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prudence54

(27 posts)

101. Earaches we got warmed "sweet oil" drops in the ear. It was very soothing. Also a heating pad.

Mon Mar 16, 2026, 05:02 PM

Mar 16

For poison oak, we'd scrape some bark off an oak tree, boil in water and make a tea with it, let it cool and dab on the rash. It would dry out faster, or so we thought at the time. That was from an old guy who was born in the late 1800s and loved to share old home remedies with my mom. Also: DMSO on scrubbed clean skin for joint pain, inflammation and arthritis. Mom would buy it from the farm store, it was only ever approved for horses. It nearly instantly makes your mouth taste like clams = very weird. I never really noticed any difference but the reason my mom was convinced it worked miracles because my aunt, her sister, applied it to the neck & back of my newly quadraplegic cousin (drunk driver victim) every day for years, and he regained about 80% use of his arms.

I'm nearly 55 and still alive after use of these home remedies so take them for what they are worth.

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debm55

116 replies

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Highlight:

What home remedy did your mother or grandmother use when you were young and sick as a child? Mine was a mustard [View all] debm55 Mar 15 OP

Chicken soup The Blue Flower Mar 15 #1

Thank you very much, The Blue Flower. debm55 Mar 15 #3

Awww SuzyandPuffpuff Mar 15 #2

Thank you very much, SuzyandPuffpuff. debm55 Mar 15 #4

Grandma always used... oldsoldierfadingfast Mar 15 #88

That is very interesting. Thank you for sharing with us, oldsoldierfadingfast. debm55 Mar 15 #89

My "never allow alcohol in her home"Grandma generally still had something hidden for "Hot Toddies" hlthe2b Mar 15 #5

Thank you very much for sharing your home remedy for us, hithe2b. debm55 Mar 15 #6

My mom was from the South Soul_of_Wit Mar 15 #33

They used to spray our throats with mercurochrome markodochartaigh Mar 15 #7

Oh my, I hated that stuff. Thank you for sharing, markodochartaigh. That would be terrible. debm55 Mar 15 #14

Mustard Plaster Shoobee Mar 15 #8

Yes, I remember when they lifted the cloth off, I had a large red square on my chest. Thank you for sharing, Shoobee. debm55 Mar 15 #10

Hot toddies were also given to us as kids when we had a cold or flu. 10 Turtle Day Mar 15 #9

Thank you very much for sharing, 10 Turtle Day. I did the gargling with hot salt water for a sore throat. debm55 Mar 15 #15

My grandmother... 2naSalit Mar 15 #11

thank you very much for sharing with us, 2naSalit. If you remember any others give them a post. debm55 Mar 15 #16

Oops... 2naSalit Mar 15 #31

That's okay. debm55 Mar 15 #35

We used flat Pepsi. LoisB Mar 15 #22

That was a common one also... 2naSalit Mar 15 #30

Interesting. I'm going to try to find some comfrey. Chronic left leg pain which has been LoisB Mar 15 #45

There's a warning that goes with comfrey... 2naSalit Mar 15 #47

Thank you very much, for sharing with us, LoisB. debm55 Mar 15 #36

I remember coke syrup! Was yummy Freddie Mar 16 #105

Sweet spirits of nitre in a spoon with sugar; Geritol for prevention biophile Mar 15 #12

Thank you very much, biophile, for sharing. I remember the Geritol and an elixir called St. John's syrup. debm55 Mar 15 #18

When my boys were teething, my Nana told me to dip GPV Mar 15 #13

Thank you very much, GPV , for sharing with us. I remember that one. My family would rub the brandy on the gums. debm55 Mar 15 #19

Onion juice and sugar or vinegar and sugar for sore throat. Slice onion into a glass, pour LoisB Mar 15 #17

Thank you very much, for sharing with us, LoisB. That is a new one for me. debm55 Mar 15 #20

Sweet oil aka olive oil for earaches berniesandersmittens Mar 15 #21

Thank you very much for sharing the home remedy. berniesandersmittens. debm55 Mar 15 #37

A 2-Fer justaprogressive Mar 15 #23

Thank you very much for sharing that home remedy with us, justaprogressive. debm55 Mar 15 #39

Daily, in winter, a mixing spoon of Castor Oil or Cod Liver Oil on the way out the door for LoisB Mar 15 #24

I never had Castor Oil or Cod Liver Oil, Thank you very much for sharing, LoisB debm55 Mar 15 #40

You were lucky. If anyone ever tries to convince you to get anywhere near either, RUN. LoisB Mar 15 #46

Tincture of Merthiolate, or Golden Raisin Mar 15 #25

HAHAHAHAH. Thank you , Golden Raisin. Mine was Vaseline. Used for every booboo on the skin. debm55 Mar 15 #41

Vicks VapoRub sop Mar 15 #26

Agree. How about the Vick's thing you put in your nose for nasal stufffiness? Thank you for sharing, sop debm55 Mar 15 #42

My mother would put Vicks VapoRub up our noses. It's a miracle we survived. sop Mar 15 #43

Yuk. Thank you sop for sharing. That sounds terrible. debm55 Mar 15 #53

Hot milk in our ears for earache displacedvermoter Mar 15 #27

Oh wow. Did it work? Thank you for sharing displacedvermoter. debm55 Mar 15 #58

Very soothing I recall displacedvermoter Mar 15 #61

Thank you very much debm55 Mar 15 #67

Chicken soup Bluestocking Mar 15 #28

Thank you for sharing, Bluestocking. I had the canned stuff. But it worked like one of the vaporizers. debm55 Mar 15 #59

I grew up in Michigan JBTaurus83 Mar 15 #29

Vernors! Soul_of_Wit Mar 15 #32

Canada Dry here. multigraincracker Mar 15 #52

When I was (much) younger and went on my first flight JBTaurus83 Mar 15 #62

HAHAHHAHAHAH. Thank you JBTaurus83 debm55 Mar 15 #57

Yup! buzzycrumbhunger Mar 15 #91

Flat 7up or sprite for upset tummies. mwmisses4289 Mar 15 #34

Thank you very much for your home remedies, mwmisses4289. I would have the honey and lemon juice in hot tea. debm55 Mar 15 #50

Have a cup of tea you will feel better ☕ TommieMommy Mar 15 #38

HAHAHHAHAH. Thank you very much for sharing with us, TommieMommy. debm55 Mar 15 #49

Vicks Vapo Rub and Camphophanic. rsdsharp Mar 15 #44

Thank you very much for the home remedy, rsdsharp debm55 Mar 15 #48

Rubbing alcohol bottomofthehill Mar 15 #51

Oh, Thank you so much for sharing with us, bottomofthehill. I have never heard of that remedy before. debm55 Mar 15 #55

Vicks vapor rub WmChris Mar 15 #54

Oh my. You swallowed it? You are a brave soul, WmChris. debm55 Mar 15 #56

Black strap molasses in a cup of milk for your hair. debm55 Mar 15 #60

Gingerale with the bubbles stirred out. It was special because applegrove Mar 15 #63

Thank you very much for sharing with us.applegrove. that is interesing about the bubles being stirred out. debm55 Mar 15 #68

Barley water KT2000 Mar 15 #64

Thank you very much, for sharing with us, KT2000. That is interesting. debm55 Mar 15 #69

Never heard of barley water so I found this: Nittersing Mar 16 #97

I think I might too. Thank you for looking that up for us. Nittersing. debm55 Mar 16 #98

Thank you! KT2000 Mar 16 #99

This wasn't my mom or grandmother, but a friend's cold remedy Jilly_in_VA Mar 15 #65

HAHAHAHHAHAHAH. That's funny. Thank you Jilly_in_VA. debm55 Mar 15 #70

Red wine Danascot Mar 15 #66

Thank you very much for sharing with us, Danascot. debm55 Mar 15 #71

Canadian Club, lemon juice and honey nuxvomica Mar 15 #72

Hahahahahhhaha, Thanks for sharing with us, nuxvomica. That's funny. debm55 Mar 15 #73

Honey and lemon for sore throats Luciferous Mar 15 #74

Thank you very much for sharing with us. Luciferous. debm55 Mar 15 #75

my father was an MD pfitz59 Mar 15 #76

Thank you very much for sharing with us, pfitz59 debm55 Mar 15 #78

Something called paregoric. MLAA Mar 15 #77

Paregoric was also used to induce vomiting. When I was very young I remember it in the first aid case . Believe it or debm55 Mar 15 #81

I was given it for car sickness...it worked in that that after a few mins you didn't care whether or not you were sick! MLAA Mar 15 #83

Codeine will do that to you. Robitussin-"get a quiet night of sleep" was the one that had codeine in it. Thank you for debm55 Mar 15 #86

I had a cold and my grandmother put a bowl of chopped onions on the corner of the headboard as I slept. MIButterfly Mar 15 #79

Oh wow. Thank you for sharing with us. MIButterfly. debm55 Mar 15 #84

Not my mother, but one of her first cousins. greatauntoftriplets Mar 15 #80

HAHAHA. I bet you did sleep like a baby that night. Thank you very much, greatauntoftriplets. for sharing. debm55 Mar 15 #82

Always had prune juice in the fridge. BlueWaveNeverEnd Mar 15 #85

HAHAHA. Yes , they do. Thank you for sharing with us. BlueWaveNeverEnd. It is used for constipation debm55 Mar 15 #87

My mom totally loved a disgusting concoction called milk toast. Her mother... 3catwoman3 Mar 15 #90

Thank you very much for sharing with us, 3catwoman3. I don't think I had that remedy. It doesn't sound very good. debm55 Mar 16 #94

And here I ASKED for milk toast lol prudence54 Mar 16 #107

Hot Tang! FM123 Mar 16 #92

Thank you, FM123. that sounds very creative. debm55 Mar 16 #95

Mercurochrome for cuts; Terpin Hydrate and Codeine for coughs; and Calamine for poison ivy. NBachers Mar 16 #93

Thank you , NBachers. The same were used in my house too. debm55 Mar 16 #96

Head leaning over a steaming pan of water. break congestion in nose and chest. debm55 Mar 16 #100

Earaches we got warmed "sweet oil" drops in the ear. It was very soothing. Also a heating pad. prudence54 Mar 16 #101

Thank you very much for sharing all your home remedies with us, prudence. Yes, I forgot about the heating pad for the debm55 Mar 16 #110

Ginger ale for stomach aches, Vicks Vapo-Rub for colds (hated it!), Ocelot II Mar 16 #102

Thank you very much for sharing with us, Ocelot II. I had all your selections except for the milk toast. What was that debm55 Mar 16 #111

Whiskey with some other ingredients. RandySF Mar 16 #103

Thank you very much RandySF for sharing with us. debm55 Mar 16 #112

Whiskey & honey or BittyJenkins Mar 16 #104

Thank you very much for the selections, BittyJenkins. What was the sock for? debm55 Mar 16 #113

Poultice jgurtlerterp Mar 16 #106

My grandmother did something similiar with cloth. But it was made with dried mustard and other things. heated in a pot debm55 Mar 16 #115

Mom used coal oil wraps for any injury. bmbmd Mar 16 #108

Oh my. did it burn? Thank you very much bmbmd. I have never heard of that one before. debm55 Mar 16 #114

My dad said to me, you're not sick, think Emile Mar 16 #109

Thank you very much for your post, Emile. Sometimes positive Thinking can only go so far. debm55 Mar 16 #116