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What were you treated with as a poorly child at home?

(229 Posts)
chicken Thu 12-Mar-20 15:33:33

When I wasn't well as a young child, many, many moons ago, my mother's first treatment for me was Langdale's Essence of Cinnamon in hot milk, followed by a bowl of bread and milk---crustless white bread, well buttered, cut in little cubes, boiling milk poured over it and liberally sprinkled with demerara sugar. I still like it today.

libra10 Sat 14-Mar-20 13:55:12

I remember Indian Brandy and Fennings Little Healers. Also a bottle of some red stuff for colds. My elder brother once drank half a bottle full, and slept all day.

Nannan2 Sat 14-Mar-20 13:46:47

Ive not heard of some of these,i think i was saved from them as they must have been before my time maybe?

Grandmabeach Sat 14-Mar-20 13:44:54

I remember several of the above items. I hated getting colds. We were made to cover our head with towels and breathe in the fumes from Friars Balsam in a basin of hot water. Dad always made a syrup from the juice of sliced onions sprinkled with sugar and left for 24 hours. I can't remember if it worked any faster than modern day cough syrups. On the orders of our GP we were given mugs of Marmite in hot water or Lucozade for recovery.

Nannan2 Sat 14-Mar-20 13:43:32

Yes virol,that was the disgusting stuff,malt virol.(forgive my previous spellinggrin

Juliet27 Sat 14-Mar-20 13:43:12

Virol (I actually loved the taste!)
Milk of Magnesia
Bicarbonate of Soda (I use that now instead of Alkaseltzer)
Dr Collis Brown
Vick
Towel over my head over a steaming bowl of menthol
Lucozade...the world looked cheerful through the yellow wrapper

Nannan2 Sat 14-Mar-20 13:41:34

Could the violet stuff be Gentian violet? I dont remember that though,im 56,and a lot of 'commercial' stuff was replacing 'old remedies' then in the 60's.i had the junior aspirins though when i got fevers,( thank God they eventually realised kids shouldnt take aspirin) and some stuff called 'teething powders' cant remember whole name,but they gave them for headaches,fevers,toothaches,& when babies were teething& in pain.

Bazza Sat 14-Mar-20 13:39:31

Beecham pills for constipation, we were given them if we had been in contact with anything contagious to ‘flush out the germs.’ We were never I’ll, so maybe it worked! We were permitted to get German measles. Bright pink germalene, not the woosy white stuff you get now. TCP and Andrews liver salts, maybe aspirin. Dig the garden for period pains. That was our medicine cabinet. Oh and virol which we loved but not with cod liver oil.

Nannan2 Sat 14-Mar-20 13:30:28

Oh God yes my mum had indian brandy for stomach upsets,and milk of magnesia(which they still sell dont they?) And she used to give me a daily dose of 'malt viral' a huge jar of thick brown malty stuff that tasted absolutely disgusting- ive never liked malt since.in fact it didn't even taste of malt it was awful.and the bread in milk thing,i got that made every time i went to my grans house,even when i was well,its called milk pobs,or pobs,they had it a lot in the war apparently (minus the butter) to fill you up because of course food was scarce.i hated it as gran made it with sterilized milk. Awful. & the T.C.P. was used for gargling(sore throats,tasted disgusting also) or for dabbing on cuts,grazes,etc,stung like the devil..im beginning to think all these were 'punishments' not cures...grin

Neilspurgeon0 Sat 14-Mar-20 13:27:56

Gee’s Linctus for a cough and Collis Brown’s for anything “inside”

lovebeigecardigans1955 Sat 14-Mar-20 12:54:23

Germolene - I can still smell it! MIL used to put this on DH's spots when he was a teenager until Auntie Alice told her to stop as it was full of grease and would worsen them.
Orange toned Valderma was used in our house for the same affliction - haven't seen that for ages.
I recall Mum using oil of cloves for toothache and wrapping one of Dad's socks round her neck.
It's a wonder we survived to adulthood when I think of some of the 'cures' which were used.

Newatthis Sat 14-Mar-20 12:54:17

Syrup of figs - constipation I think! Egg white and milk (for the opposite, Glycerin, hiney, lemon and ipececuana for coughs, malt for strength building.

Flossie121 Sat 14-Mar-20 12:46:59

This thread really has brought back memories!
However, I don't think anybody has yet mentioned the most foul medicine of all, which I was given as a cure all for everything, including bad behaviour!! Gregory's powder - a ghastly orangey powder mixed with water. I think it was rhubarb and ginger based, but I used to have to stand at the sink to take it lest it came straight back up.

homefarm Sat 14-Mar-20 12:37:06

Lucozade yuk,yuk,yuk. It used to make me sick.
Can't stand the stuff even today.
Camphorated oil in a burner to aid breathing - I much preferred the vick.

3nanny6 Sat 14-Mar-20 12:34:38

Did not like getting a sore throat as usually could not swallow anything and had a fever, even though I was packed off to bed I did not want the soup as felt too poorly
Once the sore throat was easing then usually a cold and coughing would start, that was better then I had the orange junior aspirins, always offered hot milk but did not want it preferred the Lucozade. Lots of Vick rubbed on chest and back and occasionally half a Beechams powder.
The best of all was the boiled egg and soldiers, or scrambled egg and toast brought up on a tray. Before I started getting too used to this laying in bed my mum would say you are better now so you can get up and get yourself back to school.

dirgni Sat 14-Mar-20 12:19:13

I too was a very sickly child and was treated with oceans of penicillin for ear infections. I can remember lots of lucozade, hot water bottles and in the winter a real fire in the bedroom!

Purplepixie Sat 14-Mar-20 11:56:28

Oh and Beechams pills and powders for just about everything from constipation to headaches or both. Haha those were the days! grin

Purplepixie Sat 14-Mar-20 11:54:20

I remember having oil of cloves on a piece of cotton wool shoved in my mouth once when I had toothache. I hate the taste and smell of cloves now. Then it was syrups of figs every Friday night!!!! Vick spread on my chest and a thick liberty bodice over it even if I just coughed a bit. My mam was a nurse so she had all sorts of potions back in the 1950's. How I survived I don't know. The bit I did like though was hot lemonade made by my dad and tucked into bed.

Franbern Sat 14-Mar-20 11:53:21

Adding to my previous post on this. Does anyone remember the name of those crystals that turned bright violet in water?. Tasted vile, we used to have to gargle our throats with these when we had a a sore throat. As I f got older I started to use TCP for this purpose instead of those crystals. When I had warts on my fingers (very young child), my Dad tied them off with cotton - very tightly -until they fell off. Chilblains were painted with some bright orangy stuff - again no idea of its name.

kittylester Sat 14-Mar-20 11:47:04

My nan used to make her own version of Liquarfruta (sp). I loved it!!

Betty18 Sat 14-Mar-20 11:44:16

The gold standard of children’s illness... lucozade ! Tomato soup and for a cold hot milk with whiskey! Yes I was a child but it was the sixties and we did that sort of thing back then .?

Moggycuddler Sat 14-Mar-20 11:42:57

Indian brandy for tummy aches. It really worked. I wish it was still available! My mum used to take things called "little liver pills" that were herbal, i think, made by de Witts.

SusieH Sat 14-Mar-20 11:38:06

The horrible iron tonic was Minadex. It made your teeth feel funny!

travelsafar Sat 14-Mar-20 11:38:03

Runny boiled eggs and soft bread and butter. If we were really ill we got Lucozade!!! Junior disprin which tasted foul!!!

Phloembundle Sat 14-Mar-20 11:31:57

Halibut liver oil and Virol malt extract. Camphor bag worn around neck.

Madmaggie Sat 14-Mar-20 11:30:58

Syrup of figs, senna pods, cod liver oil, olive oil warmed in a hot spoon then poured in ear for earache, milk of magnesia, buttercup syrup or linctus ) chemists own), TCP, vicks, grandad had frequent bronchitis so he had mustard plasters on his back, zinc ointment, friars balsam to inhale until your eyes streamed, green ointment for chilblains, iodine for cuts, lint & gauze bandages that had to be soaked off, Virol (malt), wounds bathed in salty water, golden eye ointment, germolene (hated the smell), calamine lotion for bites, stings & chickenpox, witch hazel for sprains but grandad preferred horse linament & we had an ancient bottle in the pantry! If you got Lucozade then you really were poorly- loved the orange cellophane wrapper.