What home or OTC remedies did you grow up with?

[Pea-n-Me]

Sort of inspired by the bad cream cheese thread.

My Italian father was a Brioschi man. He swore by it for an upset stomach, and I remember drinking it, even when I was little, if I complained of an upset stomach. It was lemony and you had to drink it down quickly while it was still fizzing.

Looking at its history, it is an old antacid - invented in the 1880s. It's still around today. I have to remember to pick some up (although if I recall, it was high in sodium). Yes, sodium bicarbonate effervescent - product of Italy.

https://www.brioschi.com/pages/about-brioschi

What about you - what were the go-to's in your family? Include the history if you can.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

DH's mother was a strong believer in Witch Hazel. She always kept a bottle of it in their refrigerator.

There are a lot of uses for it.

https://www.encyclopedia.com/plants-and-animals/plants/plants/witch-hazel

 

[neverlandsky]

Vick’s Vaper Rub

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Vick’s Vaper Rub

That's a good one, and also old - it's been around for a century, too, and became popular during the flu epidemic of 1918! I always keep a jar of it on hand to put on chests during a head cold.

https://www.ourstate.com/lunsford-richardson/

 

[georgina]

My mom was a big proponent of boric acid eye wash for pink eye.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

My mom was a big proponent of boric acid eye wash for pink eye.

That's a good one. Smart Mom. Also used for ages.

https://www.verywellhealth.com/boric-acid-eye-wash-uses-procedure-and-side-effects-4178288

 

[ronandannette]

This stuff was pretty much all you needed. It was good for everything from diarrhea to a tickly throat to canker sores. Dr. Fowler's, Bayer aspirin and Ozonol ointment basically got me through my childhood in one piece.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Another Vicks VapoRub family.

And, hot lemon & honey with a shot of brandy for sore throats.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

This stuff was pretty much all you needed. It was good for everything from diarrhea to a tickly throat to canker sores. Dr. Fowler's, Bayer aspirin and Ozonol ointment basically got me through my childhood in one piece.

These are great, another really old one. I don't think I've seen this before.

Do you still use it? Do you know if it is available in the U.S.? I will have to keep an eye out for it.

https://fowlersrelief.ca/pages/about-us

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Another Vicks VapoRub family.

And, hot lemon & honey with a shot of brandy for sore throats.

That is a classic, isn't it? What do you put the honey and lemon in, tea?

It's interesting to see what people came up with before the some of the more modern remedies we have today. And some of the modern ones are still fairly similar to the old ones!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

That is a classic, isn't it? What do you put the honey and lemon in, tea?

It's interesting to see what people came up with before the some of the more modern remedies we have today. And some of the modern ones are still fairly similar to the old ones!

No, you heat up the juice of a lemon with a tablespoon of honey, and when hot, add a shot of brandy. Sip it straight, typically just before bedtime as it can knock you out.

Sort of a homemade NyQuil.

 

[ronandannette]

These are great, another really old one. I don't think I've seen this before.

Do you still use it? Do you know if it is available in the U.S.? I will have to keep an eye out for it.

https://fowlersrelief.ca/pages/about-us

Heavens no, I'm not sure it ever actually did work or if it was just some sort of "snake oil". The bottle does say it's a patent medicine made by a company that was based in Toronto, so it's possible it was only available in Canada. It would appear it's still available in a more modern form: https://fowlersrelief.ca/

The time frame I'm talking about would have been the late 60s/early 70s. Funny though how even now I keep Ozonol in the house instead of Polysporin. Is/was that product available in the States?

 

[orangecuse]

My mom (who is a nurse!) swears a little “real coke with real sugar” cures most minor ills. Headache? Cure. Stomachache? Cure. If that didn’t work she’d prescribe a nap lol.

 

[indimom]

We used primarily food items as treatments. Here are a few I can think of.
A paste of baking soda on bee stings. The claim was it would draw or neutralize the venom.
Ginger Ale for an upset stomach. Ginger does act as an antiemetic, so I still use this.
Gargling salt water for a sore throat. I could see how this might help, but it was never pleasant.
Epson Salt baths for sore muscles. I really don't know if this is truly effective or not. My quick search didn't bring any true studies or reliable websites.
Oatmeal Baths for dry skin. I had to look up why this was recommended. Apparently, the oatmeal creates a 'skin barrier' to keep it better hydrated.
Coffee for wheezing/asthma. This is a really old one. Again, I can see how it might have had benefits prior to more modern treatments.

 

[mumto3girls]

We used primarily food items as treatments. Here are a few I can think of.
A paste of baking soda on bee stings. The claim was it would draw or neutralize the venom.
Ginger Ale for an upset stomach. Ginger does act as an antiemetic, so I still use this.
Gargling salt water for a sore throat. I could see how this might help, but it was never pleasant.
Epson Salt baths for sore muscles. I really don't know if this is truly effective or not. My quick search didn't bring any true studies or reliable websites.
Oatmeal Baths for dry skin. I had to look up why this was recommended. Apparently, the oatmeal creates a 'skin barrier' to keep it better hydrated.
Coffee for wheezing/asthma. This is a really old one. Again, I can see how it might have had benefits prior to more modern treatments.

We used all of these too—except the cofffee— never even heard of that one but my mother despises the smell of coffee and we never had it in the house.

We used the oatmeal baths for itching—chicken pox, poison ivy, sunburn once the itchiness set in.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We used primarily food items as treatments. Here are a few I can think of.
A paste of baking soda on bee stings. The claim was it would draw or neutralize the venom.
Ginger Ale for an upset stomach. Ginger does act as an antiemetic, so I still use this.
Gargling salt water for a sore throat. I could see how this might help, but it was never pleasant.
Epson Salt baths for sore muscles. I really don't know if this is truly effective or not. My quick search didn't bring any true studies or reliable websites.
Oatmeal Baths for dry skin. I had to look up why this was recommended. Apparently, the oatmeal creates a 'skin barrier' to keep it better hydrated.
Coffee for wheezing/asthma. This is a really old one. Again, I can see how it might have had benefits prior to more modern treatments.

A lot of good ones here, and some that I've used, as well.

I didn't realize that Epsom Salts were Magnesium Sulfate. We always had those on hand, too.

https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/epsom-salt-bath#1

https://www.epsomsaltcouncil.org/

I am a ginger ale fan, too. But Pepsi originated as an anti-emetic as well. (It helped me during chemo.)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepsi

I have seen cola syrup before but I can't seem to find any reference to it right now.

Baking soda paste on bee stings was something I used as a camp nurse.

I haven't heard about coffee for wheezing/asthma. My first thought is that coffee can be vasoconstricting, but a quick look around appears that some believe it can be a vasodilator. Hmm. Will have to look into that more when I have more time. The heat itself can loosen things up - I always like having hot tea or coffee when I wake up in the morning with chest congestion. That and a shower helps clear me out. So thanks for that, it's a good one.

 

[mamamary]

The only one I can think of is whenever we had upset stomachs my mom always gave us bicarbonate soda with water. I think it’s one of the worst tastes ever and it never helped anyway.

 

[ronandannette]

The only one I can think of is whenever we had upset stomachs my mom always gave us bicarbonate soda with water. I think it’s one of the worst tastes ever and it never helped anyway.

This is what we used for acid-indigestion (heartburn). I’m on prescription meds for reflux now but I still very occasionally fall back on baking soda if I’ve got nothing else in an emergency. The science is sound - using a base to neutralize acid - and it does work, although I shudder to think of how much sodium is in it.

 

[Frozen Canuck]

My mom was a big fan of mustard plasters for chest colds. She cooked a thick mustard paste, spread it on a piece of flannel, warmed it up in the oven, and then wrapped it around my chest.

I also remember Jack and Jill cough syrup. I wouldn't call it a home remedy, but it was always something my mom had on hand.

Being from Canada (not sure if it is in the U.S.), Buckley's cough syrup is still the one that I think of when you are looking for something quell a cough (or take the paint off of your Buick). That stuff tasted like you were drinking Pine-Sol, but it sure worked!

 

[ronandannette]

My mom was a big fan of mustard plasters for chest colds. She cooked a thick mustard paste, spread it on a piece of flannel, warmed it up in the oven, and then wrapped it around my chest.

I also remember Jack and Jill cough syrup. I wouldn't call it a home remedy, but it was always something my mom had on hand.

Being from Canada (not sure if it is in the U.S.), Buckley's cough syrup is still the one that I think of when you are looking for something quell a cough (or take the paint off of your Buick). That stuff tasted like you were drinking Pine-Sol, but it sure worked!

Does anybody know what the idea of a mustard plaster was? I can’t off the top of my head think of how that was supposed to help chest congestion.

I do vividly remember that unfortunate stage where one “aged out” of Jack and Jill and had to start taking Buckley’s. No denying how well it worked though. I still use it although now it blessedly comes in capsules.