Ague 

 
Vicks Vapor Rub: Was smeared on back, chest, nose and soles
of feet, then bundled in hot woolblankets Barb

 A tea of eucalyptus and spearmint or peppermint apllied

externally (chest, back, soles of feet); thisaccompanied by a cup of
pure mint tea, or mint tea with a half shot (jigger) of schnapps or
vodka (do NOT drink eucalyptus).

Ant Bites 
You can also pour bleach/vinegar over an ant bite or put Vicks
on it and it will stop the festering.

Asthma 
Asthma relief from hot Tea or Coffee. Don Ryan

Athlete's Foot
As for athletes foot. mixed one -two gallons of warm water with
1/2 cup bleach and soaked my feet in it for 30 min- 1 hour daily for
about 3 DAYS TO ONE WEEK.

Bags Under Eyes

 
For bags under the eyes, smooth on a dab of Preparation H
under the eyes before going to bed
 put warm Tea Bags under eyes for a few minutes

Bee/Wasp/Hornet Stings

The juice of a green papaya is used as a meat tenderizer and also as a cure for a sting. 

The purple leafed vine - and I wish I knew it's name - it's used decoratively - also cures stings

rub plain toothpaste on the sting and it will took the pain away
immediately.

Slice an onion and tape it to the are where you are were stung.  

Blood Poisoning
 
My sister ran a pitch fork threw her foot while helping to put up
hay, and she developed blood poison.  My Uncle Chester's mother
who was full blooded indian made a poultice for her foot.  We went
out and gathered sassafrases.  She washed the sassafrases then
enclosed it in a white cloth.  Taking a butter knife she pounded this
until it was pulverised and very juicy.  To this was added 1
Tablespoon of sugar and enough can milk to make the poultice very
damp. Se rubbed the concotion together then it was applied to my
sister's foot.   The poultice was replaced with a fresh one as
needed.  It was like a powerful drawing action that pulled the poison
into the poultice. Gloria 

My grandmother was a treating Dr. in the old days.  I had blood

poisoning after sticking a rusty nail in my foot, with a streak about 5
inches up my ankle.  She treated it with wood roaches in rubbing
alcohol on a bandage the same way.  It drew out the poison. I
always keep in on hand. Sounds gross, but works.   PickinFrawgs

You can use an onion if you step on a rusty nail to draw the
poison out. My sister had blue lines running up her leg from a spider
bite she put an onion on and it was better in a few days. Frieda-
Anne

Blood Thinner
Sassafras tea in the spring to thin the blood.    Roy D. Hurley 

Boil/Cyst 
I recall when I was a child around 8 years old, I had what was
called in those days a boil, guess it would be called a cyst now. 
Anyway, this boil was quite large and on my left hip.  It got so large
and so impacted I had to lay in bed face down, seemed all the know
cures just wouldn't bring this boil to a head, so my Aunt was called
in, she quietly said, go to the upper pasture and cut me some large
prickly pear cactus and if at all possible, get the one that is
blooming.  This was done, she took the bloom of that cactus and
smashed it into a pulp, she took the thines off the prickly pear, slit
the leaf like cactus open, exposing the inside. she then took the
pulp of the bloom and smeared this on either side of that cactus
section and placed this on the boil, she took cheesecloth and
wrapped it around my body to keep the cactus in  place.  She
changed this one more time and on the third day the boil had come
to a head and soon drained. Wasn't long before I could walk again.  
I still have a large indention on my hip where that boil was, but no
scar and no other effects from that.  I don't know that that the
prickly pear cactus was what cured me; I don't even know if there is
any medicinal value in these cacti; maybe it was not the time for
me to die, and God stepped in.  However, I think it helped, for I can
still remember how cool and soothing it felt almost immediately
after it was placed there. Willa Dean “Dee” Sides 

Cloverine in the tin can. Winnie Brower 

 As children we listened to our father tell about his WWI
experiences -- one story concerned a soldier in his outfit who
developed a very large and painful boil on the back of his neck. 
After reaching the point where it was considered "ripe", the
treatment consisted of filling an empty wine bottle with boiling
water to heat it up, emptying it and immediately pressing the open
neck against the boil.  We loved the gross description of how the
contents of the boil erupted with an audible smack against the
bottom of the bottle! Dorothy 

Burdock Root:  I had lots of boils when I was young. When I

was about 12 years old, my grandmother told me to dig some
burdock root, and boil it for a tea and drink a cup full. I went down
by the pig pen where lots of it was growing, dug it up, and tried to
drink the tea, but I could drink only half a cup, and decided it was
worse than the boils. In a few weeks I noticed I didn't have any
more boils, and haven't had any since. After that I haven't been so
skeptical about herbal cures.   Leon Plemons 

My grandmother gave us sulfur and molasses for spring time

purification of the blood to help combat boils, etc.   Joanne H.
Boswell 

My French-Canadian grandmother had more than her share of

memorable cures but that which I remember best was the
application of a tiny bit of tomato avec skin on a boil or pimple that
would not come to a head, held on by tape, or later a Band-Aid. 
Generally within 24 hours said pimple was "ready for
popping." Howard E. Congdon 

The thin skin of an egg to remove splinters, to bring a boil to a

head, etc. Roy D. Hurley 

Bacon poultice, was used for splinters and Boils, you took a
piece of salt pork and a clean rag placed a piece of Fat salt pork
over your Splinter or Boil and most of the time it was gone or come
to a head by morning ...I remember my Granny doing this to me
and it worked ...  Verna
 Two methods I recall for bring Boils to a head were the
application of bacon rind or slab salt cured bacon and (no longer
available) a black natural icthiol ointment. I have no idea what the
source of that ointment was, but "icthi" sounds fishy.  Charles Diltz

A kind reader sent additional information for this one.  He/she

writes: 
I still use this stuff.

New name:
Ichthammol Ointment 20% 
Mfg. Goldline Labs 
Miami FL 
Removes splinters, good on bug bites, Tick bites 

I put on Tincture of Iodine and than Ichthammol Ointment on a

Band-Aid for a few days. Haven't had lyme disease sense I started
doing this. Had it two times before, But, Maybe I just have
immunity or been lucky.  Talpaulfl

I've been told the 'Ichthammol Ointment' is actually made from

fossilised fish bones.. my mother (Hungarian) always had it on hand
for any infection type wound as it has a drawing poultice type
effect...reason it was always used on splinters etc to draw them
out... I still use it and always have a small jar on hand... so it
seems this remedy is known world wide...  Kathleen Hollan

I have cysts come up on me all the time.  The Dr. told me that I don't have what it takes in my body to fight
head, and are really painful, I boil a tea bag.  When it gets just cool enough to squeeze some of the liquid out, I p
pad on top of the tea bag.  In just about an hour or so at the most, the cysts pops, and what a relief.  It works for m
yours.Debi Evans 

My 1st husband's Father used to take a coke bottle blow cigg. smoke into it, cover quickly with finger, then
for a few minutes, and all of a sudden the core would burst out and hit the bottom of coke bottle.  When my husb
bottle, have me cover it quickly, and apply to area, and it worked every time.  Nyla 

For boils use a regular can of deodorant spray on the infected area and leave alone if its not to a head to bus
this 2 or 3 time at the most it will bust and you wont feel it works great. Rose L.

For boils, slice a piece of potato, leaving the skin on and apply the sliced part on boil, cover with a band aid
morning it will have popped or be ready to pop. The moisture in the potato is what draws it to a head. Works eve

My grandmother would heat milk up, soak bread in the hot milk and lay it on the boil, wrap a cloth around
overnight. It was like a drawing salve and seem to do the trick. Boots

As a child, I got lots of boils around my vagina. My mother (a

coal miner's daughter, like Loretta Lynn! :) ) stopped buying
commercial bubble baths like Mr. Bubble (she claimed they caused
infections or made them worse) but instead poured a little
dishwashing (yes, dishwashing!) soap under the tap to make
bubbles in my bath. This lessened the number of boils I did get.

However, when I did get boils, she would make me sit on the toilet
seat and spread my legs, then she would pour boiling water on a
washcloth, cool it to the point where I could bear the heat, then
place it on my boil. She NEVER "popped" a boil by squeezing it, as
that would be way too painful!!! After a few applications, the wet
heat would cause the yellow (infected) part of the boil to rise to a
point and finally drain, to my great relief. I still don't use any soap
but the anti-bacterial kind around my vagina, but I use this method
when I (very rarely --- say, once every two or three years) get a
boil there. Rhonda

The American Journal of Medicine states that these are common

in "young, healthy adults." The best solution (I have found out after
having nearly 20 in 2 years), is to gring peach tree leaves to a pulp
and place them on a slightly damp, warm gauze. leave it on all
night, and the boil will come to a head in the next day or so. Also,
you can heat a wet rag and place about a teaspoon of either baking
soda or cornstarch and let it set. Casey

Two products were used extensively by physicians to treat boils

and infected cysts up to the mid fifties. They
were antiphlogistine  and thermofuge.  They were discontinued
because the companies refused to comply with probably
unreasonable regulatory requirements.
 
Antiphlogistine is still available but only at vetinary medicine supply
houses and is used today for inflammation especially in horses. It is
a very effective poultice which either "draws" the infection or settles
it down. Such a poultice should be applied heated and left on for 12
hours.  Gordon H.

Gordan wrote again and kindly added the following:

Antiphlogistine is available from vetinarian sources and is absolutely
safe to use and is effective. It was used in hospitals all over the U.K.
And Canada and the USA during and after WWII but largely due to
antibiotics I think it went off the market. The interesting thing is it's
really a poultice and has no antibiotic values - it just works.

I have used raisins to draw a boil when I didn't have anything

else..Just tape a few raisins over the spot and in the morning the
boil should be gone...I assume dried prunes would work also ..You
should break the skin on the raisins or the prunes to get maximum
drawing power....Diane

Make a paste of shavings from  a bar of soap, sugar and water.

Place the paste on the boil and cover with a  band-aid (best to do at
bed time). It will come to a head by  morning. LavenderDream55

Bruise 
When you get an injury that will result in the appearance of a
bruise, if you will rub a bit (1/2 tsp?) of Arnica gel on it
immediately---- NO BRUISE!  Honest...really works..... Pam 

My Dad used to tell me that he would go to the local 5 and dime

and they would sell leaches (blood suckers).  He would put one
under his eye and in minutes...the bruise is gone. Tom

If you bump against something, and you know its going to

bruise, than rub some Vaseline on effected area and there will be no
bruise. My son was at the doc's office and fell out of a chair and hit
the floor head first. I put some Vaseline on the swelled area that
was starting to bruise.  The next day i just knew there was going to
be a bruise, but there wasn't...to my surprise! Weird, huh.  Lisa
 The potato is one of the best all-round treatments for sprains, bruises,
swelling and numerous other such injuries.  Cut a raw potato and rub it on
the hurt area.  When it gets dry cut a thin slice off to expose more moist
potato and rub some more--or you could grate the potato and make a
poultice.  I think this will work on burns, insect bites and stings as well,
though have not tried it on those.  A few years ago I sprained my ankle. 
The pain and swelling were terrible and I hobbled around for several days. 
Then I rubbed it with a potato.  Relief was astonishingly quick--maybe ten
minutes.  The swelling went down and the bruise did, too.  I continued with
potato rubbings whenever I thought about it and within a few days was as
good as new. Allen

Burns
For small burns: Keep an aloe vera plant growing in you home.
Break a prong of the aloe vera plant off and squeeze the gelatin like
juice onto the burn. It will stop the sting and heal fast.   Willa Dean
“Dee” Sides 

My wife was making salsa one fall . We likeit quite hot . She was
cutting Jalepenos , Tai Hot , Cherry Bombs , Fire Peppers ,
Cayenne , Chilli , Hungarian Hot Wax , Habeneros , both  Red &
Orange varieties .  After she was done who hands has chemical
burns from the capacien in the pepers . We tried all sorts of things ,
called poison hot lines ect , only keeping her hands in ice water
stopped the pain . We have since learned that two of the most
effective treatments for these burns , usually they are in the
mouth , especially the tongue , are chocolate and milk . Chocolate
milk works really well . A good tasting antidote.  Tom Cummons

My Brazilian wife
swears by an old South American indian remedy for minor burns. Ur
ine. If  burned, just put some urine (preferably your own) on the
burn and it will prevent blistering and take away most of the
sting.  Tom J.
 The best thing I have found id Bag Balm for burns; it works well
on cuts and dry, cracked skin too. It takes the pain away quickly
and heals without a scar or a small scar if the burn was deep. Bag
Balm is what farmers use on cow teats to keep them soft, supple
and clean. Maggie Plasker

This cure was completely by accident. My mom and I were

frying some fish for dinner, and the bread crumbs were building up
on the bottom of the pan. So I went to scoop out the crumbs from
the oil with a spoon. Somehow the oil rolled backwards down my
thumb. I was burned on my entire thumb. I sat down tto make a
salad, dipping my thumb in and out of ice water, but when I started
to peel the cucumber, I noticed the burning has stopped. So I
peeled long slices of the cucumber, wrapped it around my thumb
and covered it with gauze. 2 hours later, when everyone came for
dinner, I took off the wrap. There were no blisters, no pain. Only a
very faint pink mark...and no scar.  Denise T.

For burns I use carbolic salve or plastic wrap. I do cool the burn
and rinse it with cold water first, then I apply either/or. Valerie R.

One other thing we noticed is with burns.  I know someone who

had a 3rd degree burn and the skin has never properly attached to
the leg after being burned.  After taking garlic for a month the skin
is starting to attach to the underlying tissue.  This whole thing is the
strangest thing I have ever seen.  I wish I knew about this sooner. 
I wonder what else garlic is good for?  Debbie S.

In our family, there is a remedy for burns that has been handed
down for generations and it works wonders. You take snow from the
first snow that lays in March & melt it. PMake sure that it is clean
snow......dont go where the huskies go. *smile* Keep it in a jug in
your refrigerator until you need it. My husband was in an industrial
explosion & they were afraid they were going to have to amputate
his ear. We started applying snow water & the swelling went down.
He doesn't even have a scar. The doctors were amazed. This was
handed down by my mountain kinfolk. Dont know if it came from
the Indians or not.
One remedy that I DO know came from the Indians ....... we were
at a powwow several years ago. I was making fry bread when a
huge wind came up and threw everything around, including my pan
of boiling oil. Right in my lap, in fact. The ladies in charge of healing
basted me with honey and covered it with crushed plaintain leaves
to make a poultice, then they bound it to hold it in place. It took the
pain away & better yet, it did not scar.  Harriet R.

Growing up my grandmother would use potatoes on a burn. Just

cut it open and place the white part on the burn. When the potato
gets brown cut that part off and do it again. The potato draws out
the heat from the burn. I can't remember how often but it does
work.  Dawn from IL

Cold in the Eyes

When my youngest son was a baby he had a cold in his eyes. 
My doctor had given me medicine but it wasn't helping much.  My
mother-in-law said to me "do you want to get rid of the cold in his
eye?"  I told her yes. She said "will you do what I tell you?" 
Thinking to myself "she had eight healthy children," I told her yes. 
She told me to wipe his eyes with his wet diaper every time he wet. 
With some hesitation I did what she told me and in two day the cold
was gone from his eyes.  I have passed this remedy to my
daughter-in-laws and my friends and they think it's great.  It will
work every time.Loretta Goss 

When my babies gets a cold in their eyes I would just squirt a

little breastmilk in them. With in a day or so their eyes would be all
cleared up. Pam

Cold Sores
 
Lysine 100 mg.take twice a day....you will start seeing results in
4 days.  It can be found in any vitamin section.  KissKi88

Buy a small bottle of Tinture of Myrrh.  Remove bottle lid, tip

bottle over with tip of finger covering the opening, tip back upright.
rub small amount of solution from finger tip to the cold sore.  Works
on internal mouth or external mouth sores. Bites and stings a little,
somewhat like alcohol would.   I had a devil of a time finding any
Myrrh, but finally found it at Dr. Champion's store
at:http://www.theherbalman.com/    Bob Voigt

My dad made us use Kerosene, Just dab a clean rag or paper

towel, and just dab on affected area.  It WORKS.  I am 60 and still
use it. Been passed down for years...  Butch

Colds 
Mustard Plaster: They would take a kind of dry mustard and mix
it with water. Then they would spread it between two pieces of
cloth, and cover your chest with it.  It would burn something
awful. Grover

(Mustard Plaster Recipe)

 
Cod Liver Oil:  To prevent you from getting a cold.  Grover

Vicks Vapor Rub:  Taken internally for sore throat and cough.
Applied externally if "your chest sounds a little tight". Applied under
the nose for sniffles. Dennis Palmer

Goose Grease & Turpentine:  When I was a little girl my mother

would save the grease from a goose and when my brother or I
would get a chest cold she would take some of the goose grease
and turpentine and heat it up and rub on our chests.  Then she
would heat a piece of a woolen blanket  and wrap around our
chests.  As near as I can remember it would break up the chest
cold. Diane McGee
 When I had a cold my mother used to chop up onions and put
some sugar on them and set them in the warming oven until there
was juice.  I actually liked the sweet warm onion juice and it was
soothing for a sore throat. Dolly Yates

As a little girl, I remember when I had a chest cold..the first

thing my grandmother would suggest would be "warm up the
Camphorated Oil and then rub it around my throat and chest and
cover with a warmed cloth." Later on it seemed Vicks Vapor Rub
took over in place of the Camphorated Oil!  Doris Goldsborough

My Mother was raised on a turpentine plantation.  It seems that

was the only medicine they had .It was used for cuts, burns, colds,
you name what ever was ailing you and they would bring out the
medicine bottle. Jinx Dopson

For chest colds, etc. mother would fry up a pan of onions which
permeated the house and place the fried onions in an old pillowcase
folding the excess around the onions to make a poultice for the
chest or back! It sure got hot and caused one to sweat buckets but
it broke any fever and thus speeded up the healing process....I
think! Pat Bales

The worst was hot whiskey with lots of lemon - which, as I

remember, I was never able to keep down - this wasn't tried too
often!!  Peggy

The "dreaded" onion plaster had many incarnations, mostly,

crushed onions in lard, spread on the chest and covered with
flannel.   The victim was bundled up to sweat (it felt like stewing)
and chest congestion usually couldn't stand up to
combination.   Dorothy

In Appalachia, i often heard of thick slices of onion bound to the

soles of the feet for bad chest congestion too.    Dorothy

To prevent colds my mother-in-law used to keep a pan on the

old heat stove with water and Goose Greece in it and a bit of Vicks,
it made the whole house smell of menthol but was nice and
helped.  Dorothy

I grew up in England and remember a few my mother used to

use.  If she roasted a goose she would save the grease, if you
caught a cold or had the 'flu you got this rubbed into your chest and
back.  There used to be 'Herb Shops', ( we might call these
'Homeopathic Stores' now) where she could buy various herbs and
herbal cures.  If we were congested, she would fill a bowl with
boiling water, put in 3  or 4 large poppy heads, cover our heads
with a cloth and we had to  breath in the steam. I realize now that
this was opium I was breathing in  but it was a common thing in
those days; as was 'Herbal Tobacco'.  This was also a 'pick-me-up'.
Only adults could smoke this if they felt a bit 'run down'. Looking
back this must have been a mixture of tobacco and marijuana. It
certainly seemed to do the job!  Chas 

For colds and congestion in the chest take a meduim onion and
put a little over a cup of water and sugar cook until the onion until
soft and drink as hot as you can stand it and go to bed you may get
sick but that is the congestion coming out and you will feel a
hundred percent better in the morning.  Rose L.

I swear by simple Vitamin C. Start taking 2000 mg a day at the

very first tinge of a cold, along with Echinacea and Zinc. I rarely
have a cold that becomes full-blown or lasts longer than a couple of
days. And taking regular Ibuprofen  or  Acetominaphen  for a sore 
throat  works  a  lot  better than  the  stuff  you  spray  down  your
throat. Tiffany

I remember as a child (I am now 67) my mother using

something call 'Turpicol' for colds, coughing (the 'croup') and
temperature.  She would soak a soft cloth with it, get the
cloth warm and then tie the cloth around my neck.  By morning I
was feeling better.  'Turpicol' was obtained from our doctor who
kept a big bottle of it on his shelf and would dispense it in small
bottles.  I'm not sure of the spelling and cannot find the word
anywhere.  I also understand it is illegal now because of one of the
contents.  I would sure like to find out about it.  Paul Meyer
 I remember the following remedy from my childhood.  As a
variation on the mustard plaster my mother used to empty a tin of
mustard powder (about a quarter pound) into a hot bath and make
her victim/patient lie there until the water was tepid. If making you
sweat helps get rid of a cold then that surely worked.  There was a
downside, if you didn’t mix all of the powder into the water your
back got burnt from the residue on the bottom of the bath.  Tony
Hessler

Regarding colds, sniffles, "flu", etc., etc., and almost any viral
infection:   I make up a decoction of equal parts ( cup or two ) of
onion, garlic, horseradish into a blender with enough organice
vinegar to cover them. Blend into a mash, pour into glass bottles,
let sit in a cool dark place for a couple of weeks. Strain through
cheesecloth and bottle. Take a dropperfull or two as needed. I put it
into a cup of vegetable juice like V8, heat it and sip on it before
bedtime and then two dropperfulls two to three times a day. Two
days, and whatever is bugging you is gone.   This came from a
fellow named "Doc" Shillington. I believe he has a website.   Bob
Wood

At the first symptoms of a cold - the itchy sensation in the back

of the nose, (or sinusitis, stuffy nose, etc.) try washing out your
sinuses with a little salt and baking soda mixed in warm water.  Use
a nasal pot to pour the warm water into one nostril and let it drain
out the other.  Then flush the other side.  Often works for me!
Whalens

Colic
If your baby has colic just get into a hot bath with the baby. 
Both of you will relax and the colic will quickly disappear.  You and
the baby will be able to sleep!! Cynthia

Speaking from experience this really works. When our first baby
was born he screamed the first 5 months of his life.  When he was 5
months old and after trying all the medicine the doctor told us to try
and several old time remedies, sitting on the dryer, taking him out
for midnight rides, changing his milk to every king they have,
putting peppermint and karo syrup in his bottles; even taking him
to have a massage( by this time we would have tried anything)
nothing seemed to work on him.  So I called my Great Aunt  who
worked with a pediatrician for 30 years and told I we were going
crazy with no sleep and we needed something fast.  She told me to
take a quart size jar and put 6 ounces of eagle brand milk and 3
ounces of karo syrup in the jar then fill the rest of the jar with
boiling water and stir it up real good.  Then I gave him a 2 ounce
bottle around noon then another around 6 o clock that afternoon.  It
was very sweet but he liked it and it did stop his colic.  The only
thing that we could figure out is combining the eagle brand milk and
the karo syrup together.  Who knows but it worked and he gained
weight and he sleeped a lot better. Amy Murphy

Pure Olive Oil works great for babies with colic.  Give them a
teaspoon full, and in 15-20 minutes, they are quiet.  It not only
coats the stomach, but it helps when they use the rest room.   An
old Mecican lady told me about this and it sure works.  Too bad I
didn't know about this until my 4th baby.  Believe me, it worked on
her and my 5th, and I have used it on several of my 11
grandkids.   Sharon Rojas

I have a great cure for colic that I used with my second child,
and wished I had known with my first. Take a quarter of a small
onion and boil it in a small sauce pan. After about five minutes of
boilng, take 2 oz of broth and 2 oz of cold water, and 1 tsp of karo
syrup and place in a bottle. Give bottle to baby. This helps the
desire to suck, and the onion breaks up the gas. Child stops crying
IMMEDIATELY, and is back to sleep in 15 minutes.  Jennifer

A good standby to have is fennel. Steep the seeds like you

would make a tea.  Give 1/2 to maybe 1 oz as needed (luke warm).
DO NOT ADD HONEY if giving it to a baby.   Tinybbrn2

We went through a long battle with colic with our second child
and an Indian friend from India told me to go to an Indian store an
by "Gripe Water" follow the directions and serve.. the name sure fits
I'm unsure how much to give so you want to follow the
directions...and it worked wonders.  Debi

I have a newborn daughter who is just now 2 months old.  She

screamed herself to sleep for the most of the day one day.  I called
the health department to make sure it wasn't a formula problem as
she had just been switched from Enfamil to Similac.  She is lactose
intolerant.  Wic provides lactose intolerant formula, but in similac,
not Enfamil which is what she was on.
The lady at the health dept.  asked me a few questions, and we
came to the determination that the problem was not the formula,
but Gas!  She told me that other than Mylicon (which can be
purchased almost anywhere), that she had an old remedy.  I asked
her if she would share her remedy and she was happy to.  She told
me to find an orange tree, pick some leaves off of it, wash them,
make a tea of them by boiling them in water which also sterilizes
the tea, and add a little sugar or Karo syrup to taste, and give it to
the baby.  It is all natural so it won't hurt baby.  I tried it and it
worked like a dream.  I recommended it to a neighbor(who I got the
leaved from) for her neice to try, and she said it did the trick for her
baby as well.
 
Orange Tree Leaves!  It really works.  The doctor also added that it
was completely harmless for the babies, and we could give them as
much as needed. Melissa

This colic cure saved mine and my husbands sanity. Our son is
21 months old now, but when he was a lot younger, he had a small
bout of colic. Our doctor recommended Carbo Veg granules. He was
claer within a week as is anyone else who tried it. Im not sure if you
can get it anywhere other than Wales, but it is brilliant.   Chelle 
Wales, UK

I was desperate to find a way to cure this and was unable to get
paregoric from a doctor. I tried different things and found this
works, without fail. It is cheap and easy.  
You need:
  hot water bottle (the rubber kind)
  towel
  hot water  

You fill the water bottle with hot water, wrap it in a towel (so you
don't burn the baby). You place it in the middle of the babies bed.
Place the baby on top of it with the bottle immediately under the
babies stomach.  Do not over fill the bottle, maybe only half full
(think about it). Pat the baby's back gently until it goes to sleep.
Then go to bed and get the good nights sleep you desperately
need.  Robert

For stomache aches or colic in babies, you can boil cut up onions
in water.  Then, pour into bottle and let it cool down. It lets the
babies pass gas and it is very soothing for them. Onion water could
also put them to sleep.  Jessica Sulez

My daughter was colic from the time i brought her home from
the hospital and i was living with my grandmother, and she told me
to do this. I didn't think it was going to work, but it did and fast.
The first time I used it on my daughter, she drank about a half oz.,
and then didn't want any more, so i put her on my shoulder to burp
her. Man if you could have heard that burp - - no, no a belch is
what she did. It was unbelievable. After she BELCHED she went to
sleep and slept for 5 hrs without waking up. She was about 1 month
old.  So get a piece of real peppermint candy, and melt it in hot
water. Once it is cool enough to give to a baby, give it to a baby --
just like this. DON'T mix with milk, that causes souring on
stomach. Lisa

When our son was a couple of weeks old he had the colic bad at
the time I was in the navy and the doctor we had would not give us
anything for it so we took a small medicine bottle and but an ounces
of beer in it shock it to get all the gas out of it and gave it to him he
never had the colic again and the doctor love the idea. DEKKit9

Whenever my son was a baby and had tummy aches, bad case
of colic or was just restless my mother-in-law suggested Manzanilla
tea.   It is a remedy that is used in Mexican families.  When my son
was a baby just a 4 oz. bottle would work like a charm and allow
him to get rid of the gas and relax him enough to sleep.
 
My son is 23 yrs old now & I have just found out that Manzanilla tea
is Chamomile tea! I still refer to it as Manzanilla tea and now my
son uses it for his babies when they have cases of Colic. Lou R.

Complexion 
What really seems "yucky" to me is a story my mother once told
me. When she was in high school in the early twenties, the young
girls would get a "wet" baby diaper and wipe their faces, thinking
their complexions would be improved!! Doris Goldsborough

My French-Canadian grandmother had more than her share of

memorable cures but that which I remember best was the
application of a tiny bit of tomato avec skin on a boil or pimple that
would not come to a head, held on by tape, or later a Band-Aid. 
Generally within 24 hours said pimple was "ready for
popping."  Howard E.Congdon

If you feel a pimple coming up, rub in a little toothpaste and it

practically disappears overnight.Rhonda

Pimples can be brought to a head with hot, wet,

washclothes.  Don Ryan

Red Clover flowers(dryed ones seem are better) and Golden seal
are both natural blood cleaners taken together (legally I can not say
it will work as a cure)(**) But "maybe it will" clean up acne. One
should make a tea (use honey to sweeten if nessary) Golden seal
smells and tastes really ucky. Take 8 to 10 Red clover flowers, 1/4
ts Golden seal. Place into a large cup (6 to 8 oz) fill with boiling
water. Let stand for 8 to 10 minuets. Drank it twice a day for 3 to 5
days. Use as needed.  Mike

My mother taught me how to cure your pimples - You drink a lot

of water, for one thing. Or to get rid of them overnight, before you
go to bed, wash your face thoroughly. Then take some rubbing
alcohol on a cotton swab and rub it on your face wherever you have
pimples. Take some antibacterial ointment, and after the rubbing
alcohol has dried (only a few seconds), rub the ointment where ever
there are pimples or zits, and where ever you rubbed the alcohol.
Leave the ointment on overnight, and within the next few days, all
of your pimples will be cured! This really works, I tried it and the
next morning they weren't that noticeable, and then the next
morning they were gone!! It was really cool. -Claire Wilson

For your complexion lemon juice will lighten freckles and will
highlight your hair.  Chas

To prevent/cure acne, seperate an egg, and bust the yolk. 

Apply the yolk to your skin 2-3 times daily for a week, washing it off
10 minutes after every application.  The results are noticeable
immediately. Casey

Constipation
Castor oil:  Most dreaded of all. Given if "you are looking a little
bilious and need a good cleaning out". Also seemed to be helpful if
you had been disrespectful (real or imagined) to adult.  Dennis
Palmer

Castoria, it was a children's laxative. G C Bailey

I grew up on cod liver oil or castor oil in orange juice. It was

supposed to disguise the taste and go down easier.  It was the
annual cathartic or purgative that was to "clean us out".   Winnie
Brower

Paprika Jinx Dopson

Back in '29 my mother gave me a small pink Calomel pill which

did the trick. Later the treatment was Castoria. This was kept in the
kitchen with the spices and was more than once used by mistake for
Vanilla when cooking...  Whoops!!!!Mary Kay Surguine

Eat a handful prunes or raisins, or drink prune or grape juice.  A

swig of mineral oil will also help lubricate the system.   Rosanna

My Grandfather used 2 tablespoons of Epsom Salts to a glass of

water for constipation.  FYI it is still listed on the box as a relief for
constipation.  Gloria

For constipation: eat dandelion; flowers, greens, or roots

dandelion, little yellow weeds that everyone seems to hate is a
natural antiviral and a mild laxative.  Chas

i was constipated once, and my husband gave me warm apple

juice.  A few mins later, i was in the bathroom. It really works. He
got it from his grandpa.  Lori

Cough
Fletcher's Castoria;  A dark, herbal remedy that didn't taste very
bad at all (as I remember) -- good for coughs or "whatever ails
you".  Dennis Palmer

My mother used to mix honey in lemon juice and give as cough

syrup.  I did this for my own children -- they liked it, it seemed to
soothe the throat, and they could have it as often as they wanted,
unlike the drug store cough syrups.  In retrospect, the vitamin C
probably did some good.  Dolly Yates

Grandpa swore by rock candy (crystallized sugar) dissolved in

rye whiskey for sore throat or coughs. Charles Diltz

My mother also used the sugar/kerosene remedy for coughs. (A

few drops of kerosene in a teaspoon of sugar.) Betty

My grandfather (Indian & southern) would give me a swig of

peppermint schnappes for a cough. All that menthol , I guess, plus
the shock of the alcohol to my young system sure seemed to do the
trick.  S & P Tumey

I remember my grandmother treating our coughs with a green

onion concoction.  She would take green spring onions and chop
them up in a bowl and cover with sugar, then allow it to sit awhile
until the juices from the onions and the sugar made a syrup and
then make us drink it. If you liked  onions it was at least better than
some of the cough remedies available at the time. Gerald Byrd

My Grandmother used to put salt in the palm of my hand and I

would just get some on my tongue and let it melt there and that
would help with a COUGH, and would work for several
hours.  Dorothy

This isn't and old remedy but my mum gave this to me when i
had a really bad chesty cough.  She made me drink Honey, lemon
and onion! in warm water. It was the worst taste ever! but it did
work really well!  Atty

My grandmother used margarine mixed with sugar as an edible

cough medicine.  No particular mix; but enough sugar to make the
margarine palatable.  Billie

Here is one that works.  A slice of raw sweet potato. Suck on it

for a cough and the cough will go away or lessen in a few
minutes.  Mike Young

Try plain honey.  Casey

THis is a remedy for a bad cough/sore throat that my mom and

dad swore by and now that I'm a parent I have used it a time or to
myself.  You take any kind of whiskey (my dad used Wild Turkey),
mix it with honey and lemon juice then warm it.  There was never
an exact measurement but of course with kids you should be a little
shy on the whiskey.  It not only puts you to sleep but cures the
cough & sore throat.  You can even add peppermints and let
them "marinate" so to speak and use them as cough drops.  Carrie
Davis

I have 2 entries for your cold remedies.

1.    Father John's cough syrup. (in the 1950s) It came in a brown,
tall, thin bottle, it was tan and thick and had some cod liver oil in it. 
I think John was dressed as a monk on the label.

2.    Homemade fermented wild cherry liquid.  Dad put an old sheet
under a wild cherry tree and shook out the ripe ones.  He put them
in jars and let them ferment.  Free cough medicine.  Take enough
and you didn't care if you were sick.  From ct

When I would get bronchitis my dad would  mix vinegar, sugar

and water for me to drink. It tasted terrible, but it  worked!
LavenderDream55

When you have a persistent cough that will not go away....try

Vicks Vapor Rub on the bottom of your feet!   Apply liberally and
cover with socks.  It stops your cough in minutes.  Mark Aldridge

Croup
My grandmother was a practical nurse in the early 1900s in
Indian Territory.  When my mother was a new mother, her mother-
in-law taught her many of the skills and remedies she had learned
from assisting doctors.  One of them was for a baby with croup.  A
silver teaspoon was filled with whiskey, set on fire, then the
remainder was cooled and given to the crying baby. Nina Hall

Onion juice & Sugar:  After we became adults we were all home
for Christmas and my niece was a baby and had the croup.  Mommy
mixed up a teaspoon of sugar and onion juice and gave to the baby
and it did help the croup. Diane McGee

Rendered Skunk Oil for croup.  A cold wet washcloth on the

throat would have made more sense.  That stuff was terrible
sickening.  Wilma

Horehound Candy was used to help stop cough when we had

Croup, and it helped sooth the throat so we didn't cough so
much.  Dorothy

My mother & aunt used to hold me while putting a pan with

vicks in it & heating it on the stove while holding a big sheet over all
3 of us cured the croup   RD

For croup, my grandma used to make "skunk grease." Ever

heard of it or know how it was made?? Thanks. JA

I am not in any type of medical profession, and I usually do not

have enough time to answer questions, but "skunk grease" piqued
my interest, and since I had a free second, I Googled it and found
the following article:

It is from te Free Lance Srar Newspaper.  It tells how well it cures,

as well as a  vague way of how to make it.  The person sent it to
the CDC to get a positive reply on it so he could patent it. The
article begins this way:

"Health problems? A good dose of skunk grease will work wonders. 

OLD PEOPLE had the perfect remedy for diseases like whooping
cough and the croup: 
Skunk grease.

When your chest got tight, skunk grease would loosen it up. That's
what my grandmother always said. Just take some of this potent
remedy and rub it on. Pretty soon you'll be healthy again."

Click here for the

article: http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2001/102001/1014200
1/417838 
It is an interesting read.  :-)
Cuts
Pine Tar:  Puncture and/or severe wounds were dressed with
pine tar. Barb

Coal oil and sugar bandages were another of my grandmothers

remedies for cuts, abrasions, stubbed toes, etc.  Later, my mother's
favorite cure all was Mar-Vel oil--a light, all purpose liquid
ointment.  It went on cuts, bruises, burns, scratches, whatever.  We
had 'progressed' from the coal oil and sugar. Nina Hall

Kerosene: My grandmother used kerosene to pour on and clean

cuts and punctures to prevent lockjaw, and I would not think it
would be good for taking orally. Joanne H. Boswell

"Monkey blood" - (merthiolate): Applied to scrapes and

abrasions. Always with the admonition to "blow on it and it won't
sting so much".  Dennis Palmer

We had a family doctor who always prescribed for cuts, even

dog bites...to bathe it in Lysol!!!! Doris Goldsborough

The very worst "sure and quick" way to stop bleeding of a cut
was to pour salt on it.  Talk about pain....  Betty

Another kind user wrote in to say:  You should add that salt is
ONLY TO BE USED when the cut is NOT a puncture wound.  Casey

Another good one, spider web will stop a cut from

bleeding.   Anne

When we cut ourselves, Granny would pour Coal Oil  (Kerosene)

on it to stop the Bleeding and take away the soreness...   Verna

I would like to advise that coal oil is now a rare commodity and
is derived from coal. Kerosene is a petroleum byproduct and does
not have the same medicinal properties as coal oil.Bill Hudson
 My Mother was raised on a turpentine plantation.  It seems that
was the only medicine they had. It was used for cuts, burns, colds,
you name what ever was ailing you and they would bring out the
medicine bottle. Jinx Dopson

My grandfather (Indian and southern) would let his dogs lick

scratches & stuff on his hands. Said they made it heal faster. 
Grossed me out, but recent conversation with a Dr. friend says that
dog saliva is anti-bacterial.  Believe it or not. S & P Tumey

One night I got really drunk at home and as walking around

bare-footed. On one those needed trips of relief, I somehow  kicked
the front end of the door, and ripped my big toe nail off. (ouch) To
stop the bleeding was the first order of business, and not really
caring how it was done. I had my wife get some Cayenne Pepper
and pour it on the wound. (see Back to Eden on Cayenne shown
below under Remedies Available)   In seconds, and without any
pain, the bleeding stopped. Cool huh  Mike

I worked in the restaurant industry, very busy as you know. 

Well many a chef has cut his finger, and due to time, and lack of
staff, we would often superglue our wound together after thouraghly
washing it. The glued cuts healed nicely.  Carolyn

Dandruff
I started a whole fad in my college dorm for using Glovers
Mange Cure (for Dogs and Horses) and still available, for dandruff. 
On Saturday morning the whole floor would smell of coal tar while
we all walked around with towels on our heads having a
treatment. Philip Ingerman

Depression
 Fish Oil 1000 mg 3xs a day will relieve the
anxiousness.  KissKi88

Diaper Rash
This is relatively new but it works. Take Maalox and rub it on the
babys bottom before you put on anything else, this will neutralize
the acid in the babies waste. It works wonders as long as you apply
healing agents over the Maalox. Billy

We had an old fashioned pediatrician and when our daughter got

a bad bout of diaper rash we were told to mix maloxx (sp) or any
antacid with cold cream and put on I guess the antacid removes the
acid from the skin and the cold cream keeps it in place and cool...It
worked the best!! and it was much faster to help heal!! Debi

Bag Balm orks great for diaper rash, too.  Mama Cas

I worked with a man who had colon cancer and had a colostomy
reversed.  He was rashed up to the point of being unbearable.  I
told him to have his wife do this, since they had used every
immaginable potion and lotion over the counter and doctor
perscribed without help.  Scourched all purpose flour works best and
quickest.  You take all purpose flour, scatter it on a cookie sheet
and bake it until it is good and scourched.  Let it cool and use as a
powder.   She made it for him that day, the next day; he came in
and said his rash was almost totally gone and he was so much
relieved.   I've used it on my children and now my grandchildren. 
Best and cheapest cure going.  Nancy W.

Cornstarch:   Clean the area with a warm moist washcloth (do

not a baby wipe-it will burn the skin) do not dry the area  - then
sprinkle cornstarch on the irritated area.  (Hint: Cornstarch does
not mix well with liquid  (it's like vinegar and oil) therefore it keeps
the skin dry (keeps urine from burning the skin). Nancy B.
 My first baby had an ugly diaper rash - bright red and raw -
numerous trips to the doctor, expensive prescription ointments and
all - nothing worked.  An older woman saw me changing her diaper
and said "If you want to cure that - put Crisco on it".  I thought,
why not - tried everything else, so I did.  It was cleared up in a day
or so and she never got diaper rash again!  Debbie

My mother in law told me about this one: When my oldest son

was an infant, he had a terrible diaper rash. She told me to find a
dirtdobbers nest and crush it up and sprinkle it on him.  i didn't
think it would work, but to my surprise, it did...so i continued to use
it on my other children when they would get a diaper rash.  Yes, it
sounds nasty, but it really works great.   Melissa

For diaper rash - my mother did foster care as I was growing

up, and she always used "udder ointment." I used it on my two
children when they were little and it always worked. You can buy it
at Walmart (at least in Ohio you can) and possibly in a pharmacy.
White container with cow spots for coloring on it. Hope you try it!
Sabe

Diarrhea
Castor Oil:  My mother honestly believed that mixing orange
juice with castor oil made it more palatable----which it DIDN'T!! 
Furthermore we received castor oil whether we were constipated OR
had diarrhea---in the latter case it was supposed to "rinse out" all
the germs.   Howard Congdon

Add more cheese to your diet. Rosanna

If something is eaten that seems good and upsets the stomach,

add vinegar to water and  sip it.  It works immediately.  If not taken
right away and the toxin passes thru the system and causes
diarrhea the vinegar will still work as soon as taken. I have
personally used this and will swear by it.  Vinegar is so simple and
cheap --- my favorite kind of remedy.  Betty C
 One desertspoon of Tincture of Rhubarb in 1 tablespoon of warm
water.  Absolutely foul but guaranteed you will only need one dose. 
My parents used this all the time when I was a kid.  They never
gave it to children but it certainly worked for them every
time.  Christine M.

Whenever I had the runs, my mom would put a tablespoon of

flour in water (about 6oz.). At the very most, you may have to go to
the bathroom one more time, (needs a moment to get into your
system) but that's it.  Jo

A sure cure for Diarrhea.. boil down some blackberries take the
juice add a little sugar to taste and drink it. Your Diarreah will be
cured within 15 min or less, The rest you can use to make a
cobbler! Double duty cure!  Barbara

My grandma grew up in Europe at a time when medicine was

hard to come by. Her family used stewed blueberries (or canned)
which plugged up the runs within a very short time. You don't need
more than a cup (or 2 if really bad) of stewed berries. I use this
remedy for myself and my children and nothing works better! I
understand it is the pectin in the berries that does the trick. Plus
they are good for you too & safe! :) Cynthia

Dizziness / Sea Sickness

This really works!  Eat crystalized ginger. Tastes good and also
acts as a breath freshner while it curbs all kinds of motion sickness,
dizziness, sea sickness, and vertigo.  Connie Matejek

Dry Skin
Bag Balm:  This was used for chapped skin on hands and face
as well as it's intended use which was as an ointment for cow's
udders.  I still keep Bag Balm in the house because it really works
better than most of today's lotions. Mary Stuart Parks

Try Vaseline for dry skin. It has always worked for me,  Casey

For dry skin, I'd tried everything for my little girl. First, no soap
(except shampoo for hair) in the bath, Dreft to wash laundry, but
sometimes that didn't do it. I researched and tried everything until I
found this remedy...all available at the big discount store...Udder
Cream (in the black & white tub, NOT the tube or dispenser,
ingredients are different.   Add to this:  tea tree oil and vitamin E
oil.  It works wonders for dry skin, burns, acne, dry lips...... I keep
a tub of it in my car for dry hands and a bottle of tea tree oil for
first aid, or when I get a pimple or dry spot. I also sent you a note
on lice prevention. Marlene Wisely

Dysentery
Red Oak boiled will stop Dysentery RD

Ear Ache
We had a teen girl that was in our care, by court order. We were
foster parents.  This 14 year old girl whose family came from one of
the deep southern states, came to me and ask for a cup that was
disposable.  I gave her a paper cup and ask why she needed it.  Her
answer was quite a shock to me.  She said she had an earache. 
She would urinate in the cup and pour it in her ear.  That is how her
granny cured earaches.  Has anyone else heard this cure?  Rose
Deal

Yes; my Dad (who is in his 70s) told me that was his mother's
cure for an ear ache. (My grandmother was from very rural east
Texas, with Tennessee roots.) Your foster daughter's granny had
access to a modern refinement - the disposable cup.  Daddy said he
learned, real young, to tilt his head a little to the back rather than
forward, because the warm urine usually trickled out of the ear and
ran a bit.  I like to tell this cure to my children's pediatricians and
watch their faces.   Marie

Yep...and actually, it serves the purpose (warm sterile liquid). 

The one I know of but never had the nerve to try was the one
where you roast an onion and then use it as a poultice on the ear. 
Partially the same concept, I guess (hot liquid) along with the fact
that onions and garlic include a natural antibiotic.Megan Zurawicz

Cigar smoke blown in the ear to cure earaches (it works)   Roy

D. Hurley

All thru my growing-up years I was plagued w/ ear-aches.  Mom

always heated some camphorated oil in a teaspoon, soaked a small
cotton ball in the warm camphorated oil, & put cotton ball in my
aching ear.  Ah-h-h, such relief.   Didn't take the pain away
altogether, but surely did help ear feel better & made pain
bearable. Mary

For an earache my father would take a puff on his pipe and blow
tobacco smoke in the affected ear! No idea why it worked but it
did.   Pat Bales

When I had an ear ache, she would bake an onion in the coals of
the fireplace and cool it and the put 2 drops of onion juice in my
ear, with a piece of cotton to keep it in.  Anne

When a child, I constantly had an ear ache. Once my

grandfather found out, he immediately went into the woods, and
found what he called a "Betsy Bug", which looks like some type of
beetle.  He said  there is one drop of blood in its head, which he
squeezed out, and placed inside my ear.  I have never had the ear
ache since.  I understand these can be found under old logs or large
pieces of wood.  They are black in color and have a hard shell.   K.
B. Pate
 From the webmaster: Out of curiousity, I Googled "Betsy Bug."
and I found it to be a beetle with many names. Some of these are:
Bess beetle, bess-bug, Betsy-bug, horned passalus beetle, patent-
leather beetle, and passale. Some species often have a short horn
protruding from the center of the head, which results in the
common name, Horned Passalus. The body is very shiny and slick
looking, resulting in another common name, Patent-leather Beetle. 

Their habitat is mainly tropical areas but also includes North

America. These beetles can be found in decaying logs and stumps.
Wood infested by these beetles is usually well decomposed and falls
apart readily. Larvae and adults live together in a network of
galleries dug in the wood, forming small colonies that show some
social organization, a very rare trait among beetles.  You can read
more & see a picture here.

I'm 65 and as a kid had ear aches all the time.  My Mom would
heat regular table salt and put in a terry towel.   It gets really hot
so you need to watch when using on kids.  I always felt it was the
heat that put me to sleep.  It was more of a heating pad than
anything else.  My Doctor told me..in a pinch...heat vegetable
oil...test on the wrist, before using.  This also gets very very hot. 
Use an eye dropper to put in the ear. I read once where a lady
heated and just put it into the childs ear...Of course the child had
severe burns and also went deaf.  I could never understand how
this could happen....heat any type of oil and it STAYS HOT. Rae
Painter

When I was a small child I had a lot of ear aches, my mother

would take a small square of soft cloth (diaper) and put a  small
amount of black pepper then fold over the cloth to make a small
bag and tie it with thread. Place this in the ear and in no time the
pain is gone. Larry Long, Drury MO

Here is one i was told about a couple of yrs ago by an older

lady, and  i use faithfully it works....Garlic is a natural Antibotic and
I keep garlic oil in gel caps on hand and take it orally. I take 1000
mg orally but have been keeping a lower dosage on hand for this,
300 mg. I have used both mgs, You decide. But poke a hole in the
tip of the cap and put drops in the ear with child or adult laying
down so it will drain way down into the ear, cover with a cotton ball
in ear.  We did this on a weekend when we were unable to get to a
Dr. My son hadnt slept in 24 hrs he was feeling so bad.  Within 15
minutes of applying the garlic oil to his ear he was free of pain and
sleeping. In 3 days he had no infection. Needless to say we no
longer see the Dr for ear aches. You could also put a heated wet
wash cloth on or a heat pad these both help ease an ear ache. I also
add that if the problem continues that one should see a Doctor
ASAP. Wouldnt it be nice if Natural medicine and MD's would work
together.  Gayle aka Stormy

Couldn't resist sending this in after reading your section on

earaches.  I didn't see what I thought would be a given.  The Native
Americans call it coning, but in Argentina, where I grew up, my
grandmother would roll up a sheet of newspaper in the shape of a
cone, with the small end tiny enough to fit in the ear. I would lay on
my side, aching ear up and she would stick that cone in the ear and
light the other end on fire! Then you just let it burn slowly and the
warmth at the end of the cone sucks out any water or air, just as a
fireplace sucks out the air from the rest of the house.  Often you
can hear the air rushing out loudly!  When done you flip over so the
ear can "drain" (and it does). I have done this to my children who
both suffered from earaches when young, much to the dismay of
my pediatrician, but also to the relief of my children.  This really
works and has spared my children many hours of pain. Dora
Schwemley

When my daughter was little, we'd fly across country several

times a year to visit family.  She's invariably have pain in her ears
during descent.  The flight attendant would take two paper or plastic
cups and put paper towels that had been placed in hot water and
wrung out inside the cups.  My daughter would hold them over her
ears, and, bingo, the pressure-change pain would go away!  B.
Daniel

My youngest son gets earaches often. We heat a bag of rice for

about 1 1/2 min. in the microwave, wrap it in a towel and he holds
it to his ear or lays on it like a pillow. It works every time and pretty
quickly.  Carol Hawkins

Once when I was around 16. I got this horrible ear ache. My
grandma put first heated olive oil then drained it, Then hydrogien
proxidied (sp) once again drained. Last but the most important part
is a whole piece of garlic with both ends sniped off. She put that in
my ear with one of the cut ends pointing out then a warm wash
cloth and told me to go to sleep. 4 hours later my ear ache was
gone. I have used this on myself and on my son. Works everytime
and very fast!  Pru

When I used to swim competively, I would get horrible ear

aches from the chlorine (swimmer's ear). I would always pour a
little vinegar in my ear to take away the pain. Works like a
charm! Tiffany

Put a few drops of white vinegar in your ear and it eats the
infection. It will bubble a little but it works. For the pain you can use
a drop or two of ambusol that you use for your toothache in your
ear.Sherrie

I currently have an ear ache, and my father just got through

with one. Ever since I was little, I have always been getting ear
aches, mostly right after each other.  When my dad had an ear
ache, he used Sweet Oil. It worked like a charm on my dad, and it
is feeling pretty good right now as well.  It sooths and takes the
pain away. Just put some Sweet Oil on a Q-tip and put it in your
ear, then put a cotton ball in your ear to keep it from running out,
and you should be healed in no time!   Jen

Another cure for earaches is to take take a bottle of mineral oil

heat it up like you would a baby bottle. Drop a couple of drops in
the affected ear and put a piece of cotton in the ear.  This will make
the ear feel better and drain out the affecting gunk. This can also be
done with the sweet oil that was mentioned.  I tried this on my
friend's son when he had a horrible earache that made him scream
and cry in pain, and it worked like a charm.  Actually learned this
from my stepdad. Don't get it too hot because it can scald if too
hot.  Charlotte
 My daughter had constant earaches as a toddler. A family friend
is a nurse who recommended the following to us; a garlic capsule in
the infected ear. Use the supplemental ones, prick with a safety pin
and squirt into the ear. She smelled like a caesar salad, but it really
worked! We have used this remedy ever since.  Melanie

Fever 
Aconite for fever.  That remedy really worked.  You took two
drops per teaspoon of water, if high fever.  And usually one took
two teaspoons every two hours.  If fever wasn't very high, one drop
per teaspoon was given every two hours until fever
dropped.  Wilma 

I remember my mother telling me, when she was a young girl,

she had a high fever and her father took a large onion, cut it in half
and put the cut part against her feet and tied them there.  She
didn't remember the length of time but said the onion turned black
and her fever went away. Loretta Goss 

As with the sunburn, the same ability of vinegar will also bring a
fever down in someone who is very warm. It appears to only work
locally where it is applied. CG482@aol.com

Hot Lemonade:  My parents always made me drink it just before

bedtime if I had a fever.  I have never heard of anyone else doing
it.  Mike 

Flu
A cup of hot ginger tea - 1 tsp ginger dissolved in a 8 oz cup - 3
times in the same day. It'll banish the flu entirely, no waiting. The
tea has to be drinken hot though, lukewarm isn't hot enough.
-Gramma on my Mom's side always gave us this. Add lemon juice
and honey to make it taste better.  vixaenblue

Gout 
Burdock root tea "may"(**) clean the uric acid out of the blood
system. I have heard of relief coming in as soon as 15
minutes.  Mike 

I read in a Prevention magazine that cherries would relieve

gout.  A number of men that I worked with had gout and it helped
them.  Chimes 

If you drink Black cherry juice you can off set a flame up very
quickly BUT, it will leave you in the bathroom for a while. You only
need about 8 ounces or so and organic is best if you can get it. My
boyfriend has gout in his feet and it works like a charm for him. I
hope anyone who has gout will take this advice to heart. Andrea

Headache
My wife puts Vicks Vapor Rub on her eyelids and temples as well
as under her nose for a severe headache. Rick Fogle

I have suffered from migraines and arthritis for about 15 years. 

I finally came accross a "Chi Machine" which I now have a
distributorship, and it has been almost a year since I have had any
headache or suffer with arthritis.  Any problem that I have, I go lay
on the Chi Machine for about 10-20 minutes and the pain is gone. 
This machine is very expensive ($480.00 plus tax) but has paid for
itself many times over.  Any one interested in this alternative to
medicine, please contact me at: chiforlife77@hotmail.com.  I
promise you it helps.  It also helps so many other problems. Thank
you.Debi Evans
 Sinus Headache? My grandmother that was full blooded
Cheerokee Indian use to get mustard seeds, put them on a cloth
(long enough to reach around her head) and beat the seeds to a
pulp, roll up the cloth and place the mustard seed pulp on her
forehead and bring the cloth arround her head and tie the cloth in
back. The hot heat she said would ease her head and not knowing
what was happening (it opened up her sinuses allowing them to
drain)  said it would cause her "nose to run". The headache would
ease and stop. My mother said she had seen her do this many
times. when I was a boy of about ten years old I seen a rag tied
around my grandmother's head but did not knonw why. I thought
sense she was an indian she "just" liked it. Victor

For headaches; with you thumb and forefinger press the fleshy
part between the thumb and forefinger of the other hand. Do this as
long as possible alternating hands.  If it hurts to press....that's
good.  Dora Schwemley

I have discovered that 'nasal snuff' especially 'Wilson's

medicated no. 99' is great for warding off the type of headaches
that can develop after a day's fishing and driving. It seems to create
an outlet for the build up of tension and fluids  caused by getting
too much sun reflection as well. Try it - it works for me!  'Royal
George' snuff is good for neck tention too.  Regan Clan

When one happens to out in the Forrest and develops a

headache (assuming you didn't bring aspirins)  Just chew on a
willow twig.  Aspirin is made with a base of willow oil. This also
gives relief from a tooth ache.  Gwen

Next time you have a headache just apply a little amount of

bengay on the forehead and keep it above your eyebrow's. It works
real fast in taking away the pain out of a headache or a
migraine.  Rosa

Hemorrhoids
 A mixture (1/2 & ½) of Flower of sulfur and Molasses (one
teaspoon full) taken twice a day by mouth for three days then drink
a cup of Epson salt solution (add the salt to water until it is
saturated and no longer dissolves).  Do this process for nine days. 
It worked for me before the nine days were up.  This was given to
me by a "little granny woman" from South Carolina.  Bob Hammer

Herpes
If you take 2 lysine 100 mg daily it will keep you from having an
attack.  Lysene can be found in any vitamin section.   KissKi88

Hiccups
Sugar for hiccups.  (Some people do better chasing it down with
water,others get better results dry.)Don Ryan

When you have the hiccups, light a match, drop it in a glass of

water and drink the water but do not swallow the match. I still use
this cure today and it works great.  Judy G.

Doing this may be awkward to do by yourself, but if you plug

both ears, and also your nose as you swallow four or five gulps of
water, your hiccups will vanish.  Having someone else to plug your
ears is certainly helpful, but using your index fingers to plug the
ears, middle fingers for the nose, and then picking up the short
glass with your thumbs and ring, plus little fingers does work quite
well.  Jeanine Alyse

My niece  taught me this trick for curing hiccups. It requires

another person to apply pressure to closing off your ears (stand
behind the hiccup'ping person and press as hard as possible to close
off the ear passages) Slowly drink a glass of tepid water and the
hiccups will disappear.  Never fails!! NytezGrami

A tablespoon of peanut butter ALWAYS stops my

hiccups.   Ferne

One time during my biology class in the 10th grade, a girl had a
bad case of the hiccups.  He went over to her and placed his thunb
about a third away from her wrist on her inner arm.  They went
away instantly.  He explained how it works.  He used to study
pressure points, and hiccups are caused by your phrenic nerve
which controls the movement of your diaphram.  Sometimes it can
pulse faster than it is suppose to which causes your diaphram to
move quickly resulting in hiccups.  Holding down the phrenic nerve
will stop it from pulsing so fast, therefore, curing you of your
annoying hiccups.  So far it has worked on everyone I have done it
on and has left some in amazement!  Just make sure you press
hard enough!  It works just as well when you do it to yourself too,
and I don't believe it matters what arm you do it on either. Donald
T.

My mother swore by this remedy--bend over at the waist and

take a drink of water from the far side of the cup.  It's worked
EVERY TIME I've used it--this cure has been effective for everyone
I've told to try it. Christa

Since Hiccups are caused by a deficit in oxygen, often taking

several very deep longs breathes will cure them.  The hiccup 'reflex'
is triggered behind the ear, so another way is to apply ice cubes to
the nerve behind the lobe of the ear (in the little valley part) and
holding it there for a couple of minutes.  Try the ice while taking the
deep breathes and 90-95% of time you will be
cured! Kathi Rodriguez 

Take a swig of water (hold it in your mouth) plug both ears and
"trickle swallow" the water.  Works for me!    Donna

A teaspoon of honey (sugar works, but honey is better)

dissolved under the tongue. It has worked for all my family, and
everyone I've ever told it to.   vixaenblue
 My grandfather had the hiccups for 4 days straight. Not even
doctors remedy's could stop them. A bartender told me to have him
drink a small glass of pickle juice. He did and the hiccups when
away instantly! This remedy has always worked every time I have
recommended it. Jen

Get a glass of water and take 20 very small sips without

stopping. It has never failed in 50+ years, either for me or someone
near me.  Charlie

I thought i'd send in some of mine.  I have MONSTER hiccups. 

- The upside down cure.  Drinking water upside down works

because it forces the esophagus to more the water AGAINST
gravity.  There are a cupel ways to do it.  When i was little i used to
hang off the edge of the bed and rink though a straw.  Now that I'm
older that give me a headache so i put the glass of water on the
ground and bend over (without bending my legs) enough so that i
know my esophagus is upside down and drink it though a straw. 
Leaning your butt against a wall helps with balance for this. 

- The hold your nose cure.  I think the works because it breaks up
the rhythm of your muscles thats causing the spasm.  Breath out,
hold your nose and drink though a straw.  Drink as much as you can
before you come up to breath and then when you do breath, take
your moth of the straw and keep you nose closed up.  Then drink
some more.  Keep doing it until there gone.  Usually it doesn't even
take the whole glass for me to get rid of them this way.  Ava

Impossible to do, but TRY to breathe in  and out AT THE SAME
TIME! It forces the air from the diapraghm. It works  every time!
LavenderDream55

Hot Flashes
 Black Cohash.  Try it, it works.  I think it's an Indian remedy.
You can get it at any health store.  Take it as recommended and
within a few days, hot flashes are gone.  They may return when you
are stressed, but then just take it again for a few days.  Miracle !!
GravyFreak

Infection
On larger, infected sores or wounds my grandmother applied
some leftover mashed potatoes and a bandage and the "infection"
was sucked right out of one's body. Howard E.Congdon

For any infection: Take a crust of bread, pour sugar over it until
covered, and soak it in a little milk.  Bind this over a sore of any
kind and leave it alone. In no time at all you can feel it 'pulling' at
the wound and it will clean it of all infection. I have used this on my
husband and it pulled so hard he took it off!  Don't ask me why, but
it does work.  This was passed down from my grandmother.  I
swear by this one and use it to this day.  Jela

My Father used to finely grate some Felsnaptha bar soap, add a

little sugar and enough water to make a paste. Put it on the
infection with a bandage. It draws out the infection. It really
works.  Sharon Cameron

Infected Fingers
For an infected, throbbing finger: 
Mix a generous amount of Epsom salts in very warm (not hot!)
water.  Soak the affected part for several minutes till the water
cools.  Repeat several times during the day.  You should get relief in
a few hours.  If the infection persists, see your doctor! Whalens

Insect Bite
 When bitten, one should cut an onion and put the inside of the
onion towards the location of the bite.  Works every time.  Casey

Iron for Blood

Black strap molasses:  A black, thick slightly sulfurous molasses
taken from the bottom of the vat when syrup was made. High iron
content (?). Originally given to our sheep when they were having
miscarriages from "pregnancy disease". Found to be good when
mixed with butter or peanut butter and eaten on fresh bread, biscuit
or cornbread. An acquired taste.  Dennis Palmer

I recall my grandmother putting large, iron nails in a glass jar of

water on the enclosed back porch for months.  She called this her
"spring tonic." Gary Radcliffe

Someone mentioned nails in water.  I always heard back then it

was a way to get iron in the 
bloodstream. Joanne H. Boswell

It has been said to cook in iron utensils because the iron from
them will be absorbed into the blood.  My grandmothers used them 
and all my grandparents lived to be over 85 and most of their
children lived past 80.  Roy D. Hurley

I had an Iron deficiency as a child and the Doctor told my

Grandmother to mince raw ox liver and silver beet or spinach
together with pepper and salt to taste and feed it to me twice a day
as is.  I loved it. But, the rest of the family would not sit at the table
when I was eating it as it made them feel ill. A cousin told me I
would turn into a Vampire. I didn't and was cured.  Marlena Zabel

Jellyfish Stings
 Use regular household amonia (we use plain amonia so I don't
know if the lemon or other flavors work or not) and pour directly
over the whelps. It doesn't smell great but it instantly stops the
stinging. Terri

For Jellyfish Stings: Use meat tenderizer.   Melissa

My experience at the time was with my daughter age 2.  She

had the unfortunate experience of having a jelly fish tentacle attach
to her leg.  We used natural ammonia, sort of embarrassing but
very effective, we used urine.  The relief was immediate.  Monica

My Friend and I were out in the ocean and a huge wave brought
tons of jellyfish in. As the wave rolled past me and a  jellyfish
latched onto my arm. I quickly got it off and swam to shore. My
friend's mom was a nurse and told me to rub sand on it. It worked!!
I also put Benedryll lotion on my arm that night.  Brynne

Vinegar works like a dream. I'm from the gulf coast and when
we go to the beach we always bring some in a spray bottle. Urine
works too and would do in a pinch but I wouldn't carry it in a spray
bottle.Ang

Lice
Pine Tar: Grandma used pine tar on our hair as a lice
preventative.  Barb

Mayonaisse rubbed in your hair will kill lice.  KissKi88

My Grandparents once told me that if you use peanut butter for

your hair, it will smuther the lice, Especially if they are starting to
look like ants! Danielle W

Coconut shampoo and conditioner that's made with coconut oil

or extract will kill and prevent lice.  Or even use a drop or two of
coconut oil or extract (not imitation) into a dollar size of shampoo
will do the work.   Another way will kill the lice is to use Denorex
shampoo.   Brita

Oregano oil or tea tree oil will get rid of body lice...I used tea
tree oil on my kids. This is how you do it: put a few drops around
the hair line, also put a few drops in your shampoo that's all, No
more bugs.  If you think they are in the bedding, wash in hot water
and the oil.  Before drying, make sure there is a drop - one drop- on
it going into the dryer....no bugs.  If you think a friend has them,
and you need to go there, put one or two drops on your hair line. 
This has a bad smell, but it goes away after a few minutes.  The
best part is, you will be bug free forever.  Just use a few drops at a
time.  You can buy it at Wal-mart...it's cheaper than Rid.  Ervin P.

If your child comes home with lice is just discouraging so i

recamend to use rubbing alcohol pour the rubbing alcohol on the
childs head let it sit for about 30 minutes and rinse out then comb it
with a lice comb.  Lisa

For lice, after trying (what I thought to be) all, talking with
everyone, dealing with lice with 6 people (4 of us female), their
beds and hair checks and treatments, I found this, which I believe
works wonders in prevention:   eucalyptus oil, added to shampoo &
conditioner. I also add a good amount of eucalyptus oil to plain (not
minty) listerine (or generic) in a spray bottle. When I hear of a case
of lice at school or in the family, I spray this all over AT the SCALP.
Listerine added to wash cycle when doing laundry is an old army
wife trick (big ingredient is eucalyptol), and since I've been addicted
to "menthol" cough drops since my third pregnancy, I've gotten lice,
though my school-aged kids had come home with the critters.
OUNCE of PREVENTION. Since I began this routine, neighbors,
extended family, and classmates have had lice, but not my kids.
Marlene Wisely

Menstrual
 My great great aunt was taking alum to reduce the flow of her
periods I guess they were too heavy she died at 16 wonder if that is
the cause anyway alum needs to be listed as a remedy for mentrual
flow . Love Genia

In reference to "taking alum" - - It is actually "alum root" or

"cranesbill root." Native Americans used it for several different
ailments, heavy menstrual periods being one. My Choctaw great-
great grandmother gave it to my grandmother. She claimed it
worked!   Kelly

Moles
My husband had many moles on his back. These were flat with
dark tops on them. He started to take one clove of garlic every day
because he was told by a friend it would help with circulation. In 2
weeks we noticed that 2 moles that he has for at least 10 years was
gone. The warts what were growing on his back just flaked off. I
have never heard of this before. Have you?  Debbie S.

Mosquitos
A "remedy" to keep mosquitos from biting ~~~ wet down a
dryer sheet (like Downey) and rub it over your skin.  Not only does
it keep the mosquitos away, but also softens your skin!!!  Jean
Partridge

Mouth Sores
Gentian Violet Philip Ingerman
 
 Canker sores (or Mouth Sores) Granny used a Chunk of alum
tasted like the dickens but worked Verna

Red Rasberry leaf dryed or fresh rolled and place into the mouth
next to the sore "may"(**) stop the discomfort in as little 30
seconds.  Mike

Here is one that I use and is almost a guaranteed to work--table

salt.  No one likes the little mouth sores called "mouth ulcers". A
good remedy when one comes to a full sore is to get some
"Compound benzoien" found in a drug store. It puts a coating on
the sore allowing you to eat, but believe me "IT BURNS LIKE FIRE".
But if you feel one in the making, here is the best thing you can do
sprinkle some table salt in the palm of your hand, (it is best to wash
your hands before doing this) stick your tongue in the salt that is in
the palm of your hand. It does not take much salt. Just cover the tip
of your tongue with some salt. Then with the salt on the tip of your
tongue place your tongue on the mouth sore and rub the salt into
the sore with your tongue. If the sore has just made a little bump
and has not turned white (open up), it will stop it from opening up
and within 24 hours it will be completely gone! But if you do not
catch the sore before it turns white (opens up) it will burn like down
below and take longer to heal.  It W O R K S for me and my
house. Victor

Mumps
When I had the mumps, my Mom rubbed the oil out of sardines
on my throat, honest! Anne

Nail Fungus
Vicks actually works for nail fungus....just put it on twice a day, 
and in a week or two its gone!  Katy Tsocanos
Nasal Congestion
For nasal stuffiness, or to release sinus pressure, pour 2 cups of
vinegar in a saucepan, add 1/3 cup of pickling spice and boil, then
cover head with a towel and lean over the boiling mixture for 10
minutes or so.  (Pickle juice works too, the more garlic the better.) 
Believe me, this works better than some decongestants and doesn't
dry you out completely. Stacie Braford

Nausea
For nausea, car or air sickness: put pressure on the underside of
your wrist at about 2 inches below the area where the wrist and
hand meet.  Hold until nausea subsides.   Dora Schwemley

For nausea, you can use a flat.. FLAT coca cola classic, or now
they market coke syrup in the drug stores.  Ginger ale, consumed
slowly, ginger added to tea, or ginger capsules, camomile or
peppermint tea also help.  There is also a pressure point between
your thumb and forfinger in the webbing of your hand that is
supposed to help fight nausea and motion sickness. Chris

For an upset stomach or for nausea our pediatritian

recommends the child drink the juice from canned peaches.   Julie
Woods

For Nausea, try eating Saltine crackers and sipping

Sprite.  Casey

Gingerbread boys help for nausea. Valerie R.

Nettles
 We have in this area of Texas two plants that have fine acid
loaded hairs - Bull Nettle and Stinging Nettle. If you brrush against
them the effect is terrific stinging. We used urine to conteract the
acid. Charles Diltz

Take a Pine fern (not cone) brake it in half and rub the broken
ends on the effected area.   Mike

Jewel Weed, which at least here in Ohio, grows in close

proxcimity to nettles is a wonderful antidote and takes the sting out
almost immediately.   Tom Cummons

When i was younger i was in the boyscouts in washington state,

whenever any scout encountered Stinging nettles the scoutmaster
would immediatly put wet mud on the area, You would leave it on
till it dried then rub it off.. it worked! The mud would lessen the pain
and "leech" the fine hairs out of your skin... then again he also
showed us you could eat nettles after boiling... tasted like spinich...
yech!  Robert Mendes

We have tons of sting nettle around here.  We have two cures

that we use faithfully.  Rub a burdock leaf on the sting and it goes
away like magic.  We also use jewel weed and rub that on the
sting.  Peggy

Neuralgia 
From an old book that I have - copyright 1879 - Home & Health
and Home Economics by C.H. Fowler,D.D., LL.D., and W.H.DePuy,
A.M., D.D.: "Temporary relief for neuralgia: A New Hampshire
gentleman says: 'Take two large tablespoonfuls of cologne, and two
teaspoonfuls of fine salt; mix them together in a small bottle; every
time you have any acute affection of the facial nerves, or neuralgia,
simply breathe the fumes into your nose from the bottle, and you
will be immediately relieved."   Doris Goldsborough
Nosebleed
Vinegar will stop a nosebleed in its tracks.  Just take a small sip
and get it to the back of your throat, and breathe the vapors out
your nose. No more nosebleed. It appears to cause the blood
vessels of the nose to contract or to clot the blood rapidly.   CG482

Fold a piece of tissue(small not to large) and tuck it under your

upper lip (Boy Scout fieldbook pg.247)  Mike

For a Nosebleed, put a little Cold water up your nose and lean
your head back.  Casey

Once initial bleeding has subsided, we put a little hemorrhoid

ointment on a cotton swab and run it around the nostril.  It
moistens passageway and the ointment causes vessels to close up
faster!  Laura L.

Pain 
Willow Bark:  Indians (American aborigines) chewed willow bark
before the "white" man arrived to alleviate pain.  I think I've heard
that some tribes in Africa have found other plants that serve the
same purpose.  Aspirin is a derivative of acetylsalicylic acid which
occurs naturally in many plants including willow.  The remedies may
have been "yucky" but they worked.   Gil Murray

Pink Eye
For pink eye, dilute 1 tblsp of honey in about 8 oz of water, and
using a shotglass, wash out affected eye.    Use 3 times daily.  Barb
 My mother treated our family for pink eye all the time, never a
doctor was needed, so when my daughter and her friends came
down with pink eye from sharing makeup, there parents went and
spent money on prescribed medicine, and I used my moms recipe.
My daughter was cured almost 2 wks before her friends. I still use it
for my grand kids.
 
2 tsp Boric Acid
1 cup of water

Bring to boil, then set aside to cool.  When cool, place in air tight
bottle.

Wash eyes 3 times daily till improved (3-4 days) with cotton ball.
DO NOT DROP IN EYES -- Wash Eyes Only.   Do not use the same
cotton ball twice.    Sylvia Posch

Poison Ivy or Oak

My grandmother told me of this: 

   - When my father was just a wee lad or 4 or 5, they all lived on

the Indian reservation at Paradise, Michigan.  (Gramma was a
school teacher and taught the children of the Chipewa tribe there). 
My father was out playing with his brothers and somehow tangled
with the dreaded poison ivy.  When he began to have difficulty
breathing his older brother took him home.  By this time Dad could
barely breathe and his whole body was swollen almost beyond
recognition.  Gramma knew he was going to die.  (She had just lost
a 2 year old boy to the dreaded influenza the previous fall).  She
prayed and sent one of the boys to fetch the medicine man.  He
arrived and saw the trouble.  Left, and quickly returned with leaves
which he dried over the fire only briefly and made a tea.  He
instructed Gramma to give Dad a spoonful every hour through out
the night.  (No shaking of rattles or feathers and dancing around).
Next day my Dad was out playing with the rest of kids and Gramma
went on with her teaching.   To this day, my Dad can walk, crawl
thru or burn the dreaded poison ivy and it does not affect him, nor
does it affect me or one of my brothers.   I don't know about my
sister or my baby brother, if it affects them or not. 

   - Now,  you wonder what was in that tea.  It was made of poison
ivy leaves!  When I related this story to my Dad, he said he didn't
know.  He knew that he was no longer allergic to Poison Ivy, but
didn't remember why. 

   - I am a nurse and related this story to one of the docs I worked
with 10 years ago, and he knew of this cure, but was always afraid
to try to it, as he didn't know the ratio: leaves to water.  Law suits
prevent drs from "experimenting" on real people. The Native
American Indian didn't have that hanging over them.  Suseann
VanLiew

Salt dries up poison ivy and other rashes.  Merry

Monistat 7 Cream applied to the affected area, Monistat for

itching.  Mike

Hemmoroid cream works wonders, dries up the oozing of poison

ivy and oak and also stops the itching.  A couple of applications and
it's eradicated! Julie

My mother used this remedy for poison oak many, many times
over the years. She was 89 when she died in l993 so you know it's
an old remedy.   Mix together sour cream and baking soda and
apply to affected skin area morning and night. Use until  skin is
healed up. Healing should be seen within a day or two. This mixture
is drying to the poison oak.  I think you could use this for poison ivy
also. It would be worth a try. Sandy

Dab Lysol on the infected area...will alleviate itch and allows it

to heal. KissKi88

Poison Ivy or Poison Oak -It used to be shown on the bottle but
not lately which probably means if you're not careful it can burn
some people. Clorox or liquid bleach (diluted) brings relief to the
itching.  Grew up in central California and it was poison oak there
and got it a lot. KW

The best thing i have found for poison oak and ivy is to get a
banana peel and lay it out on the counter and wait until the inside
turns a light shade of brown , then rub it on the rash but only use
one spot on the peel per infected area so you dont spread it, then
let it dry and it is instant relief and dries the rash up within a few
days. this treatment has worked for our family for many many
generations. Earl H.

There is one cure for poison ivy that I find works better than
anything.  The juice from a jewelweed (touch-me-not) plant applied
to the affected area neutralizes the urushiol in poison ivy and its
relatives. The fresh juice is best, but if an extremely strong infusion
(it's strong enough when it turnes red--this can take a few
hours!) is made and promptly frozen, it can last for about 6 months.
Don't drink it though; while jewelweed is technically edible, such a
concentration of it contains calcium oxylate crystals. Not something
you'd want in your stomach.  This cure works better on some people
than others, but it usually takes away the itch within a minute and
removes the rash in a day.   (On a related note, if you react
severely to poison ivy or poison oak, I'd reccomend that you avoid
mangoes. Mangoes and poison ivy are in the same family, as is
poison sumac. I learned this one the hard way!)  DeeAnn

My grandmother used Fels Naptha soap.  It is a bar laundry

soap that used to be very popular.  It can usually still be found in
the laundry section.   While it is a little harsh, taking a shower with
it (make sure to rinse off well) dries out the bumps or scabs and
neutralizes the oils from the plant.  Brenda

I had poison ivy and flax seed oil cleared it up. A very
overweight girl went to the Health food store where I go and said
Drs.couldn't stop her poison ivy. The lady told her what I had said
about the flax seed oil. She came back later and said it
worked. Harold Tinker
Rash
We used to get a rash fom wheat chaff during the haying
season, much like people get from grass. Dad would put pet
condensed milk on it. With in a few minutes the itch was gone and
the rash soon after. Allen Austin

My mother used Crisco (in the can) grease on us as youngsters.

It helped heal rash/raw butt:0) Linda W.

Ring Worm 
Our family doctor, having nothing that truly worked on ring
worm, (this was before the wonder drugs-post WWII) adopted the
use of green walnut hull juice applied directly to the skin. (black
walnut) That truly worked| Charles Diltz

My sister constantly was getting ring worms on one or another

part of her body and in order to get rid of them my Mother would
draw a dark circle around it using an ink pen.  They would disappear
within usually a week after doing this every day as the ink
supposedly would smother them. Heidi

When I was a little girl I had a wring work appear on the top of
my foot.  My mother spent hundreds of dollars on doctor bills and
medicines that didn't work.  Finally, she remembered an old cure for
chigger bites.  Fingernail polish!  Every day, she would put clear
fingernail polish around the outside edge of the wring worm and it
got smaller and smaller until it disappeared.  The nail polish
smothered it.  Priscilla Bickley, West Virginia

In high school during Gym. class, the teacher noticed a

ringworm on the back of my thigh.  The school nurse confirmed this,
and I was sent home, and told not to return until it was gone. 
(contagious?) After almost 2 weeks of some ointment the doctor
had prescribed, I still had the darned thing , and it actually seemed
a bit larger, and itched like crazy! Finally, my Grandmother told me
to take a penny and set it in a small container with WHITE VINEGAR
over night.  In the morning, I was to take that WET penny and
lightly rub it on the ringworm, and repeat it before I went to bed. I
was told NOT to cover it, just let it  "dry." ( smelled awful .....) That
ringworm was gone in 2 days!  Donnajean 

My grandmother would tear off a piece of brown paper bag and

put it on the blade of an ax and light it on fire, blow off the ashes
and take the sweat off the ax  where the bag burned and put it on
the ring worm, it would go away in 2 days.   Colleene

I wrestle and get ringworm constantly.  I noticed that is you put

selsun blue (dandruff Shampoo) on the ringworm and cover it with
a bandaid it will go away.  Just put it on in the morning and change
it again before you go to bed.  It should go away in 1-2 days.  Dan
F.

I rub teatree oil on ring worms, everyday till they are gone.
Usually only takes about 3-4 days, but I guess it depends on how
big the rash is.   Tegan Bomers

Shingles
I had just told a friend that some years ago when I was
diagnosed with shingles (probably the 2nd or 3rd day due to the
pain I was feeling) and the "spot" on my back was obvious, I'd
returned to work and a co-worker said to go to the Health Foods
store and get L-lycene, 500 mg and Vitamin C, 500 mg and take
1500 of each every day.  Could take a higher dose if necessary. 
She said it "cured" her Dad of a really bad case on his face.  So I
did as she said.  It worked for me too.The doctor had said there was
nothing you could do, it would take 6 weeks to run it's course.  He
gave me a prescription for pain which I did not have to fill. 
However, after a week or 10 days, I stopped and the spot and pain
came back.  So I found that you have to stay on the Vitamin C and
L-lycene for the whole 6 weeks.  Then you have to taper off the
vitamin C.  I probably took 1000 of each 3 times a day.  The body
adjusts to the Vitamin C; taper off or get a sore throat!

I think it works by boosting the immune system and the lycene

fights the virus that causes the shingles.   Neuralgia can be a
serious complication of shingles and that pain can last for years.  
So I was grateful for the home-remedy tip.  No pain; no after-
effects.  Just tapering off the "C".  I have never found this great tip
anywhere else.  So maybe someone else can benefit now.    Midge

Not a cure but relieves the extreme pain from the rash. Cool
Mint Listerine, or its generic equivalent, dabbed on to the rash with
cotton balls. The pain goes away almost instantly. This was given to
me by a chiropractor and has worked for me and everyone I have
passed it on to. Paul

All my life (47) I can remember using an old medication called

BGO. I was made in Greenville, SC and came in a short white jar
about the circumference of a quarter and 2" tall. It was calamine
lotion pink and as thick as butter. It was used as an antiseptic while
drying the affected area. I had shingles three years ago... the
Doctor had me on 3 meds by mouth and said it would take 6 weeks
or more. I was in so much pain! I went home and got out the tiny
bit I had left in a jar of my BGO dabbed it on the two areas... within
3 days it was gone... the doctor was shocked! I have used the last
of my jar and really need to find more. The company that made it
for the past 60 years here in Greenville has now closed. Do you
have any idea where I can find this wonderful old-time remedy?
Gina G.

I had shingles and rubbed flax seed oil on them and they cleared
up. Harold Tinker

Snake Bite
My old hound dog came in from one of his solitary hunts whining
and in pain with a swelling around his right eye. Examination
showed rattlesnake fang marks both above and below his eye. Dad
wanted to shoot him to "get him out of his misery" (which he soon
had in abundance --- his head "swole up to the size of a water
bucket"). I tearfully interceded and then 'doctored' Duke (my
hound) with kerosene (we called it coal oil) dabbed gently to the
fang marks with a chicken feather. Amazingly, the dog survived ---
the only dog we ever heard of who survived a rattlesnake bite on
the head --- and lived for many more years. He bore tthe 4 little
scars of the fang marks until he died but was panicked by anything
that sounded anything like a rattlesnake rattle. Kerosene or
constitution ?? You decide. Dennis Palmer

I would like to advise that coal oil is now a rare commodity and
is derived from coal. Kerosene is a petroleum byproduct and does
not have the same medicinal properties as coal oil. Bill Hudson

Sneezing
Many times while driving I would sneeze.  I found if you rub
your ear lobes it would suppress the sneeze.Don't pull on them, just
rub them. Try it at home before a sneeze, it really does work for me
and others that I have told.  Chimes

I was at my friend's party and we were chatting with her cousin

and I noticed that he kept "scrunching" his nose up.  I asked her
why he did this and she said that he had a chronic problem of
sneezing and the doctor had told him to "scrunch" up his nose to
prevent the sneezing.  What you do is, when you feel the sneeze
coming, "scrunch" or twitch your nose (It's hard to describe),
basically squish your nose together to where it kind of moves
upward, and it prevents you from sneezing.  It only works if you
catch the sneeze in time though, so pay attention!  Amanda Lew

i was in my school's choir and our teacher was really strict about
moving or drawing attention to ourselves in any way while we were
singing in concerts. she told us if we had to sneeze, just close your
mouth and suck on the roof of your mouth with your tounge. it
worked for me every time!  missy d

Sore Throat
A small bag of plain kitchen salt  heated in the oven until very
warm and cradled around a sore throat for relief.  Nina Hall

Tonsaline:  A very weird-tasting, yellow-colored liquid in a tall,

skinny bottle with a picture of a long-necked giraffe on the label.
This medication was for sore throat.  It was a bit like taking a
swallow of alum water. Nina Hall

Kerosene:  Taken internally (with or without sugar or honey) for

sore throat. Dennis Palmer

Voice of Caution: I enjoyed this site a lot but wanted to suggest

that you put in a warning on the one for kerosene for a sore
throught. My daughter spent 2 weeks in the hospital with chemical
phenmonia from a teaspoon of ingested kerosene. I wouldn't want
anyone to try it.ShirlRay

Argyrol: You'd get your sore throat painted with argyrol which
was on a cotton swab at the end of a stick?  My dad was the official
swabber in our house, and he was pretty gentle, but it sure tasted
bad. Philip Ingerman

When I had a cold my mother used to chop up onions and put

some sugar on them and set them in the warming oven until there
was juice.  I actually liked the sweet warm onion juice and it was
soothing for a sore throat. Dolly Yates

From an old book that I have - copyright 1879 "Home & Health
and Home Economics" by C.H. Fowler,D.D., LL.D., and W.H.DePuy,
A.M., D.D.: Cures for Sore Throat:
     1. Powdered potash held on the tongue and allowed to dissolve
is very good for sore throat when there are 'white spots' 
     2. Take the whites of two eggs and beat them in with two
spoonfuls of white sugar; grate in a little nutmeg, and then add a
pint of luke-warm water. Stir well and drink often. Repeat the
prescription, if necessary. A practical physician thinks it will cure the
most obstinate case of hoarseness in a short time."   Doris
Goldsborough

Grandpa swore by rock candy (crystallized sugar) dissolved in

rye whiskey for sore throat or coughs. Charles Diltz

My mother's cure for sore throat is to gargle with warm salt

water. It really works. Cindy

One morning I woke up with a sore throat, so bad that I had no

voice. My Mom told me to have a hot cup of tea with a piece of dry
toast. To my surprise, it worked immediately. smooth3333

When I was a child, I got a lot of sore throats, and at the first
sight of a little sickness, they would get a long swab and Gentlin
Violet and paint your throat...just enough to cover it.   Tonetta
Marrero

Gargling with salt water is good for sore throats.  Merry

For a sore throat, it only takes a small chip of garlic, or taste a

drop of garlic juice. But chew this very small chip of garlic & if you
do not have strep throat, you will feel better in minutes.  Lee Geiger

Peroxide - - See "Swollen Tonsils"  This remedy is for both. 

>From Rebecca from Georgia

When I get a sore throat I sniff warm salt water up my nose and
let it run down the back of my throat.  It really does work.  Also,
you can mix 1/4 cup vinegar and 1/4 cup honey. Take 1 tbls 6 times
a day.  This worked for my hubby whose refuses to sniff salt
water.  Fredshobby

 My grandmother used to prescribe a dose of turpentine and

sugar for a sore throat. I certainly wouldn't advise it today, but
there is a legitimate treatment sometimes prescribed by doctors,
called turpenhydrate and codeine. Obviously the codeine part is a
narcotic, but the turpenhydrate is surely a derivative of turpentine.
Anyway, it tastes just as foul as the original.  John E. Bowles

THis is a remedy for a bad cough/sore throat that my mom and

dad swore by and now that I'm a parent I have used it a time or to
myself.  You take any kind of whiskey (my dad used Wild Turkey),
mix it with honey and lemon juice then warm it.  There was never
an exact measurement but of course with kids you should be a little
shy on the whiskey.  It not only puts you to sleep but cures the
cough & sore throat.  You can even add peppermints and let
them "marinate" so to speak and use them as cough drops.  Carrie
Davis

Spider Bite
This is a remedy that has helped when my husband had a spider
bite that was growing bigger and was forming a knot under the
skin. I went and picked a couple plantain leaves and chewed them
up slightly. Actually, the person with the bite should chew it, as it
has detoxifying properties. But, since my husband wouldn't, I
chewed it and then put it on the bite. I placed a Band-Aid over it
and changed it twice a day for 2 days-after that, the bite, the knot,
everything was healed. I believe I found this remedy in a Native
American herbal remedy book. I also use a chewed plantain leaf on
places I have that start bleeding a little. I just place it on the cut or
whatever and hold it there for a short time. the bleeding
stops. Betty Black

When a spider bit a friend of mine on her face, she used a tea
bag (just regular tea).  She soaked it in water and applied it to the
bite.  With in 10 minutes, the swelling was almost completely
down!  LL

I saw tobacco used for bee stings, it also works on mosquito

bites, spider bites & anything else you want to "draw" out of body. 
About 13 yrs ago I had friend that got bit by spider on back of
hand.  Within few hours it was very red & she had golfball size knot.
I put wet tobbaco on it, about 1 hour after that there was no
redness & knot was completely gone.  Sincerely, Joy T.

I have a remedy for spider bites. Simply cut an onion in half and
place it on your spider bite this will draw the poison out works very
well. Tape the onion on with duck tape leave on over night. Frieda-
Anne

Splinters (more found under "Thorn") 

 
How about cutting a potato in half and putting it at the sight of a
splinter.  It really works, splinters seem to suck into the potato, but
was a little awkward to be walking around with a potato strapped to
you.  Michelle Ferretti 

Splinter - To cure splinters my Grandmother would cutt a piece

of fat from bacon and place it over the splinter (with a Band-Aid).
As long as the splinter was wood, it would come out, usually
overnight. It works!   Sabrina Barton

The thin skin of an egg to remove splinters, to bring a boil to a

head, etc. Roy D. Hurley 

My stepfather's parents (from Finland) used a paste made from

brown soap and sugar to "draw out" splinters and boils.  At least I
didn't have to eat it. Rick Fogle

Bacon poultice, was used for splinters and Boils , you took a
piece of salt pork  and a clean rag placed a pice of Fat  salt pork
over  your Splinter or Boil and most of the time it was gone or come
to a head by morning ...I remember my Granny doing this to me
and it worked ...  Verna

I remember one time when I got a bad splinter in my foot.  My

mother made a poultice of equal parts Alcohol, flour and lard.  (If
you use 1 tsp of alcohol then use 1 tsp of the others or if you use 1
TBLS. of alcohol, use 1 TBLS of the others)  Mix this until it is like
silly putty in your hands and then place a small amount on where
the splinter entered the skin and put a gauze pad over it secured
with some type of tape, leaving the gauze uncovered over the site.  
This poultice will work with either metal like straight pins or needles
or splinters of wood. - - - I used this remedy just two years ago
when I had a BAD splinter in my foot and it worked beautifully. 
Pulled it out within 24 hours.   Mona Clouse

A good way to get splinters out is to put Neosporin on it with a

band aid after a hot shower and by morning it will disappear.  Lisa

Just dab a little elmers glue on it an let it dry the peel the glue
back and the splinter will pull out. ds 

I'm in my early 60's and live in London UK. I learnt as a child

that a good way to remove a splinter is to apply boric Acid Ointment
and cover with a "band-aid" plaster, and leave overnight. Usually
the splinter is drawn out. I've no idea how this works. I cannot find
this hint anywhere on the net. Also boric Acid ointment is
unobtainable in any UK pharmacy (I think because it's a bit toxic by
modern satandards). The tin of ointment I inherited from my
mother is now almost empty. Bound to be, over 60 years!
Fortunately, when looking through a collection of old tins on an
antique stall, I found another - wonder of wonders the tin was
almost full !!!  Peter
 

Stomach Ache
Wild Cherries:  My grandmother made a wonderful concoction
from wild cherries, which are darker, smaller, and more bitter than
domestic cherries.  She let it ferment :0)   and mixed it with sugar
and hot water for a stomach ache. I loved it!  I had regular stomach
aches, until my parents put a stop to the "cure." Patricia I. Shaw
 Paregoric: taken for stomach aches, etc.  My mother would add
a little sugar and water to the Paregoric for me to drink.  Doris
Goldsborough

Nutmeg Jinx Dopson

For stomach ache drink the juice of one whole lemon mixed with
2 tsp. of sugar.  Instant cure! Dora Schwemley

A quick cure for a stomach ache: Squeeze out one inch of tooth
paste ( any brand ) and down the hatchee.  Swallow it , with or
without water , and in a few minutes the stomach ache is gone! 
(Without causing nausea or sickness - - - actually it doesn't taste
bad at all .)  In 1958 , while in the United States Air Force , as a
Flight Engineer , on a survival training exersize , 100 miles from a
doctor or medicine (except a snake bite kit ) , my Aircraft
Commander , bless his heart , suggested this treatment . I've had
very few stomach aches since then , but when & if they do occur ;  I
Grab the toothpaste!  Floyd E. Hodges

Strep Throat
Mormons use pineapple juice for strep throat. Just drink it when
the strep throat season starts.Valerie R.

Sty
When I was small and would get a sty on my eye, my mother
would take a an Irish potato, cut it in half and scrape out about 3 or
4 tablespoons of the raw potato.  Then she would put the gooey
mess in a clean, white handkerchief and put it over my eye.  She'd
leave it about 30 or 45 minutes, take it off, wash the area around
my eye and in about an hour the sty would be gone.  It has been a
really long time since I was a little girl, but I still use this remedy to
this day.  Don't know how it works or why; but, it works.   Betty
Giblin

Sty - Rub a gold ring on the sty. I have not hadd great luck with
this one. Sabrina Barton

I work in a beauty salon with a lady who is 79 years old.  I had

a sty on one of my eyes and she told me to take my gold wedding
ring and rub it on a towel or some type of material to get it hot then
touch it to the sty until it cools off.  I thought to myself  "yeah right"
but my eye was bothering me so bad so I tried it. My husband
rubbed my ring on his blue jeans then put it on my sty.  I could feel
the heat from the ring going in the sty. It was very soothing and
believe it or not the sty was gone by the time I got in the bed. Amy
Murphy

My mother in law taught me this. When I have the beginning of

a stye (in the eye) I take a piece of smooth gold jewelry (mother
said it should be your husband's wedding ring) and press it against
the stye. Now gently move it across the stye in one direction.
Picking it up off the eye and starting over again. Do that several
times and as often as you think of it. It has always healed my eyes
right up. It works like a charm! Gold has healing properties in it. I
always wash the jewelry before and after I do this. Donna Cravillion

I'm prone to sties and in a desperate attempt to get rid of a sty

I had I mixed four different home remedies and it worked. First,
grate some carrots, about two of them, and put them aside for
later. Next, heat up some water and then add salt. Lastly, cut up
some green onions (the whole thing) and add just enough water so
all of the chopped onion is covered and bring the water to a boil.
Strain the green onion "juice" and mix it with the salt water. Wrap
up the carrots into a muslin or a thin clean cloth and twist it so the
carrots are in ball at the tip. Dip the ball in the saltwater green
onion concoction and place it on the sty.  The heat from any warm
compress helps the white blood cells attack the sty, the green onion
stops the swelling, the salt dries the sty out, and carrots help bring
the sty to a head.  Jay
Sunburn
Being a redhead who sunburned so-o-o easily, I learned early
how soothing & beneficial vinegar gently  &  liberally applied to
burned areas can be.   Mary

Vinegar does soothe sunburn, more importantly it will reduce or

stop the severity of the burn if epeatedly applied for an hour or so,
immediately after the incident. The burning usually continues for
quite a while afterwards once someone is over exposed to the sun.
Vinegar will stop the pain and heal in its tracks.  CG482@aol.com

For sunburn try dabbing on vanilla. It takes the sting out and
keeps it from peeling and smells good. I have used both real vanilla
and imitation and they both work the same. Phyllis

For Sunburn use cold brewed tea on the sunurn (unsweetened

of course.) it also puts the fire out in your mouth when eating hot
peppers.  Luvy

There isn`t anything better for sun burn then cold tea...Tea has
tinactin in it and brings the fire right out..My husband was badley
burnt when he spent a day on the water,I soaked towels in cold tea
and let them set on him,when they got warm soaked them again,
he never even blistered..I have used this for years..  wonderless

I burn easy.  I use Aloevera gel on my sunburn. I keep a very

large plant in my house at all times. Its great for burns of all
kinds. Jen

I get laughed at a lot when i tell people this, but preparation H

or it's generic equivalent works the best for sunburn.  Someone who
worked in a burn unit in a hospital told me about this.  Chill it in
fridge, stops the sting and you don't peel afterwards either.  Just
smooth on the cream .  I've used it many times.  It Works!!!!!! Barb

I have found, on the recommendation of an older Norwegian

lady I used to work with, that putting olive oil on it takes out a lot of
the feeling of the burn, plus it comes out of your clothes. At night
(you don't want to use this one in public - it stinks a bit) you can
rub on Noxema face cleaning cream and that works good
too.  Tiffany F.

Suntan Oil
For a great suntan oil, try mineral oil instead of baby oil.  (Baby
oil has mineral oil in it.  Plain mineral oil is thicker, doesn't have any
perfumes, and leaves the skin moisturized as a bonus.) Rosanna

Swelling
I had a very serious car accident and shattered my wrist. 
Several months later,  my hand and wrist were still very swollen. 
My surgeon told me the swelling might never subside.  My
grandmother told me to make a mixture of kerosene, turpentine
and lard and apply it to the swollen area, then top that with a hand
towel that had been soaked in hot water and wrung out.  In about
an hour's time, the swelling was gone and has not returned in ten
years.  Liz

The potato is one of the best all-round treatments for sprains, bruises,
swelling and numerous other such injuries.  Cut a raw potato and rub it on
the hurt area.  When it gets dry cut a thin slice off to expose more moist
potato and rub some more--or you could grate the potato and make a
poultice.  I think this will work on burns, insect bites and stings as well,
though have not tried it on those.  A few years ago I sprained my ankle. 
The pain and swelling were terrible and I hobbled around for several days. 
Then I rubbed it with a potato.  Relief was astonishingly quick--maybe ten
minutes.  The swelling went down and the bruise did, too.  I continued with
potato rubbings whenever I thought about it and within a few days was as
good as new. Allen
Swollen Tonsils
Merthiolate:  I had puss pockets on my tonsils and he punctured
them with a long wire and then painted my throat with merthiolate. 
Talk about nasty! Glenda Todd

Salsalic acid (used for canning) could be used to swab swollen

tonsils. It was like aspirin. Wilma

There was  a mixture of iodine, aconite and glycerin that cured

swollen tonsils. Wilma

I had bad tonsils and, more than once, with an applicator had to
have them swabbed with Tincture of Merthiolate. It smarted a bit
but it did seem to help,..at least for a while. Doris Goldsborough

Iodine & rubbing alcohol mixed together painted on the outside

of throat and dabbed on each tonsil, it works if done early.   Velma
Arnold

Note that isopropyl alcohol is a petroleum product. It is a

wonderful solvent and cleaner. But for medicinal use, I am
particular to use natural grain alcohol. A good brand of vodka will
work in a pinch, but I prefer neutral grain spirits of high (190+)
proof. An example would be the brand name"Ever Clear". Such
spirits must -never- be taken internally at full strength. They work
well for tinctures. Bill Hudson

For Swollen Tonsils OR Sore Throat.  When my son was young

he had tonsilitis EVERY year.  Sometimes bad enough to nearly
block off his airway.  I had always used Peroxide on cuts to kill
infection and tonsilitis is just a simple infection.  I read the bottle
and it gave directions for a gargle which I mixed and had him use. 
I NEVER took him to the doctor for tonsilitis ever again.  As soon as
he got a sore throat, he would tell me and I would mix up the
Peroxide and water for him.  Once the nurse from school called to
tell me he had a sore throat.  I told her I would come get him and
asked her if she had peroxide.  She said yes and I proceeded to tell
her how to mix it and asked her to have him gargle with it while I
was on the way.  She told him (while I was on the phone) and I
heard him say, "Yep, it tastes AWFUL but it DOES work".  He was in
8th grade at the time.   To this day I always keep a "concoction"
mixed in my medicine cabinet.   A 50 cent bottle of peroxide is a lot
cheaper than a $50 bottle of antibiotics plus a doctor's office
call.  Rebecca from Georgia

Thorn (more found under "Splinter")

My grandmother used sugar, some bar soap (Ivory I think) and
spit.  Mixed a poultice and covered with a gauze pad.  Within 20
minutes, the stinger dislodged.  Works good will thorns and
splinters, too. Stacie

If we had a thorn or splinter, we taped a piece of fat from meat

on it to draw it out.  It worked, too!Patricia I. Shaw

My granny would take half of a biscuit, pour a little milk on it

then place a piece of raw bacon on that and then secure it with
strips of cloth to the area. (Usually the bottom of my foot). She
would then put a white cotton sock on my foot. I would wear that
for several hours and by the next day the 'sticker' would come
out.  Andreia

Thrush
Gention Violet will clear-up "Thrush", which is a yellow coating
like fungus, that is sometimes found in the mouths of some infants
and adults. Swab Gention Violet on the sides of the mouth and also
the tounge. Gention Violet is messy and glows cobalt blue under
flourescent lights but it is a great cure!! (I know from experience
and nothingworks better for Thrush.)   Kathleen
Tooth Paste 
Baking Soda Charlie Urban 

From an old book that I have - copyright 1879 -Home & Health
and Home Economics by C.H. Fowler,D.D., LL.D., and W.H.DePuy,
A.M., D.D.........: "A Mixture for the Teeth:-Dissolve two ounces of
borax in three pints of boiling water, and before it is cold add one
teaspoonful of spirits of camphor, and bottle for use. A
tablespoonful of this mixture, mixed with an equal quantity of tepid
water, and applied daily with a soft brush, preserves and beautifies
the teeth, extirpates all tartarus adhesions, arrests decay, induces a
healthy action of the gums, and makes them look pearly
white."  Doris Goldsborough

Tooth Ache 
I'll never forget using Toothache Wax and putting it in the tooth
cavity. The toothache was bad enough but the taste of cloves in
that toothache wax made it "yucky" ! Doris Goldsborough

From an old book that I have - copyright 1879 -Home & Health
and Home Economics by C.H. Fowler,D.D., LL.D., and W.H.DePuy,
A.M., D.D.: "Toothache Cures.- Relief from toothache or neuralgic
affections arising from teeth in any stage of decay, may often be
obtained by saturating a small bit of clean cotton or wool with a
strong solution of ammonia, and applying it immediately to the
affected tooth. The pleasant contrast in-stantaneously produced
sometimes causes a fit of laughter, although a moment before
extreme suffering and anguish prevailed" [I AM SURE THEY MEANT
SPIRITS OF AMMONIA and not the household ammonia we now
use!]   Doris Goldsborough

For a abscessed tooth put a Tea Bag on it or a clean cloth with a

bit of bulk tea in it--just moisten enough so it will cover the tooth
and hold it there, don't remember for how long but probably till the
tooth stopped hurting. I have had it do good for me when I had
Teeth. LOL  Dorothy 

Take a hole clove after taking off the end bud/horns, place
between gum and effected tooth. It takes about 2 minutes to begain
being effective.  Mike

I was surprised to see that to relieve the pain for a toothache,

dab whiskey on the root of the tooth, and the gums below/around
the tooth wasnt listed.  Works better than ambesol or anything out
there.HavUSeenMyMarbl

Ulcers
Back around 1950 my mother was diagnosed with an ulcer. Our
elderly family doctor told her to eat a baked potato hot from the
oven every night before dinner. One night she let the potato sit for
a time while she attended to a child, and later was doubled over
with pain. The doctor scolded her, saying his instructions were to
eat the potato hot from the oven. Thereafter she followed his orders
religiously, and the ulcer went away.  WRGPBG

Upset Stomach
My grandmother mixed a spoonful of sugar and a spoonful of
baking soda in a half-glass of water then poured in about  a
tablespoonful of vinegar.  This concoction was drunk while
foaming---actually it tasted a lot like today's alka-seltzer. Nina Hall

She also made blackberry wine for medical purposes for the
stomach.  Joanne H. Boswell

Granny would peel a Irish Potato, cut it in pieces and pour water
over it and let it set a while. Then she would pour the water off the
Potato and we drank it. It tasted sweet and it worked. Verna
 When I was a little girl we were travling in the mountains of
West Virginia and I had an upset stomach. Carsick maybe.. We
stopped at an old country store to get something for it and there
was an old women running the store that looked as old as the hills..
LOL!!.. She told my mom to fold up a newspaper and put it next to
my skin under my shirt.. It worked!!.. The nausea went away and
the rest of the trip was great!!   Cindy

For upset stomach (heartburn, indigestion) mix one tsp. of

baking soda in a cup of water and drink straight up (this is on the
baking soda box). Dora Schwemley

For an upset stomach or for nausea our pediatritian

recommends the child drink the juice from canned peaches.   Julie
Woods

I use a 1/2 of a small glass of any kind of pickle juice for upset
stomach & heartburn.  It helps me and doesn't taste awful. Jeff

Vitamin D
Cod Liver Oil: .The cod liver oil was to ward off colds, too.  I had
to take cod liver oil tablets all one winter and didn't have a cold all
winter. Grover

Warts
Freshly killed chicken gizzard rubbed on the wart. The gizzard
may have been sliced open. After rubbing it on the wart, you were
to bury the gizzard and never look at it again. This worked on my
little brother's warts that had resisted conventional medical
treatments. Maybe it was the power of persuasion.Sabrina Barton
 Some of these old remedies do seem to work. When I was a kid
( back in the 1940s) I had large warts on my hands. My
grandmother told me to cut a potato in half and rub the raw potato
on my hands several times a day. Before I knew what was
happening, those things just disappeared. Sure make a believer out
of me !!! Connie Humphrey

It is really not an old time cure, but it's a cheap alternative. 

Two years ago my little girl got  a bad case of plantar warts on the
bottoms of her feet.   We have no health insurance and my husband
had lost his job, and I thought "what am I going to do?"  I began
researching on the web and found a bulletin board,  and several
people posted that Tea Tree Oil had made their plantar warts
disappear.

  Well, Tea Tree Oil is a great antiseptic and we keep it in the house
all the time.  Several years ago I had a large wart on my face, and
the doctor wanted $100 to remove it.  I used the Tea Tree Oil every
night, and in two weeks the wart was gone.

  So, I used the Tea Tree Oil on my daughter's plantar warts.  It

worked great!  The warts were gone in about two months.  A doctor
would have used expensive treatments or lazer surgery.  All it took
to get rid of them was a couple of $6 bottles of Tea Tree Oil from
the Natural Health 
store, and some patience.

  Tea Tree Oil is from Australia.  I purchase mine at the local Natural
Health and vitamin store, for about $6 a bottle and it lasts a long
time (we've had our current bottle for about two years).  The one I
like best is in a dark brown bottle and is by a company called
NOW.   Tea Tree Oil is great for lots of things --- warts, acne,
etc.   Maggie Hays

A friend of my mother's has a set of twin girls. One of them had

a problem with warts on her hands. So, every night before bed,
she'd put petrolium jelly (vasoline) on her hands and then put
rubber gloves over them so she wouldn't get the stuff all over the
bed linen. After several days (not sure how many), the warts were
gone.  Leanne Evans

Take a vitamin A gelcap...split it open and rub the oil on the

wart......will see results 3 to 6 days..completely gone.  KissKi88

My brother had a hugh wart on the little finger of his right

hand ,,it covered the second section of the finger and stuck out at
least 1/4 inch or more. Nasty looking thing.  He had tried all kinds
of wart removers to no avail.  He worked in a gasoline
station/garage, as they were called back then.  He was restoring an
old car and had just bought a new wrench,,well somehow it got
knocked into a vat of acetone, and without thinking my brother just
plunged his hand into it to grab the wrench before it went to the
bottom,,and luckily he grabbed it.  He cleaned of his hand and the
next morning at breakfast our Mother asked what had he done to
get rid of the wart.  He said he hadn't done anything.  Mom
said,,well, it is gone,,what did you do?  He told Mom about the
acetone saying that was the only thing he could think of that was
unusual that had happened.  Mom said,,go upstairs and see if it is in
your bed.  Sure enough it was,,it had fallen off during the night. Not
long ago, I had a wart on the back of my hand. I had tried several
remedies and nothing got rid of the wart. Then remembered what
had happened with my brother.  I went to Wal Mart,,got some
fingernail polish remover with acetone. I would saturate a quetip
with the nail polish remover with acetone and dab it on the wart for
about three or four times every day for about a week,,and every
day I could see the wart shrinking, it finally just flaked off. 
Works,,don't ask me why,,although I have a theory,,don't know if it
is correct.  If warts are caused by a virus maybe the acetone
freezes the virus and kills it ..don't know, just guessing. Acetone is
cold. Works faster if you can find acetone. Alice Cokus

There is nothing better to get rid of warts than plain old duct
tape. Make sure you get the type that has cloth fibers in it. Just cut
a small piece and place it over the wart. In about a week the wart
will die. If you feel silly running around with a piece of duct tape
stuck to yourself, just cover the whole thing with a Band- aid.  Ed
Bayer
 For warts: rub with dandelion milk; just pick flower and rub on
wart.  Chas

I am 63 now and three or four times during my life I have been

afflicted with numerous warts on my hands.  When I was a boy with
the warts my grandmother told me to pick up a smooth, round
pebble and rub the stone over each wart a few seconds, saying at
the same time "wart, wart, go away".  Then I was told to bury the
rock.  All the warts disappeared in a few days.  Although this
procedure sounds silly, I have performed this rite several times with
positive results.  I believe it is an illustration of the power of the
mind to heal the body.  Don Joliff

I read in a book of Grandmas home remedies when I was a

teenager (this cure) and tried it. It worked on me, and since then,
my daughter, son, sister-in-law, and several friends.  Unfortunately
this cure is seasonal...  Take a pod from a milkweed plant, and
apply the white milk seeping out of the pod twice daily for two
weeks, and bye bye gone gone. No more warts...and they don't
come back, ever!  We found this to be somewhat sticky so we
applied the milk to the pad on a bandaid and then to the wart. This
worked great!  Hogpainter

My husband had many moles on his back. These were flat with
dark tops on them. He started to take one clove of garlic every day
because he was told by a friend it would help with circulation. In 2
weeks we noticed that 2 moles that he has for at least 10 years was
gone. The warts what were growing on his back just flaked off. I
have never heard of this before. Have you?  Debbie S.

My 10-year old daughter had three large warts on her fingers

that were very bothersome to her. A friend of mine gave me a
bottle of oregano oil that she had used successfully on her
daughter's wart(an essential oil, inexpensive and not hard to
find...this was from Young Living). I put a dab on each wart,
intending to faithfully put it on daily, but I only did it a total of 3
times over the course of about 2 weeks ( I kept forgetting). After
the two weeks, my daughter came out of the shower missing one
wart, and by the next day all three were gone. I am sure that if we
had used it more often right away it could have disappeared even
sooner. I heard this also works well for skin tags. It's a natural,
easy, painless and cheap way to remove warts. Try it; it
works! Alisa

When I was about 12 years old, I contracted a very nasty and

persistent seeded wart on my finger.  This wart had white roots that
reached deep into my finger.  Very painful.  My mother tried a very
popular over-the-counter remedy over the course of  two months
but this only served to aggravate it.  My mother then decided to try
a remedy she recalled from her own childhood.  Each night before I
went to bed, she tied a piece of sliced lemon to my finger with a
strip of cloth, ensuring that the lemon's 'flesh was in direct contact
with the wart.  After less than a week, the had wart completely
disappeared and left no scar. Charles V

Worms
Tobacco juice:  Tobacco Juice was dosed in case anyone had
been exposed to intestinal parasites (worms). Barb

Dr. Jayne's Syrup of Pepsin.  I believe that was for worms.  Very
sweet tasting and not so bad, actually; however, I always dreaded
it. Nina Hall

Way back when I was a child I remember my mom would draw

a ring around all of our navels with turpentine. I guess it does really
work. JMoonglo1

Wounds 
When I was a kid, I ran barefoot all the time.  I ended up
stepping on a rusty nail and it went in my foot pretty deep.  Due to
financial issues, we didn't go to the hospital. My mother is 1/2
Cherokee so she used the following thing to remove the rust from
my wound. 

She cleaned the wound with soap and water, then she cut some fat
off a slab of bacon placing it over the wound. Then she cleaned and
heated up a penny and placed it on top of the bacon, wrapped it
with gauze and tape.  During the night, my foot went to throbbing
quiet a few times.  The next morning, she removed the wrap and
the bacon was covered with rust and drainage from the wound.  All
the redness was gone and in a few days, the pain was gone
too.  Kathryn

For wounds, the Amish use kerosene. They just put it directly on
a bleeding wound and it stops the bleeding. Valerie R.