Mother's Remedies, Thomas Jefferson Ritter [reading well .TXT] 📗

that will be found beneficial.

Inflammatory Rheumatism, Salt Petre and Sweet Oil for.—"One ounce salt petre pulverized, one pint sweet oil. Rub parts affected."

Ingrowing Toenail, Home Treatment for.—"Cut a notch in the top of the nail with a penknife, scrape the nail from base to top."

Ingrowing Toenail, a Good Canadian Remedy for.—"Paint part under flesh with four parts caustic potash, six parts warm water. Paint part and scrape with piece of glass or sharp knife. Repeat till thin enough to break off." The caustic potash makes parts soft.

[678 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]

Ingrowing Toenail, Camphor for.—"Cut part growing in with sharp knife and put camphor on intruding part. This eases the pain and prevents second growth."

Indigestion, Egg Shells for.—"Brown egg shells in oven and crush till very fine with a rolling pin, then take a teaspoonful at meal times three times a day."

Inflammation of the Bowels, a Grandmother's Remedy for.—"Raw linseed oil and bean poultice. Use as hot as can be borne; keep repeating until relieved. This recipe has been used by my mother."

Kidney Trouble, an Easily Prepared Remedy for.—"Steep plantain leaves into strong tea. Take half cup every night. This has been found good for kidney trouble." Also good for ivy poisoning, burns, scalds, bruises, and to check bleeding; pound leaves to a paste and apply to parts.

La Grippe, Red Pepper Treatment from a Canadian Mother for.—"Take a bottle of alcohol, put enough red pepper in it so that when four drops are put in a half cup of water it is strong. This is what I always break up my grippe with." Peppers thus prepared stimulate and warm up the stomach and bowels and increase the circulation.

Rheumatism, Liniment Sent Us from Gentleman in Canada (says he paid $7.00 for it).—

    "Capsicum Powdered 1 ounce
    Camphor 1/2 ounce
    Oil Hemlock 1/2 ounce
    Spirits Ammonia 1/2 ounce
    Chloroform 1/2 ounce
    Oil Turpentine 1/2 ounce
    Oil Wormwood 1 dram
    Potassium Nitrate 1 dram
    Add Alcohol to make 12 ounces

Good Liniment.—"Sweet oil, turpentine, hartshorn, equal parts. Keep corked."

Liniment, Sprains, Etc.—English Black Oil.

    "Tanner's Oil 1 pint
    Oil Vitriol 1 ounce
    Spirits of Turpentine 1 ounce
    Beef 's Gall, contents of 1 gall

Put oil vitriol in tanner's oil, let stand twelve hours and not cork tightly, then add balance."

Lumbago, Ointment for.—

    Vaselin 1 ounce
    Belladonna 15 grains
    Salicylic Acid 1 dram
    Sodium Salicylate 1 dram

Apply. Also good to rub on bunions."

[UNCLASSIFIED MOTHERS' REMEDIES 679]

Neuralgia, Soothing Ointment for.—"One ounce of laudanum, baking soda to make paste." Apply to parts and cover with flannel." Its virtue is in its soothing and quieting action.

Pain or Rheumatism, Tansy and Smartweed for.—"Boil handful each of tansy and smartweed together till strong tea is made. Dip cloths in the hot tea and apply." Good local and quieting application.

Pain, Horseradish Poultice for.—"Grate and make poultice. Apply to part where pain is." Makes a good drawing poultice and a counterirritant.

Pains, Liniment to Relieve.—

    "Peppermint 1 ounce
    Oil of Mustard 1/2 ounce
    Vinegar 1 pint
    White of one egg.

Beat egg and stir all together."

Pain, Vinegar and Pepper for.—"Hot flannel cloths wrung from vinegar, to which a pinch of cayenne pepper has been added, applied hot to any part of the body, will relieve pain." This is very good. This remedy is always at hand and can be prepared quickly. It will most always give relief.

Palpitation of the Heart, Salt Baths for.—"Stop drinking tea and coffee. Add sea salt to water when bathing. This cured me and I have not been bothered for four or five years." Good when palpitation is due to nervousness.

Piles.-

    "Extract Belladonna 15 grain
    Acetate Lead 1/2 dram
    Gum Camphor 1 dram
    Gallic Acid 15 grains
    Acetanilid 20 grains
    Vaselin 1 ounce
    Mix.

In protruding, itching and blind piles this ointment will give almost instant relief; if kept up several days it will promote a cure."

Poison Ivy, Buttermilk and Salt Heals.—"Add considerable salt to buttermilk and bathe poisoned parts in it frequently."

Poison Ivy, Lead Water and Laudanum Relieves.—"Application of cold lead water, made in proportions of two drams of sugar of lead, half an ounce of landanum to half a pint of water and applied by means of cloths. The patient should eat a cooling, light diet and use a good saline cathartic, such as rochelle salts, etc."

Poison Ivy, Excellent Cure for.—"Copperas mixed with sour milk; put in all the copperas the milk will dissolve. I knew of a very bad case to be cured by this after a few applications. Care should be taken not to let it get on the clothing, as it burns badly."

[680 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]

Poisonous Wounds, Ammonia Application for.—"Strong spirits of ammonia applied to the wounds of snake bite or rabid animals is better than caustic. It neutralizes the poison and is an excellent remedy."

Oak Poison, Gunpowder and Lard for.—"Mix small quantity of gunpowder and lard and apply. One application cured me." This is an old, tried, standard remedy.

Milk Poison, Popular Remedy for.—

    Yellow Poplar Bark 4 ounces
    Wild Gooseberry Roots 4 ounces
    Slippery Elm Bark 4 ounces

Put in an earthern vessel with two quarts of water; put over a slow fire and simmer to one pint, then strain and add it to one gallon of the best rye whisky and give one wineglassful for the first dose, and thereafter give two tablespoonfuls every two hours. Move the bowels by pink and senna tea. Poultice the bottom of the feet with blue flag swamp root mashed fine to the consistency of a poultice. For the vomiting associated with the disease give one teaspoonful wild deer horn in a little water obtained by filing or grinding the horn of a wild deer. As this is not always to be obtained, a tablespoonful of pulverized chalk is good, or a little cold tea may be given. This recipe has been known to save many persons' lives, when the doctors had given up in despair. When the patient becomes sufficiently improved to warrant it, the dose may be decreased, but it should be taken quite a long time to kill the poison or counteract the poison in the system."

Poor Circulation, Alcohol Rub for.—"Rub vigorously night and morning with good whisky. Don't stop for a week or so after patient looks and feels well." Rubbing with alcohol would probably be preferred.

Ruptures, Herb Remedy for.—"Make a poultice of lobelia and stramonium leaves, equal parts, and apply to part, renewing as often as necessary." This poultice acts by relaxing the muscles, but in severe cases no application will do any good and the doctor should be consulted.

Rheumatism, Mountain Leaf Tea for.—"Tea made of mountain leaf taken frequently cures rheumatism." Rheumatism, Beef Gall for.—"Two beef galls in pint bottle, fill bottle with whisky. Apply often."

Salt Rheum, a Well-Tried Remedy for.—"Teaspoonful of red precipitate to two tablespoonfuls of lard. Anoint the parts affected." This recipe has been used by my mother and myself and proved effectual.

[UNCLASSIFIED MOTHERS' REMEDIES 681]

Snake Bites, Simple Poultice for.—"Poultice of hops or salt and grease; grease is to keep salt together. Hops are always kept to be used in berry season." As a poultice it draws the poison out.

Snake Bites, Onions and Salt for.—"Good drawing poultice for snake bites is an onion and a handful of salt pounded together. We also use this for a common poultice."

Stings, an Old, Tried Canadian Remedy for.—"For the bee sting I put soda on and dampen it with honey." An old-time remedy and seems to do the work. Soda is an antiseptic and cleansing remedy. If no honey at hand, dampen soda with water.

Stings from Nettles, an Inexpensive Remedy for.—"Rub the affected parts, if of nettles, with berry juice and let dry. This is what I always do during the berry season." Berry juice is quieting and soothing; it contains tannin. It would be handy to use and is recommended.

Stye, Common Tea Leaves for.—" After steeping tea gather out a small handful of the steeped leaves, lay them in a cloth as you would any poultice, and apply warm over the stye." It is the tannin in the tea that cures the stye, although clear tannin bought at the drug store does not seem to do the work as well. Black tea may be preferable.

Splendid General Salve.—

    "Resin 4 ounces
    Beeswax 4 ounces
    Lard 8 ounces
    Honey 2 ounces

Boil slowly until melted, then remove and stir until cold."

Scrofulous Difficulties, a Good Remedy for.—"A tea made of ripe dried whortleberries and drank in place of water is an excellent remedy."

Sore Eyes, Camphor and Breast Milk for.—"When a tiny baby has sore eyes, add one-half drop of camphor to a teaspoonful of breast milk; bathe the eyes several times a day." Breast milk alone applied to the eyes of an infant is very healing, but the addition of camphor improves it.

Sore Throat, Mustard Plaster for.—"Mustard plaster applied on outside of the throat. I know it is good—have tried it." Care should be taken not to allow the plaster to remain on too long as it will blister.

Stammering, a Canadian Mother's Treatment for.—"I always stop my boy when I hear him stammering and make him say the words by syllables. I find he is getting much better." The above is one of the best plans and should be tried.

Sweating, to Cause.—"Wet flannel cloth in vinegar, lay it on a hot soapstone and wrap in cloth. Take it to bed and you will sweat." This creates a steam and of course will produce sweating very quickly.

[682 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]

Sweating, to Cause.—"Hot cornmeal mush applied as a poultice to parts, will cause sweating."

Splinter, to Extract.—"When a splinter has been driven deep into the hand, it can be extracted without pain by steam. Nearly fill a wide-mouthed bottle with hot water, place mouth of the bottle over splinter and press tightly. The suction will draw the flesh down, and in a minute or two the steam will extricate the splinter and the inflammation will disappear."

Toothache, Benzoin for.—"Compound tincture of benzoin applied on batting to tooth,"

Toothache, Oil of Cinnamon for.—"Oil of cinnamon rubbed on gum and on cotton batting and put in hollow tooth."

Weak Back, Turpentine and Sweet Oil for.—"Take one part of turpentine to two parts of sweet oil, mix together and apply to back several times a day. It is well to massage the back at night with this mixture just before retiring. Always apply warm."

Weak Back, Liniment for.—

    "Tincture of Cayenne Pepper 1/2 ounce
    Spirits of Camphor