More old wives tales - causes of illness

I asked my mum about it recently, and she assures me it was piles. She obviously grew up with the same warning!

My favourites came from non Brits when I was living abroad while pregnant.

I should not swim while pregnant since 'your bones will open and you'll lose the baby'.

And I shouldn't be carrying my no.1 child while pregnant with no. 2 - my baby would be born with a broken arm. (!)

Oh, and if I should take my newborn out after dark I should cover its face with a blanket to keep the evil eye off it. (!!!)

Do we still have any of these superstitions these days or any others? I was also told not to have a bath or wash my hair during a period, had the dreaded liberty bodice and vest, not to go in the bath if I'd just eaten- I only had a bath on a Sunday night so it's a wonder I managed any at all!

Thankfully my mother (born 1919) didn't believe any of these and laughed at her own mother, who believe the lot.
My granny had a superstition for every occasion and illnesses were caused by the east wind, the phases of the moon, damp, cold, heat, what you'd eaten (pips and cherry stones caused appendicitis) or not eaten (greens cleansed the blood, drinking lots flushed out your kidneys)
Cheese in the evening = nightmares
Too many eggs = constipation
Fish for the brain, jelly for your nails, liver for the blood.

A friend of mine was told by her MIL that she shouldn't step over a low wall in her garden because "You'll dislodge your womb" as she was a midwife she took no notice and, as far as I know, her womb is still in place

Some of these are quite bizarre others do have some truth.

Remember most of us were born and lived without central heating for
most of our childhoods.
I heard that geting piles was due to sitting on cold surfaces, (or hot radiators.)
My mum told me walking about with no shoes on would give you a cold in my tummy.

My mum would have been too embarassed to even mention (shush) Periods so I never learnt what I should not do.
Swallowing chewing gum leads to it tangling around your heart and killing you.

JackieB ! "if your foot itched, you had eaten too much sugar." well there you go eating too much sugar can lead to diabetes, which can cause peripheral nerve damage and cause itching & twinging. Interestingly that one has some truth but is not exactly very obvious.

You will be sick if you sit with your back to the fire. I thought this was just my mums story but a former school teacher mentioned that one.

Jayh I am very nesh and I do often use a "vest" (call it what you will) to keep a barrier of warmer air trapped against my skin.
Sitting in a draft and getting cold muscles can lead to pain.
Getting cold does lower your immune system. Muscles need to be warm to work properly.

watermeadow some of your grannie's ideas about health were probably true especially jelly for nails and liver for blood. Cheese at night gives me nightmares and boiled eggs give me constipation so truth in them too.

I was always told that if I didn't dry under my armpits properly I would get tuberclosis. This was far more feared than cancer when I was young.

Yes it was. That was another reason I had to wear a vest !

I've finally got the message about vests. Am wearing one now. I'm turning into my mother -but that's another thread!

Nellie, I love my vests. Btw, what's nesh? I like the word. Does it mean naff? Whatever, long live neshness

And vests?

I've worn vests/camisoles for years. It has to be a very hot summer for me not to wear them then! Fortunately there are colourful plain ones readily available, which if show only look like another Tshirt layer. Not like the cream lacy ones I remember my grandmother wearing.

Bellanonna Nesh means you feel the cold.

Nesh is an English dialect adjective meaning 'unusually susceptible to cold weather' and there is no synonym for this use. ... The word comes from Old English hnesce meaning feeble, weak, or infirm and is a cognate with the 16th century Dutch word nesch typically meaning damp or foolish.

Used extensively in the Midlands
I was always a nesh child!

ps always feeling the cold but not damp or foolish

I've always thought of 'nesh' as a Northern word - surprised to find you saying it's Midlands?

Thanks nellie and jalima. Then I retract my earlier long live comment. I hate being cold but usually am. I hate neshness. ?

I think it is more Midlands, as is 'mardy' (whingeing) which is what you are when you complain of being cold, as well as 'nesh' .