powdered mustard that was probably from the Johnson administration, lol
hesathomes@reddit
Lightbulb in a toilet paper tube for earaches
Ramona_Lola@reddit
What? How does that even work?
RevenueOriginal9777@reddit
Same, warm sweet oil, the best
babsmutton@reddit
One grandma: Vicks vapor rub for everything.
Second grandma: Mercurochrome for everything
Fee_is_Required2@reddit
Rubbing whiskey on teething baby’s gums. My gran did this. My hubs had a conniption when I suggested it. His family were teetotalers and mine were actually functioning alcoholics.
Slightlysanemomof5@reddit
I’m 68 my grandma born in 1904 told me to use whiskey for teething babies. You don’t give it to the babies the parents take a decent size drink so baby being fussy is easier to tolerate. This from a go to church 4 times a week Christian. Yeah it worked !
Abpoe77@reddit
Honey and apple cider vinegar
Open_Appointment1091@reddit
My grandmother gave you sprite for anything. Tummy ache? Sprite. Headache? Sprite. Broken arm? Sprite.
Seven_bushes@reddit
My mom used 7Up. To this day I can’t drink it unless I’m sick. I’m fine with Sprite.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
In Canada, it was ginger ale.
WarExciting@reddit
Ginger ale here too! Especially for sick days. Chicken broth, ginger ale and saltines!
GeorgiaGlamazon@reddit
Black salve for a risin’ (a boil), and if that didn’t work, you heat a jar over a flame and put the open end over it to draw it out.
Harley_Mom@reddit
Omg yes for slivers that wont come out and pimples thay wont pop.
APFIndy@reddit
Our house was all Bactine and Sayman’s Salve.
bronwynbloomington@reddit
My mother would put a good amount of salt in a clean sock. Then heat it. Hold the salt sock on your ear. Do not reuse the salt, lol, unless for more salt sock. Very soothing.
HezFez238@reddit
Mercurochrome count? 🥵
DeviceElegant4959@reddit
Let’s see, whoever I had a flu, mom would call the doctor’s office, they would order this horrendous cough syrup, tell her to give me a few baby aspirins and cough syrup, that stuff was toxic and would knock me out for like 6 hours, I’d wake up, have some soup, repeat for 2 more days and by then my body had healed the flu and my mom had a few days of peace while I was in cough syrup comma. To this day I hate the taste of anything raspberry.
Chibi-Skyler@reddit
Oatmeal in warm water for itchy rash.
"Baby aspirin" for fever. Mom was giving me that even after they were saying don't give to those under 18 because of Reye's Syndrome. Her response: Pfffft, you kids survived all these years!!!
Lmcaysh2023@reddit
Wet a mosquito bite and sprinkle salt on it. Stops itching.
Vicks Formula 44 for a cough (tasted awful). Vapo rub in the blue glass jar for chest issues.
Whiskey on the gums for a toothache.
Junior-Reflection-43@reddit
When we had an earache, my Mom would put cologne on a cotton ball and tell us to put it in our ear. Something about the alcohol in the cologne would help? But at least we smelled good (not like Vicks VapoRub).
eatencrow@reddit
Hair dryer on "low" to soothe an earache. Gently blow warm slightly noisy air on the neck /back of the head all around the ear. Warm water bottle /cool pillow - the alternating temps feel amazing.
Icy_Helicopter_9624@reddit
Put Vicks on the soles of your feet and then put socks on before you go to sleep. Supposed to help when you have a cold or congestion. 🤷🏻♀️
Dr_Drax@reddit
Creme de menthe for a sore throat. But only at bedtime. Like so many home remedies, it depended on the proven ability of alcohol to knock out even the sickest of kids.
SWNMAZporvida@reddit
I was a sickly kid and had an egg rolled on me for The Ojó all the time.
madduxcr@reddit
Mercurochrome. And we found the 40-year old bottle in my parents' medicine cabinet.
rbrumble@reddit
Hot Toddy for colds. Which at my house was just a cup of coffee with a shot or two of whiskey.
Practical-Poetry7221@reddit
Whiskey was added directly to my bottle as I was a terrible baby apparently. Mustard plaster for chest colds. Milk soaked in bread on gauze for boils. Glycerin suppositories for everything else. God help you if you had a headache you’d shit for a week
natokills@reddit
Rub butter on a burn.
Comfortable_Sea634@reddit
Came here to say this...my great grandmother did this
Capable-Anything269@reddit
My mom put cold sourcream on sunburns
Comfortable_Sea634@reddit
That sounds much more reasonable!
Ribeye_steak_1987@reddit
Monkey blood (merchurochrome) for all the cuts and scrapes. No idea if it helped or not but the little smiley face my mom would draw on my leg with it always made me smile.
Activist_Mom06@reddit
Tough it out
Hippie-chick-4ever@reddit
I found Earache Drops (by Hylands Naturals) at Walgreens. Highly recommend!
Seawolfe665@reddit
My mom was an RN. I have a vivid memory of being around 10 and driving a broken sprinkler head into my knee (you could see bone) and her taping it up with a clean dishtowel and tape, and then us going up to the snow. It healed clean....
Future-Ruin9770@reddit
Was it the tape, towel, or snow that healed it?
MaximumJones@reddit
Vicks vapor rub on my chest for colds.
oSuJeff97@reddit
Use meat tenderizer and a little bit of water to make a paste and to put on bee/wasp stings.
I believe there is actually a bit of science to this as the enzymes in meat tenderizer are designed to break down proteins, so it helps break down any residual venom in the wound maybe?
punania@reddit
This is kind of debunked. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0041010181900817
Heat, however, does work. https://medicaljournalssweden.se/actadv/article/view/11592/19144
Pressing the back of a spoon heated to about 120°F onto a bee sting will help break down the venom proteins in the sting. Also works for jellyfish stings and mosquito bites.
punania@reddit
This is kind of debunked. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0041010181900817
Heat, however, does work. https://medicaljournalssweden.se/actadv/article/view/11592/19144
Pressing the back of a spoon heated to about 120°F onto a bee sting will help break down the venom proteins in the sting. Also works for jellyfish stings and mosquito bites.
aupunter@reddit
Gargling salt water for sore throat.
dawnwc@reddit
My aunt use to blow hot cigarette smoke in our ears when we had an earache
happy_traveller2700@reddit
OMG!
ImFromDanforth@reddit
Salt water for canker sores
Happy_Cat_3600@reddit
“Arms up” when someone is coughing or wheezing or choking on something.
punania@reddit
It’s amazing to me both how well this works and the staunch incredulity of people haven’t tried it (and then refuse to).
capthazelwoodsflask@reddit
My dad always put Absorbine Jr. on his feet after a shower to stop athletes foot. I don’t use it every day but it’s more effective than the real treatment.
HalpertsJelloMold@reddit
Myrrh oil on a canker sore. We also got silver nitrate sticks from the doctor for them.
Oldebookworm@reddit
Clove oil for any oral pain or infection. I’ve treated so many tooth abscesses with clove oil
338wildcat@reddit
My mom would get "sweet oil" in a little brown rectangle bottle, or olive oil. A few warm drops of thatz and a fresh cotton ball in the ear.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Do we know what made it “sweet”?
338wildcat@reddit
I don't, and Google isn't super helpful because it keeps trying to tell me about crude oil. Maybe less sulpher?
I did learn that this kind of sweet oil is usually olive oil, maybe with some almond oil. I think I remember my mom buying olive oil from the pharmacy once when they were out of sweet oil.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
I was wondering if it was “sweet almond oil” or olive oil with sugar in it?
338wildcat@reddit
I don't know, but I know the warm oil felt so good in my ears and usually helped.
And now I'm looking to see where I can get it in case I ever get an earache again! I'm also impressed by how my mom was able to keep our little house so well-prepared for just about anything.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Yeah for Doctor Mom!
WeirdRip2834@reddit
My grandpa Earl drank kerosene as a health remedy in his childhood. (Early 1900s)
jcory1960@reddit
My Mom said her and her siblings were were given turpentine as a “Spring Tonic”
WeirdRip2834@reddit
Lordy.
Let’s bring it all back?! Ha
amchadmi@reddit
Vernor's ginger ale cures what ails ya. Powdered alum for canker sores.
Sarahonreddit72@reddit
Yes, I remember alum on cancer sores, ouch!
cromulenttapeworm@reddit
The "Walk it off" remedy.
Tifoid@reddit
You forgot to “rub some dirt in it” first!
doesanyuserealnames@reddit
Jeeezuz I did that once on my grandpa's acreage - I stepped on a rusty nail, so my cousin and I rubbed dirt into it to stop the bleeding. That was a quick way to get to the doctor for a tetanus shot.
hippywitch@reddit
Bit of spit on your finger.
jungle4john@reddit
I remember my people's ancient remedy of 7-up and chicken noodle soup.
Ill-Acanthisitta6022@reddit
Ancient remedy 🤣
PlantGrrrl@reddit
Mercurochrome….shudders. The sting was otherworldly.
ProfessionalLength26@reddit
Mrs. Grass's Chicken Noodle soup with the ball.
ViolentCaterpillar@reddit
The golden nugget! Omg I loved that soup!
XXOO1960@reddit
I had a lot of earaches. Both parents smoked back then. They’d blow warm smoke in my ear.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
People keep mentioning this remedy! Does it work???
XXOO1960@reddit
It did !
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Ok so was there any important info about the kind of cigarette smoke (menthol, light, unfiltered?) and how many times would they do this before you felt relief? Oh also how bad would your ear feel when they did this—did they have to catch it right at he first sign of pain or could it be after some hours of ear pain?
XXOO1960@reddit
This was 55-60 years ago. Don’t remember the details. Just know it always worked. Probably more the warm air than the smoke.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Got it. Thank you for going down memory lane for a stranger.
XXOO1960@reddit
Good trip down memory lane since I lost my mom in January. Funny the things you remember.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
So true. 💕💕
upsidedown-funnel@reddit
😳
Cookies4Dinner73@reddit
When u get water in ur ears from swimming just put a few drops in ur ear and it comes right out.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Few drops of….?
Cookies4Dinner73@reddit
Woops sorry lol- a few drops of rubbing alcohol. Put it in, tilt ur head so it goes in, tilt ur head back and it comes right out. My bf’s mom taught me this. I used to lay on my side for hours to get the water out!
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Thank you!
kumquatrodeo@reddit
Equal parts honey, whisky, lemon juice for a cough/sore throat.
Fingernail polish to chase and suffocate ground-itch worms under your skin. As a kid, that was super fun and interesting.
Hot match tips to make ticks let go.
Hot tip of a paper clip to melt a hole through your fingernail to release a painful blood clot.
seven-cents@reddit
Gargling with salt water when you've got a sore throat. I actually think it works if it's a strep infection and you catch it early enough. The salt kills the bacteria almost instantly and relief follows soon after
cakevictim@reddit
Yep this one’s so helpful and comforting
edcod1@reddit
Hot brandy with citrus for cold, cough etc.. I’d have preferred whisky.
SugarMag1976@reddit
Ear ache remedy: blow cigarette smoke in the ear. I'm not kidding.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
How in God’s name could this work?
XXOO1960@reddit
Warm air. My mom did this too. It helped.
SugarMag1976@reddit
News to me. I never knew if it actually worked or the plume of smoke in my face was the distraction. I was little and I had multiple ear aches, so it wasn't a one-off.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Ok! So nonsmokers could potentially use a blow dryer set to low power…. Thank you. Very interesting.
Mile-High-Ahole@reddit
"what you should do is FEEED a cold!"
CynfullyDelicious@reddit
Weirdest one I remember was my dadputting crushed tobacco leaves in bee stings. When I was 3, I was stung on my thumb at the boardwalk in Ormond Beach by a yellow jacket. The thing hurt like a bitch, so daddy went and bought a pouch of chew and tried to warp it around my thumb. I remember having a major fit because my 3 year-old brain thought he was trying to put another bee on it 😂.
jwismar@reddit
Had the same thing. A tobacco poultice for wasp stings. No idea whether there's any basis for this.
Strict_Emu5187@reddit
TOOTHPASTE on bee stings🙄 i thought EVERYBODY knew that😉
Obviously i'm being sarcastic . My father is from South Carolina, him and his sister would argue about using tobacco leaves🤷🏼♀️
TheBat3@reddit
The summer camp I used to work at always had one cigarette in the first aid kit for just this purpose.
Nickey_Pacific@reddit
IYKYK
augustwest30@reddit
My mom applied this and a bandaid to all my cuts and scrapes.
seven-cents@reddit
That wasn't really a "home remedy" as such, but it was definitely an excellent disinfectant for cuts and grazes
ArthurBea@reddit
Agitated_House7523@reddit
Paregoric
EveLQueeen@reddit
Omg, I can still taste this. I was a bit amazed when I looked up what Paregoric actually is….
cellardooorr@reddit
Onion syrup! Cut some onions, add lots of sugar, leave in a closed jar. Drink the syrup when you got a cold 😋
Also, hot milk with honey, butter and garlic 😋
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Is this a US remedy or UK/European? I haven’t heard of it exactly but it reminds me somehow of my Dutch relatives’ concoctions…
cellardooorr@reddit
It's Polish 🇵🇱
Leucotheasveils@reddit
My Polish auntie made a hot tea with honey and vodka or Spiritus for colds and flu.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Interesting!!
Old-Somewhere-6084@reddit
Chicken soup for a cold or the flu.
Vinegar for bee stings.
srsowen@reddit
Anything plus 1 shot of booze
Violet-637@reddit
Vicks vapo-rub and Tiger balm 🐯. 😁
Beginning_Key2167@reddit
Vicks - every cold I got that stuff was all over me LOL
Violet-637@reddit
But it worked!!! Atleast I thought so!
Quirky_Might_8780@reddit
I hate Vicks to this day-my mom would rub it all over my chest and back and then swipe a little at the base of my nostrils.
turtle0831@reddit
Vicks rub on everything. Still can’t stand to use it.
Quirky_Might_8780@reddit
Same!
yurinator71@reddit
Following a molar extraction, I got dry socket. It was excruciating and of course it was a weekend. I ground up cloves and stuffed it into the hole. It brought such sweet relief!
Quirky_Might_8780@reddit
That’s for real. When I had dry socket the dentist packed it with gauze soaked in clove oil.
Informal-Gene-8777@reddit
Mercurochome. Literally fucking mercury on open wounds.
PepperCat1019@reddit
I'm surprised we survived our childhoods.
HavocNMayhem@reddit
My knees just started aching in memory.
Let's also remember "New Skin" for cuts 😬
Historical_Bath_9854@reddit
Ouch, I felt this.
Appropriate_Answer_2@reddit
I don't know why but orange juice and 7 Up was always the sick drink in my house, every time. I remember laying in bed with a big squeeze bottle of it next to me watching I Love Lucy on my tiny old black and white TV as a kid (I'm 48, we had color TV of course, my bedroom tv was not though). To this day if I told my dad I was sick his immediate response would be to ask if I need him to get me oj and 7up.
Hitchtopher@reddit
Im surprised that no one has mentioned the use of hydrogen-peroxide h2o2 to clean scrapes and wounds.
Beginning_Key2167@reddit
100% my mom used than on every cut and scratch I got. Which was a lot.
gregrph@reddit
It's actually not recommended now. The hydrogen peroxide destroys the new cells that are trying to grow. Soap and water first. Pat dry. One time use of h2o2 afterward is fine. Ri se gently with water. Pat dry again. Then apply an antibiotic ointment lightly 3-4 ties a day until healed. No h2o2 after 1st use.
Business_Coyote_5496@reddit
I had a sore throat so my grandmama dropped a hard peppermint candy in a shot glass filled with whiskey and told me to drink it.
ApplesBananasRhinoc@reddit
My grandpa had an old tube of drawing salve that was black (probably toxic!) we used to use on splinters. We also had this bottle of sulfur flowers that we put on canker sores in our mouths. If you had a small wound, you used the white part of the newspaper and put that on it to stop the bleeding.
Optimal-Ad-7074@reddit
that salve sounds like what we used on boils when my family got a rash (ha ha) of them in the 70's. my dad said it was made from the bones of fossilized fish but he said it in that potentially-taking-the-piss dad voice 😃. I suspect now it was based on coal tar or something like that. it smelled like fish bones.
the other remedy was a poultice made by mashing lifebuoy soap and sugar together. that actually worked, along with moist heat.
lazytiger40@reddit
It was called black salve I believe and it was reported to be dangerous...lol
Optimal-Ad-7074@reddit
Yipes. I just googled it ... people tried to use it to cure cancer.
the Wikipedia page has some images in sorry I saw.
gregrph@reddit
Yes, it was taken off the market years ago. It was tar based.
SpiritualMuffin2623@reddit
My mom always used the porters "pain king" for everything with us. With her Pennsyvalnia accent I thought it was called "Pink King". They actually still make this product. I still keep it in my bathroom and call it Pink King. https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_1348568
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
If I get it, I will call it “Pink King” in your mum’s honor!
YouDear9720@reddit
Thank you so much. She recently passed away. It is a nice product and the smell reminds me of my chilhood.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Beautiful. She sounds like she was magic. Lucky you. 🙌🙌🙌💕💕
FloridaSalsa@reddit
I just googled it. Old bottle in museum. 63% alcohol. That would work.
twick2010@reddit
Witch hazel for everything external.
MrPrimalNumber@reddit
My mom’s remedy for a sore throat was to have me stick a fork in an outlet.
My mom didn’t really want kids…
shanvanvook@reddit
Gargle salt water for a sore throat.
Chiekosghost@reddit
Yeah, my mom had me gargle crushed aspirin.
The experience was so horrible I guess it shut me up about my throat?
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
That's awful. I'm cringing just thinking about tasting aspirin.
Appropriate_Answer_2@reddit
I kinda like the taste of aspirin, I chew the regular ones when I take it. My husband noticed and told me I wasn't taking chewable aspirin. I told him any aspirin is chewable if you try. I fully expect to be judged for this quirk of mine, I know it's weird it's just what I'm working with.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Unless it was that chewable kind???
IONaut@reddit
That actually works and legitimately kills bacteria
HatlessDuck@reddit
Warm water and tons of salt. Gargle for a sore throat.
creativequine74@reddit
A bread and sugar poultice.
GalacticDoc@reddit
To be fair if the ear pain is caused by impacted wax then the oil drops may well help.
A smudge of butter on any bump was my brand favourite.
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
She has an ear infection, but no antibiotics yet.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
This might be where the antibiotic properties of garlic come in. Some have said garlic piece too big to get lodged and others have said the piece-free juice of crushed fresh garlic. Let us know if any of these remedies work!
Resident-Condition-2@reddit
ENT recommended a few drops of olive oil and then rinse with warm water to get ear wax out.
GrumpyOnionDicer@reddit
Whiskey for earaches, toothaches…any aches.
fetiddingokidneys@reddit
Whiskey river, take my mind...
future_c0rpse@reddit
Specially for heartaches now
Optimal-Ad-7074@reddit
my 1yo trapped a bee under his leg when I had him in his stroller and was badly stung. soon as we found the cause, neighbour lady whipped into her garden and cut a green onion. rubbed the juice onto the sting and the baby stopped crying mid-scream. it was very dramatic and was not just surprise either. no redness, swelling, itching, any other symptoms of having been stung from him at all from then on.
I admit though: I've been stung at least twice since then, myself, and I can't pretend the onion cure did me much good.
-Granby-@reddit
I got stung by a bee or a wasp when I was a kid. My grandfather took a bunch of tobacco out of his Lucky Strike and put it in a tissue and then moistened it and held it over the sting. It drew the stinger out I guess. Stopped the itch. I don't so much remember the results as him doing it.
mommy2libras@reddit
Yep, it takes the sting away too. I got stung by a freaking red wasp at Home Depot a couple of weeks ago. It hurt like hell & I'm not allergic but wasp stings always make me sick- like I'll run a low fever & get nausea, even vomiting for a bit sometimes. We were already checking out so as soon as I got to the car, I broke open a half cigarette I had in my pack (I don't throw my butts on the ground), wet the tobacco with spit until it made a little wad then wrapped it onto the sting on my finger with a napkin & held it there. By 10 minutes later, that sick throbbing was gone, the burning was gone & it wasn't swollen anymore. I'm not sure how or why it works, just that that's what my dad always did so I figured I'd try it.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
So brilliant! Good thinking and thanks for not tossing your butts!
Sweaty-Blacksmith572@reddit
Bless you for not littering butts! 💕 Glad it helped your sting!
lazytiger40@reddit
Cut and peel half an onion under both soles of feet to break fevers (babies and children), we had black salve for boils, used salt for earaches (warmed in a pan and tied in a kitchen towel made a good heat compress..
FinancialDocument115@reddit
Adolf’s meat tenderizer for jelly fish stings
Chigrl13@reddit
Hilton Head Island, SC 1985 in August. Family vacation from Chicago. First day we were there and I got a nasty sting on my left wrist and up my arm. Hurt like a motherf*cker. Folks at the general store in the complex told my Pop to mix Adolf’s Meat Tenderizer and water and slather it on. It worked! 🙌🏼
248Spacebucks@reddit
"Orange medicine" which was Triaminic and you cant complain about being sick if youre asleep.
Fourberry@reddit
When I had earaches as a kid, my father would blow tobacco smoke in my ear. I don't know the origin of that as a "remedy" though.
Fourberry@reddit
Also, I learned later in life they probably weren't even earaches, but a symptom of my (then) undiagnosed and untreated hydrocephalus, so...
future_c0rpse@reddit
Like, "water in the brain"? That's wild
Strict_Emu5187@reddit
Was coming here to say this!!!
Katiecake80@reddit
Iodine (the red stingy stuff) on EVERYTHING! My dad was Portuguese.
-Granby-@reddit
https://i.redd.it/qgm9bvdv06wg1.gif
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Hahahaha. That is exactly what I’ve been thinking about while reading this whole thread!! Hilarious!!
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
Our neighbor did the same. For some reason my mom did not like this one- or bactine.
JenNtonic@reddit
My mom poured gasoline on our chigger bites. No joke. We dipped or dog in straight Malathion. The dog died of bone cancer.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
I’m so sorry for the pooch. Poor lovely.
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
OMG!
WillKPS@reddit
Oh man. I grew up in the Midwest. Moved to the Seattle area 13 years ago and I can't emphasize enough how much I don't miss chiggers.
romybuela@reddit
My mom would roll a sheet of newspaper into a cone, stick the narrow end into my ear, and light the other end. Instant relief for an earache. One time the pressure released so fast it blew out the fire at the other end.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
How in GOD’s name could this work?!?
IONaut@reddit
Ear candling's been around forever. There's even products for it sold at Walmart
charcat1971@reddit
My mom did that to me once and I was terrified. 😆 I didn’t let her finish, so I can’t say it worked for me.
PrairieGrrl5263@reddit
DUDE! The last time I had bronchitis, my doctor prescribed a couple of Hot Toddies* at night! To break up the congestion and help me sleep.
Yes, Doctor!
GrumpyOnionDicer@reddit
Got those too and just straight up whiskey.
psyco75@reddit
I have a couple, wd40 rubbed into your joints eases arthritis pain. Another one that actually works is to take some tobacco from a cigarette and wet it then put it on a bee sting it relieves the pain and draws the stinger out, i taught that to a friend that keeps bees and he told me it works better than over the counter stuff.
Much-Injury1499@reddit
Soap in the mouth to cure me from swear words.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
I’m so sorry.
Starkville@reddit
Crushed fresh garlic in a spoonful of honey for a cold.
Empty_Nestor@reddit
I’ll never forget having some sort of ailment when I was about 5 or so. My great-grandmother mixed up garlic, bread and milk in a pot, boiled it and fed it to me. It was a miserable experience.
thirtyone-charlie@reddit
The hot toddy. An 8 oz up of tea with a shot of whiskey, shot of lemon juice and a tablespoon of honey. I don’t know if this actually cured anything but I know it would knock me out for hours and that is helpful for healing.
Weekly-Anteater-6444@reddit
Very similar, my father used to make “homemade cough syrup” that was honey, whiskey and lemon. But I’m pretty sure he didn’t do it when my mom was around lol.
Relative-Accountant2@reddit
A (preferably silk) scarf around your neck for sore throats. Looks ridiculous but it does work.
ApplesBananasRhinoc@reddit
We did this too, but it had to be wool!
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
I do this especially if I feel a “throat thing” coming on at bedtime. Sleeping with a scarf will make you sweat like an athlete, but the bothersome throat thing will be gone in the morning. Be prepared. You WILL wake with sweat-matted hair though.
Oh AND if you’re feeling a bit “exposed” or anxious generally, a scarf can also help calm those feelings! Good to take on work trips for weird hotel vibes, good to keep bedside for monthly periods…psychologically puts a bit of an invisible barrier up to the environment and the (annoying!) people in it!
Garfield61978@reddit
Vix Vapor Rub cured everything 😂
ManyBonus865@reddit
Our house used Vicks for everything, but what it couldn’t fix we would drink alkaseltzer (spelling).
FinancialDocument115@reddit
Eucalyptus and Teatree oil are amazing
NandLandP@reddit
"Want me to cut it off?"
Although that was technically mom and dad's remedy to get us to stop crying.
cianne_marie@reddit
I used to say this to the preschoolers I taught when they were hysterical about stubbing their toe or landing on their knees or whatever. Usually made them laugh or at least stop crying to ponder whether or not I was serious. Nowadays I'm sure that would not be accepted as funny and I'd have a raging parent on my hands too.
IMBD-Shadow@reddit
Rub some dirt in it was a good one, too.
Such-Departure-1357@reddit
Stop crying….go rub some dirt in it and get outside That was the advice for 90% of the time
ManyBonus865@reddit
The Lipton chicken noodle soup whenever I had a cold. The first time I got sick in college I sent my roommate out on a hunt for Lipton Chicken Noodle Soup.
HearingDue2119@reddit
A bath with baking soda to draw out a fever.
D2Dragons@reddit
Spent motor oil on patches of ringworm, kerosene rubbed into the scalp and combed out for lice, hot toddies made with vodka and lemonade (and weed stems from Mom’s stash, ahem), and cayenne pills for intestinal worms.
We were dirt poor and my parents were hippies. Yeah.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Cool Doctor Mom.
Curious_Catlady1@reddit
Yep, sweet oil in the ear (also warm blow dryer for comfort)! Gargling warm salt water for a sore throat, mercurochrome on cuts, peroxide on canker sores, epsom soaks for tired feet and muscles, drinking hot liquids to induce BM’s, Coca Cola for upset tummy, breathing stream for sinus troubles… Most of this was from my maternal grandmother. I remember one of us grandkids asking if she was a doctor! ☺️ Nope, just a really smart farm-raised, mostly work-at-home, devoted mom and grandma. ♥️
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
What would grandma understand “sweet oil” to be? And YEAH for farm grandmas!
dugmartin@reddit
Almost exactly the same here but 7up for upset stomach. I can still feel (and hear) that warm oil going down my ear canal.
ManyBonus865@reddit
A beer when constipated 😂
MadPiglet42@reddit
"You're fine."
PepperCat1019@reddit
"Walk it off."
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
“Rub some dirt on it and get back out there!”
CynfullyDelicious@reddit
“Rub some dirt in it.”
Socksandcandy@reddit
This is the correct answer unfortunately.
Breklin76@reddit
Vicks on the chest with a hot wash cloth or towel always helped a chest cold.
ManyBonus865@reddit
Vicks helped everything at our house!
Iwentforalongwalk@reddit
7Up for upset stomach
Tealme1688@reddit
Or ginger ale or Sprite….all in rotation for upset stomach.
gnamyl@reddit
Vix vaporub slathered on my chest
Towel over my head in a super hot steaming tub in the middle of the night with a croup-y cough
Ginger ale and saltines for almost any kind of upset stomach (presented as an actual thing that gets you better)
eksoh-eksoh@reddit
Gargle with hot salt water anytime we had a tickle or scratchy throat
Robviously-duh@reddit
honey, lemon & bourbon for cough medicine at night... still use it
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
I remember this one too. Dutch mum’s remedy.
terknboo@reddit
Putting a baking soda past on everything!
YOUTUBE-BLACKBELT@reddit
A leather belt...
HavocNMayhem@reddit
My great grandma used to warm table salt in a cast iron skillet (that was very important), put it in a clean white handkerchief and settle it into your ear for about 10 minutes or until the salt cooled. Always took away the pain/pressure.
My grandma and my great grandmas were my go to for when I was hurt/sick.
LuminalDjinn11@reddit
Wowowowowowowo!!!!! How could this work?!? Amazing!
CynfullyDelicious@reddit
Ours would put washcloths (later on finer coffee filters) soaked in near-boiling water into cups and have us put them up to our ears - worked like magic to relieve pressure and pain.
HoneyWyne@reddit
Paper towels soaked in tea for sunburn.
Starkville@reddit
Let a fever run its course unless it goes too high; if too high, a tepid bath. Apple cider vinegar and aloe on sunburn. Honey in lemon juice for a cold (also tea and chicken soup). Horehound candies for a cough. Flat ginger ale for stomach ache. Chamomile tea for sleeplessness or anxiety.
When you have a cold, wet cotton socks under a pair of thick wool ones and get under a pile of blankets.
Complete_Coffee6170@reddit
Baking soda paste mixed pressed on the skin for allergy welts.
OldFitDude75@reddit
Starve a cold, feed a fever. I think?
qisfortaco@reddit
Other way around. Feed a cold, starve a fever.
abirdreads@reddit
Anyone else get ginger ale and orange juice over ice (or with crushed ice)? Occasionally had vodka mixed in.
Not strictly home remedies, but between the Campho-Phenique and Bactine, any sores or scrapes or gashes were cleaned/treated with maximum sting. I still think they did that on purpose.
AlbMonk@reddit
Stay home from school, chicken soup, crackers, 7up, and The Price is Right all combined remedies for treating the flu.
sweetassassin@reddit
For a sty in my eye, my uncle would rub a dime back & forth across the jeans he’s wearing to warm it up and then told me to lay down and lovingly put it on my eye… and there a chilled for 5 mins. The next day the sty had gone down and healed.
IBroughtWine@reddit
Baking soda paste for bee/wasp stings, ginger ale for tummy aches, and Vick’s for everything else.
Zooter88@reddit
Coke syrup fixed lots of things. I can’t remember what but I looked forward to it!
Patient_Doctor4480@reddit
Nausea.
andyraylan@reddit
Vagisil for any itch, clear nail polish on mosquito bites and downy dryer sheets for dusting floorboards/molding.
andyraylan@reddit
Vagisil for any itch, clear nail polish on mosquito bites and downy dryer sheets for dusting floorboards/molding.
mmfn0403@reddit
Flat 7Up. For pretty much anything. I’m Irish, and this was (and for all I know still is) the standard Irish home remedy.
CynfullyDelicious@reddit
Flat ginger ale or coca-cola here.
inafishbowl17@reddit
Tobacco juice on a bee or hornet sting. It actually works.
CheeseMakingMom@reddit
Cooled but unset Jell-o for diarrhea. I still use it and my kids do too.
chrispd01@reddit
Dont they sell that under the brand name Metamucil ???
CheeseMakingMom@reddit
Metamucil keeps things moving, which you don’t necessarily want with diarrhea.
Unset Jell-o helps solidify while providing some fluids.
chrispd01@reddit
Good to know although I was just sorta making a joke ……
vonye25@reddit
When I had menstrual cramps, my grandma would make me ginger tea.
Sweaty-Blacksmith572@reddit
Wow, nobody else mentioned pee??
My great grandmother swore by it for earaches!
You moisten a cotton ball with your own pee, and stick it in your ear.
I’m glad my parents never tried it on me!
WeirdRip2834@reddit
Ah! I just mentioned urine on another comment.
wheresbill@reddit
Yucko. We did use pee on bee and wasp stings tho
2100Ed@reddit
My grandmother was from Ukraine. She always kept jars of goose grease in the fridge. When you had a cold with a fever, she’d melt the grease and liberally apply it to you from neck to toes. You then got into your flannel pjs and got wrapped up in bed. To this day I can’t stand the smell of chicken soup, especially if there is any grease floating on it
WeirdRip2834@reddit
Yuck.
My father once said his grandfather from Lithuania did something with a urine soaked washcloth. I did not ask for details.
worksickwork@reddit
Damp baking soda on chicken pox is the main one I remember.
WestEndRN@reddit
This worked so well! I used it on my kids in the 90s
Somethingclever1313@reddit
Baking soda and vinegar mixed into a paste for wasp and bee stings. I used this just the other day due to a yellow jacket I stepped on.
FlippingPossum@reddit
A little bit of whiskey in water to help me sleep.
Glittering-Rock-3048@reddit
Warm brandy and honey for colds. For children.
MeowMeowCollyer@reddit
For ear aches, my mom would blow smoke in my ear. Works great.
ACadder@reddit
Mustard poultice for chest congestion. Flour, boiled water not too hot, mustard powder. Mix a paste. Double wrap in thick paper towels. Put on chest for 15 minutes. Be sure to be still & don't squish. It will burn skin if you get any on you. It works though ✨
Lelabear@reddit
Whiskey, honey and lemon juice in hot water for a cough.
RCA2CE@reddit
My mom would smack us in the head, that cured stupid (or created it, coin toss)
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
I got the spatula and the pony tail pull
CollectivePress@reddit
My grandpa would give us baking soda for heartburn. My grandma would put a drop of garlic-infused olive oil in our ears for an earache. My mom let me drink red wine when my periods were awful, as young as 11-12. Helped neutralize any taboos about alcohol, I still only use it medicinally (rarely.)
doejart1115@reddit
Vicks liquid in a humidifier overnight when we had a cold. I can still smell it.
Coyote-American@reddit
My family used stovetop warmed milk for my childhood earaches.
-Granby-@reddit
My grandmother used to swear by Hot Toddy's.
--A Hot Toddy is a warm, comforting cocktail made with whiskey (or other spirits), hot water, honey, and lemon juice, often garnished with spices like cinnamon or cloves. It's traditionally served in a pre-warmed mug and is popular as a cold-weather drink or a home remedy for colds--
I have not thought about this stuff in a long time.
jessewalker2@reddit
It wasn’t about curing you. They just wanted you to pass out. alcohol just happened to be what did it…
Slipstream_Surfing@reddit
I took that lesson to heart and applied what I had learned even when I wasn't feeling ill.
upsidedown-funnel@reddit
With fireball🤌
GoinMinoan@reddit
a shot of blackberry brandy for us. :D
338wildcat@reddit
Are you Polish? 😀
GoinMinoan@reddit
and I'm perfect, too! (according to my mom's favorite t-shirt)
PaperPhoneBox@reddit
My dad gave me one when I was 8 and sick with a bad cold. Best nap ever
ZweitenMal@reddit
I drink them as a nightcap whenever I have chest congestion. Soothes the throat and eases the cough and I sleep like a baby.
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
Neither have I. When I started thinking about it, I realized that we had a lot of home remedies. One car, one limited hours local drug store. The parents and grandparents were creative.
lyree1992@reddit
Salt water gargles For sore throat, toothache. Or drink a tiny bit and it was an emetic.
For earaches-Grandma would put cornmeal in a washcloth, put a rubber band around the top so that it made a type of "packet" then warm it in the microwave slightly. She put it on our ear to "draw the moisture out." The warmth DID feel good.
Burns - aloe from the plant she always kept. I am very fair, so A LOT of aloe in the summer.
Colds - "hot toddies" (tea, honey, whiskey)
sickboy6_5@reddit
i feel like we were smeared head to toe in aloe and calamine lotion during the summers. no sunscreen though, it would just get washed off in the pool...
lyree1992@reddit
Yes!
Kristylane@reddit
Gargle with saltwater for a sore throat
houseofmatt@reddit
Vick's Vapo-Rub for anything congestive.
damageddude@reddit
My mother used to keep warm flat coke in an old medicine bottle in our cabinet.
Afraid_Library3614@reddit
My mom did this too! She’d slightly warm up eucalyptus oil in a covered pot and gently put it on the outer ear canal.
SuperannuatedAuntie@reddit
“Soak it in warm water.”
Theflyinghillbilly3@reddit
Coal oil. Kerosene. It was the cure-all at our house. I once stepped on a rusty nail, and my mom put coal oil on my foot.
Also, rubbing alcohol. That went on cuts and scratches. I finally convinced mom to use peroxide, which didn’t hurt at all in comparison.
And Vicks vapor rub or Ben-gay on your throat and behind your ears if you had a cold. I still do that one!
platypusandpibble@reddit
My sister was “mother-diagnosed” as being hyperactive. (This is well before ADD, etc.) Mother decided (probably read it somewhere or heard it from one of her crunchy friends) that chewable calcium pills were the remedy. Of course, it didn’t work other than to make my sister feel bad about playing and making perfectly normal noise.
NoeTellusom@reddit
All the old ladies in our family were absolutely dead set on using witch hazel for any kind of insect bite (mosquitos, chiggers, etc).
Never seemed to work, but hey, it was their thing.
upsidedown-funnel@reddit
A paste of Baking soda and water is what we used. It worked but might’ve been purely placebo.
OriginalPayment3044@reddit
My grandma gave me Seagrams 7 mixed with honey as a cough suppressant.
1043b@reddit
In my house it was crown royal or whiskey with sugar and asprin crushed in
Detroitdays@reddit
Walk it off was my parents tried and true.
dbrmn73@reddit
Rub some dirt on it.
Walk it off.
Diela1968@reddit
Vinegar on a fresh sunburn before it sets in fully, crushed aloe leaves after.
Both have a cooling effect, and I suppose the vinegar is lightly antiseptic, but water probably would have worked just as well.
CollectivePress@reddit
I love doing this. I make a big bowl of watered down vinegar and ice cubes. Soak a rag with it, ring it out then lay it on your burn. The cold rag immediately sucks out all the heat. Rinse and repeat 👍🏽
Proper-Abroad5253@reddit
Vick's
thebiglerm@reddit
Put a paper cone in your ear and light it on fire
Certain-Criticism-51@reddit
You might be misremembering the process, friend. 😂
-Granby-@reddit
Ear candles. My wife still uses them
GoinMinoan@reddit
Dave Barry was the first I'd ever heard of them.
pdxtee@reddit
Tea for everything except stomach aches. I even had an allergic reaction. My mom told me to drink some tea. Being sick required chicken noodle soup, saltine crackers, & ginger ale. Upset tummy meant a baking soda mixed in a glass of water.
Efficient-Tart456@reddit
I had a planter’s wart on my instep when I was about 8 or 9. My grandmother (Appalachia raised) told me to steal a piece of bacon rind and hide it under the neighbors downspout and by the time it was “gone” (about a month) the wart would be gone too. All I can say is that the mind is a terrific healer 🤣🤣🤣
jcsnipes1969@reddit
Moonshine, peppermint candy, and honey cough syrup. Grandma might have made the moonshine.
Mission_Pirate2549@reddit
My parents treated everything with brandy. I wouldn't mind, but neither of them drank.
nomedent@reddit
Story goes my great grandfather didn't drink, but felt blackberry brandy pretty much cured everything. He lived to be one month shy of 100.
SDgoon@reddit
Something with wine, vinegar and honey. Maybe it was to just shut me and make me pass out.
TheJcos@reddit
Cloves in hot orange juice for sore throats and flu. Slippery elm in bullion broth for stomach aches. I really hate cloves.
raknyak@reddit
"PUT SOME DIRT ON IT"
Fishyprediction@reddit
Sore throat. Gargle with warm salt water.
Far_Designer_7704@reddit
My mom was a huge believer in Vicks Vaporub. I don’t remember it helping much though.
tcrhs@reddit
For ear infections, bottle dropper of rubbing alcohol, the other half vinegar. Shake, fill the ear up, let it sit a few minutes, then drain it out.
For a cough, mix whiskey and soft peppermint.
Witch hazel for bug bites
Responsible_Jump_669@reddit
Vicks on my feet with socks at night when I was sick. Still do it, did it for my kids.
mmpjd@reddit
Yep…good ol’ Vicks Vaporub. My mom slathered us in that shit when we were sick lol
LongLiveTheRat@reddit
Great aunt mixed sugar and butter to rub on mosquito bites in the 70s and 80s.
Ok_Initial_2063@reddit
My grandparents' neighbor mixed snuff and water in a teaspoon and dabbed it on ours.
jjjjjjjjjjjjjoe@reddit
My grandmother used to blow cigarette smoke in our ears for ear aches. I don’t recall if it helped, just my mother rolling her eyes when we tell her.
These-Analysis-6115@reddit
Vicks Vaporub on the chest and my Mom would pin an old t-shirt rag around my neck. I guess to hold the heat in? Lol
BuckyGoldman@reddit
A peppermint or two dissolved in a little whiskey really cured that cough/stuffy nose/allergies/sore throat/can't sleep/too hyper/asking questions before bedtime.
hikergrL3@reddit
LOL'd at asking too many questions at bedtime!
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
I didn't know about this one.
Typical-Office-2954@reddit
My grandma used to cut up an onion, shove it in a tube sock and pin it around my neck if i got a sniffle.
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
Really?! Well, garlic is great for many things. I'll bet she had a lot of other remedies.
shorthairedhippi@reddit
Tie a bit of bacon over a splinter. The salt draws it out. Apparently
Enge712@reddit
Bacon or a poultice of salt and raw egg yolk.
I am not sure if it’s the salt, if it softens the tissue or just getting you to leave it alone for a long time. It does seem to help in some way for kids that won’t let you mess with a splinter. Maybe it’s all placebo.
mommy2libras@reddit
Also an ingrown hair.
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
We had a salve for that. Maybe it was the same.
Individual-Army811@reddit
Mustard plasters for cramps. Ew.
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
I was more fortunate, and given a little blackberry brandy.
hikergrL3@reddit
Wisconsonite here...brandy in hot tea for a sore throat/head cold.
umeboshiplumpaste@reddit
Vic's Vapo Rub and a humidifier.
Datgnat@reddit
My mom used to give me mustard plasters for congestion.
desertratlovescats@reddit
Whiskey and honey for a cough. I remember it made me feel “warm.”
-Granby-@reddit
Oh and fresh Aloe Vera for out sunburns. Grew up in Florida and my mom always had Aloe Vera plants for burns.
Ok-Lingonberry-8261@reddit
My mom was a nurse, so the answer was ALWAYS "antibiotics." Didn't matter what the question was; the answer was "antibiotics."
Surprised I lived.
desertratlovescats@reddit
Amoxicillin has entered the chat. I loved that stuff! Yet I’m also surprised I’m still alive and my gut bacteria has recolonized itself.
Ok-Razzmatazz1771@reddit
My mom did baby oil in the ear as well with a cotton ball. Probably really needed antibiotics… 😂
ascaffo@reddit (OP)
I forgot about the cotton ball.
Bubbly_Following7930@reddit
We didn't do home remedies