Boils, Bumps and Sprains

Discussion in 'General Chatter' started by Elma, Nov 15, 2014.

  1. Elma

    Elma Well-Known Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    1,161
    Likes Received:
    2,513
    Location:
    Sutton, Surrey
    With a visit from my grandson yesterday. I was amazed at how children today get better so quickly (mostly).

    It got me thinking about, when we kids were ill and what we used to help the process.

    I remember the brown tincture of benzion, the blue iodine that sores were bathed in and the kaolin poultice to draw out infections. I don't remember taking pills.

    What did others use?
     
    arryboy likes this.
  2. MollyMay

    MollyMay Knows where to find the answers!

    Offline
    Messages:
    6,458
    Likes Received:
    17,630
    Location:
    Middlesex
    White Horse Oils for cramp or muscle aches. A tube of liquice tasting black ointment, in a green tube, to put on an ulcer (replaced by sugar when the black stuff was no longer available). Liquid paraffin once a week to 'clear you out'. Menthol chest rub if you had a cold. Cod liver oil pills and a spoonful of malt every day. Butter on a burn :eek:. Bandages made from torn up strips of cotton bed sheets, no sticking plasters.
    I survived and really do not remember being ill - other than the 2 weeks in bed for measles and chicken pox and the luxury of being given a glass of Lucozade.:)
    Dad used to get boils and Mum would make a bread poultice for them - not sure they did any good though!
     
  3. Nightryder

    Nightryder Well-Known Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    226
    Likes Received:
    2,303
    Location:
    Canberra
    Germoline.? It fixed everything.
     
    Libby, thalauafu, Elma and 2 others like this.
  4. Daft Bat

    Daft Bat Administrator. Chief cook & bottle washer! Staff Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    7,796
    Likes Received:
    31,120
    Location:
    Northamptonshire, England.
    My great grandfather once sliced through his foot with a scythe when out in the fields. He tore some material from his shirt tail, bound it up and then carried on working. He went by the nickname of 'toe-rag' after that. ;)
     
  5. Sis

    Sis Rootles out resources!

    Offline
    Messages:
    4,419
    Likes Received:
    17,212
    Location:
    Beckenham, Western Australia
    Oh the memories! I still drink it, though usually when I'm feeling a down. Not what it was made for I know, but it helps. Maybe because it reminds me of my dear Mum.
     
  6. Archie's Mum

    Archie's Mum Always digging up clues

    Offline
    Messages:
    10,557
    Likes Received:
    36,436
    Location:
    Orange, NSW Australia. The Colour City.
    I remember my grandfather making me a poultice of softened Sunlight soap mixed with sugar.
    A boil meant my dad coming at me with a hot needle :eek:
    Iodine, methylated spirits, a black ointment for drawing out 'stuff', cod liver oil ( I loved the stuff) Vick's Vapour Rub, lemonade and the best cure for after a bout of upset tummy.....vegemite :D still works.
     
    Elma likes this.
  7. Sis

    Sis Rootles out resources!

    Offline
    Messages:
    4,419
    Likes Received:
    17,212
    Location:
    Beckenham, Western Australia
    Really????:eek:
     
  8. mikejee

    mikejee Well-Known Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    101
    Likes Received:
    952
    Location:
    Reading
    You can still get something called Germoline, but its completely different - does not have the same nice smell.
    Liquid paraffin would now be called mineral oil, and is not considered a very desirable thing to be present in the diet. If the equivalent of a large spoonful was present in a person's daily food, it would probably be considered to be unfit for human consumption, or at least of very poor quality
     
    Elma likes this.
  9. Archie's Mum

    Archie's Mum Always digging up clues

    Offline
    Messages:
    10,557
    Likes Received:
    36,436
    Location:
    Orange, NSW Australia. The Colour City.
    Yep!
     
    AnnB and Sis like this.
  10. Archie's Mum

    Archie's Mum Always digging up clues

    Offline
    Messages:
    10,557
    Likes Received:
    36,436
    Location:
    Orange, NSW Australia. The Colour City.
    Not that I ever had them, but I think the head lice cure was kerosene:(
     
    Elma likes this.
  11. AnnB

    AnnB Editor in Chief who is Hot off the Press!

    Offline
    Messages:
    4,441
    Likes Received:
    20,045
    Location:
    North Devon, England
    The one and only time I was given a spoonful of cod liver oil, I promptly spat it out on the carpet.....I was given capsules after that :oops:

    I used to like Rose Hip Syrup and Dinniford's Gripe Water.....

    Ann
     
    Elma and busyglen like this.
  12. Chimp

    Chimp Moderator & Cheeky Human IMP Staff Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    7,399
    Likes Received:
    21,588
    Location:
    Knighton, Powys, Wales
    I remember my Mum telling me that her brother used to get boils. His father used to get a small pill bottle (the old brown glass ones) and sit it in boiling water. When the bottle was hot enough he would empty it and put the open end over the boil. As the air inside would cool down it would cause a vacuum and drain the boil. She said her brother used to almost pass out with the pain.

    I have suffered a Fistule. Had it surgically removed and packed every day :( (has to heal from the inside out). I know the pain my uncle went through :eek:.
     
    arryboy and Elma like this.
  13. Mealymoo

    Mealymoo A Busy Lizzy

    Offline
    Messages:
    2,531
    Likes Received:
    5,980
    Location:
    West Yorkshire
    Hot lemonade and aspirin before bed to sweat out a cold virus.
     
    Half Hour, Elma and busyglen like this.
  14. Mealymoo

    Mealymoo A Busy Lizzy

    Offline
    Messages:
    2,531
    Likes Received:
    5,980
    Location:
    West Yorkshire
    We used magnesium sulphate paste to draw out boils. It works a treat with no pain.
     
    Elma and Chimp like this.
  15. Sis

    Sis Rootles out resources!

    Offline
    Messages:
    4,419
    Likes Received:
    17,212
    Location:
    Beckenham, Western Australia
    Never heard of that one:)
     
  16. Mealymoo

    Mealymoo A Busy Lizzy

    Offline
    Messages:
    2,531
    Likes Received:
    5,980
    Location:
    West Yorkshire
    How about this one, Sis? Gargle with salt water for a sore throat, tastes disgusting but kills the germs. I still use a lot of the old fashioned remedies as I believe they work better than todays over the counter bottled medicines.
     
    arryboy, Elma, Half Hour and 4 others like this.
  17. Bonzo Dog

    Bonzo Dog Still the Mad Scientist?

    Offline
    Messages:
    1,028
    Likes Received:
    11,195
    Location:
    Tamworth, Staffordshire
    Germoline for cuts and bruises, sulphur cream for spots. Sore throats and the like were treated with a brown concoction from the family doctor. This was made according to the maxim, the worse it tasted the more effective it was. It tasted vile but never seemed to do much good :(
     
    Sis, Libby and Elma like this.
  18. Bay Horse

    Bay Horse Can be a bit of a dark horse

    Offline
    Messages:
    2,331
    Likes Received:
    16,345
    Location:
    North-west England
    Witch Hazel, Iodine and (God help us) Syrup o' Figs.

    Failing that, the Stockholm tar would come out. That was generally slapped on anything.

    Oh, and butter for burns, which didn't work.
     
    Sis and Elma like this.
  19. Bonzo Dog

    Bonzo Dog Still the Mad Scientist?

    Offline
    Messages:
    1,028
    Likes Received:
    11,195
    Location:
    Tamworth, Staffordshire
    Had forgotten the foul smelling Stockholm tar. Had to play on my own until the smell abated.
     
    Sis, Elma and Bay Horse like this.
  20. mugwortismy cat

    mugwortismy cat Tenacious to the End!

    Offline
    Messages:
    4,045
    Likes Received:
    7,102
    Location:
    London, England
    My grandmother always treated our scuffs and bruises with Witch Hazel (which I love), anything more drastic with orange-flavoured aspirin, and insect bites treated with toothpaste

    My mum used Germolene a lot, and enjoyed preparing complicated dressings

    When my neighbour's children come to me crying about having fallen over I use a bit of Witch hazel (only if the skin isn't broken, but they complain about the smell); I generally find a plaster or two solves anything as if by magic

    I also remember calamine lotion on chicken pox, iodine once or twice, Lucozade when I had scarlet fever ...
     
    Bonzo Dog, Sis, Elma and 1 other person like this.

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice