- Here are some fantastic home cough and cold remedies
- Nan’s cure-all is vindicated
- Find out why a remedy involving a hat is my favourite
With the wet and windy weather of late, and all the talk of further impending storms there isn’t much incentive to get out of bed.
However, I can’t wait to be up and about because you, my dear readers, have made me laugh every single day.
Last week I asked for some of your family heirloom cough and cold remedies, and you did not disappoint.
For instance Lesley sent me a number of strange options for dealing with sniffles and snuffles;
“My mother in law from a remote village in Southern Italy was given a baby mouse dipped in honey to swallow when she was a child with a bad throat, and I can remember in France, hot onions wrapped in greaseproof paper put into thick socks was the first go-to option.
“In UK I remember thick thermal vests which itched a lot, sensible stuff like hot lemon and honey (no mice, the cat had them!), a purple throat tincture that was painted on down the throat (uurgh), standing by a hot tar machine by the roadside to inhale the fumes, oh, and menthol crystals added to the coal fire in the living room, or my dad’s cigarettes.
“Talk about survival of the fittest, or the least sick really….”
Onions certainly featured large in other suggestions.
Now, I don’t doubt the power of this potent allium when it comes to improving any health condition due to its anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties, but even for me there is a limit to what I’m prepared to do with an onion..!
I’ll leave that to your imaginations, but some of the less ‘invasive’ ways to use onions are those below;
Edna told me about a cure for a throaty cough –“Finely slice one large onion, place in a saucepan with half-pint milk, a shake of salt and a good shake of pepper; bring to the boil, turn down and simmer for 10/15 minutes (till (sic)onion is very soft), then eat like soup. Go to bed, sleep it off, with a hot water bottle for feet.”
Whilst Rose says “I would suggest, having been introduced to it by a friend who is a nutritionist, is the benefit of ‘onion water’ if one is unlucky enough to get the flu. All you do is chop up and onion, cover with water and simmer until soft; then puree it and drink. It tastes quite pleasant, whatever my family say!
So ignore the mighty onion at your peril.
Equally it seems garlic deserves a mention too…
Russell posed this solution – “How about garlic in a Muslin bag tied around your neck for a remedy for colds and sore throats?”
Whilst Sheena shared some ancient wisdom she collected – “An Indian gentleman once told me he tucked a clove in the corner of his mouth to stop a tickly cough from keeping him awake at night, and I have been doing that (successfully) for years any time I am plagued by a tickly cough.”
My Nan would be so proud
Sheena also reminded me of one of my Nan’s cure-alls, the clay extract kaolin. As a kid I had kaolin and morphine when my tummy was upset, kaolin compresses if I had a bruise and even as toothpaste on one memorable occasion!
Relating her own experience Sheena’s Mum seemed to have similar views to my Nan – “My mother always used a kaolin poultice for us. Similar to your mustard poultice. You heated up the tin of kaolin in boiling water, then after letting it cool down enough so as not to burn the child, put it on lint and bandaged it across the chest.”
It seems that another reader, T Alyn, didn’t benefit from the mixture being cooled first – “Two words – kaolin poultice – used to strike fear and dread into me when I was a child. I don’t know how my mother could have been so cruel, the lint and kaolin was heated to a high degree and one put on my back and one on my front, it was hell!”
Finally, I was sent a cure that I like the look of, and will offer to try the next time I get a sniffle, purely in the interest of research you understand…
Phil tells me to “Take a hat and a bottle of Scotch. Hang the hat at the end of your bed. Go to bed and drink the Scotch until you see two hats. Next morning you will be cured – or so hungover you don’t care!”
Ha ha…like the style.
Other remedies from the archives
To round off today’s letter I thought I would have a look at other remedies I have been sent in the past.
Cough and cold remedies are a very popular topic in my inbox.
Some of them though sound a little dangerous, for instance, Mr Nash of Topsham said his father used to swear by the following;
“To cure a child’s cough pass it three times under the belly of a horse”
I guess Mr Nash is easily identifiable due to the hoof marks in his forehead!
Others, like Tony’s suggestion, really tells the story of life experiences – Where I was evacuated to (Bilston), anyone with a bad cough, including me, was made to drink a mug of hot milk, with a tablespoon of goose fat, and eat a slice of toast… they only used ‘sterry’ (sterilised milk), so it was half a mug of sterry then the goose fat, all topped off with boiling water from the kettle straight from the fire. Also the toast was made on the same fire. I never liked it and would do all that I could not to cough while in the house.”
I had an auntie who only had sterilised milk, and I still shudder at the thought of a cup of tea made with it!
Tony’s story does have a happy(ish) ending though as he goes on to say;
“I’m not sure if there is a connection but I do like toast and goose dripping and a little black pepper [now].”
On a cold day that sounds a tempting offer.
Hunker down and stay warm, and make sure to take your vitamin C too!
