More old wives tales - causes of illness

According to my nan washing hair whilst having a period would make you go mad !!,

I was told about not washing hair with a period and also not to eat ice cream, what would that generation make of swimming etc.now.

However, the saying "feed a cold and starve a fever" is spot on!

PS My mother-in-law told me not to rinse out nappies in cold water or my milk would dry up.

Grandma said that if I picked my nose I'd get a pig's foot. I was not allowed to have a bath until 2 hours after a meal, nor could I go out for 2 hours after a bath. Same with hair washing but both were only once a week in those days (banking up the fire or in the summer the extravagance of the immersion heater). Yes, I was warned about kingcoff. Ah, Dr Collis Browne. When I went on an overland camping trip to Morocco when I was 18 my GP told me to take Collis Browne with me. You just adjusted the dosage to whatever was wrong with you - it covered everything from the runs (useful in Morocco) to bronchitis. It kept you on your feet. Someone told me that vinegar thinned the blood.

anniebach yes. The same here!!!!!

The dreaded liberty bodice .... Seemed like hundreds of tiny rubber buttons to squeeze through small button hole.

I now agree with the layering theory to keep warm and have bought two black sparkly supposedly thermal long sleeve vests from M&S. Glitzy yet practical.

Oh I remember about mouth ulcers I believed it totally when I was little, used to worry about it all the time.

Mouth ulcers are a sure sign that you have been telling lies.
I also avoid cutting my nails on a Friday and Sunday to avoid bad luck.

Christine! I remember the "corned beef " legs from sitting too close to the fire. We had the bread and warm milk when we were ill, we called it "pobs"
When I was pregnant my Nan told me to eat plenty of greasy food so the baby would slide out when it was born?

Oh I remember most of those remedies. Friars balsam brought back so many memories. I was always ill as a child with coughs and colds. I had to wear a vest liberty bodice and something called a zoo da jacket.( not sure of spelling ) anyone else worn one? My mother also went on about how we would all end up with bad backs because we didn't wear corsets.

I remember being told not to sit with my back to the fire as it would make me feel sick. Does anyone else remember the ladies with very mottled legs after sitting too close to the fire ?
Bread and milk in a bowl when you were ill, it was disgusting.

My mum is pretty sensible but I've heard other old wive's tales such as not raising your arms above your head when pregnant in case th cord wraps round the baby's neck, and that if the mother gets frightened by anything during pregnancy, the child will have a birthmark of that shape.

I did have to wear a liberty bodice, which I hated, but as we had only one fire in our entire house, it was probably a wise move!

My grandad used to say you could cure any cough with a generous dose of syrup of figs.

Remember Kaolin & Morphne mixture, too? And Parrishes food tonic had ?cyanide in it!

Definately the vest !! Very important.
Can just about remember a liberty bodice, it was very uncomfortable if I remember correctly. Also no bathing with a period and not going out with wet hair.

Don't put your head on the carpet or you will get ringworm. Even now I think about that if my GD plays around on the carpet. Not true is it ????

Starlily - I remember Famel. Ghastly stuff. My sister and I remember it with loathing. The experience of having to take that is etched deep.

LindaWW, Yes, I remember Dr Collins Brown's Compound. If I was under the weather my mother made me go next door to ask Granny Day for a dose of "Compo". I read recently it was forced to change the formulation before it went out of use - well, I'm assuming it's no longer available - because it contained such a large proportion of morphine, or some such stuff.

Oops gym knickers not knockers ?

trisher we called it chincough it's another name for whooping cough. Good job we wore our vests, liberty bodices and navy gym knockers when we sat on cold floors and walls. ?

If you cross your eyes when the winds blows, you will stick like that! Also, don't have a bath when you have your period.

I also was told that my 'marrow would melt' if I sat with my back to the fire. I may be of a suspicious nature, but I suspect that it was to discourage anyone from trying to get near the open fire, which was the only heating in the house.

not going out with your hair wet - remember it well, still don't go out until hair is dry.

vest is compulsary in winter but mine are all pretty, silky ones or camisoles not like the awful one we wore as children

I was told never to eat an apple core because the pips would grow into a tree inside me!

As chelseababy has already mentioned, my grandmother thought you should immediately wash any egg white off your hands because it caused warts.

And as a child I remember being given Chlorodyne for various ailments. Wonderful stuff, but later banned due to its opium content.

Also, how about being made to drink gin while lying in a hot bath? (Fortunately it didn't work!)

either Cod liver oil or Friars Balsam

Does anyone remember a cough mixture called Famel? It only took I teaspoon to cure a bad cough because it tasted so foul (it had creosote in it) that you were scared stiff to cough in case you were given another spoonful!