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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.

Lookout01 Sat 14-Mar-20 09:29:19

Milk of Magnesia for upset tummy and rosehip syrup every night before bed. Not sure why ?

MooM00 Sat 14-Mar-20 09:35:46

I will never forget that teaspoon of butter, sugar, and vinegar for a sore throat. When I was ill my mum always bought me a dot to dot book and a lucozade.

pollyperkins Sat 14-Mar-20 09:37:43

I remember enjoying being ill as I was allowed to be in my parents bed and a fire was lit in the bedroom. At night my mum would sleep with me and my dad complained as he had to sleep in my little bed.
Like everyone else I always had lucozade when ill but never at other times. Half an aspirin was crushed between two spoons and mixed with ham in a sandwich as it was the only way I’d eat one. I also remember having sugar and butter mixed up to soothe sore throats (I loved that.) but I hated the dark chocolate ex lax which I seemed to have frequently (I must have had a problem!) and it put me off dark chocolate for many years. Calamine lotion of course for sunburn every summer it seems. And a cod liver oil capsule every day.
Incidentally you can still get germoline - I have some .

Paperbackwriter Sat 14-Mar-20 09:38:07

Every morning I had a spoon full of cod liver oil and another one of malt. I was very small and skinny so my mother used to give me a spoonful of glucose as well. My poor teeth..

Mtc59 Sat 14-Mar-20 09:41:38

An aspirin, an early night and a hot toddy!

narrowboatnan Sat 14-Mar-20 09:42:56

I can only remember being ill three times when I was a child (apart from the usual coughs and colds).

Chicken pox when I was sent to play with the other children from the village so that we could all have it together and get it over and done with (anyone else remember chicken pox parties?)

Measles when I remember being in bed with the curtains drawn and not allowed to read in case I went blind.

Mumps when my parents brought a bed downstairs for me (no idea why!) and I was confined to the Best Front Room for the duration. I clearly remember my DM, in shock, rushing in through the door and telling me that President Kennedy had been shot! The cat had a tooth abscess at the same time that I had mumps and my DF told me that she'd caught mumps from me - and I believed him!

I don't remember any special or favourite remedy though, but there was Lucozade, Bunty and Judy magazines when I was on the mend.

Lindylou23 Sat 14-Mar-20 09:43:17

Every Sunday before bed Californian Syrup of figs, if we needed it or not

Hilarybee Sat 14-Mar-20 09:44:28

I remember being in hospital when I was about five years old. My parents gave me a box! Of Maltese’s AND a box of jelly babies, a real treat. I never had a bottle of lucozade though. When I was a nurse in the 70’s I still felt envious of the patients who had a bottle of lucozade by their beds. I think it was the crinkly orange wrapper that impressed me most ??

Jani31 Sat 14-Mar-20 09:49:13

TCP was banned in our household after my then 6 feet boyfriend keeled over when I cleaning his grazes. Stems back to his Mum dowsing him in TCP when he tried to put the tea cosy on his head not knowing a freshly made pot of tea was underneath. In hospital for 6 weeks with burns at 18 months old ?

goldengirl Sat 14-Mar-20 09:57:56

Lucozade for a sore throat, Milk of Magnesia [for what I don't know], and a dose of Syrup of Figs every Saturday night to keep me 'regular'!!!

BettyBoop49 Sat 14-Mar-20 10:01:02

Large piece of flannel fabric soaked in camphorated oil bandaged on for a bad chest.
Golden Eye Ointment
Buttercup Syrup
‘Vick’ plastered on to the chest front and back.
Pobs ( bread soaked in warm milk)
Hot Bovril for a cold
Luzozade
Obviously I survived!

gillyknits Sat 14-Mar-20 10:11:00

I hated Beechams powders, can still remember the taste. We also had Zambuck for cuts and grazes or something called Pink Healing Ointment, that had a lovely antiseptic smell . Liquafruta left such a garlic taste that I can’t stand garlicky food to this day!

elleks Sat 14-Mar-20 10:19:58

Kaolin and morphine liquid for an upset stomach. I loved the taste and tussis nig mixture. I think that's how it was spelt? For a cough. Tasted of liquorice. The chemist made it up. Loved that too
I worked in a privately owned chemist in the 70's, and we did a lot of small-scale manufacturing. We made a cough mixture like yours, with liquorice extract in it

mrsHom Sat 14-Mar-20 10:25:28

I can't remember having any special treatment except a good talking to, if I dared to be ill. My mother wasn't cruel - just pragmatic and thought 'it would get better of its own accord.' I walked around for over a week with a dreadful sore throat because I was in the school pageant for the Coronation and I was sternly advised not to be absent. It turns out I had scarlet fever and had to be hospitalised. It was thought to be highly contagious then and my bedroom was fumigated and my books burned! I think I was taken a bit more seriously after that and when I got Asian flu I got LUCOZADE. Obviously the cure all in those days.

Lancslass1 Sat 14-Mar-20 10:26:06

Cod liver oil and malt.
Viral..
Bemax
Sloans liniment
Germalene
TCP.
Syrup of figs - loved it.
Minadex.

dayvidg Sat 14-Mar-20 10:26:42

3 drops of Oil of Eucalyptus on a spoon of sugar
Haliborange tablets
Gee's Linctus
Firey Jack linament

inishowen Sat 14-Mar-20 10:27:37

I remember having a sore stomach and mum saying "lie on your tummy and you'll be alright ".

Margs Sat 14-Mar-20 10:29:02

Germolene - my mum slapped it liberally on anything. Horrible antiseptic stink too!

Mollygo Sat 14-Mar-20 10:33:02

Gripe water-before they messed about with the formula, Vick on my chest (works well in feet too), cod-liver oil and malt, brimstone and treacle, milk of magnesia, kaolin and morphine and sitting bent over a bowl of boiling water and Friar’s Balsam with a towel over my head to clear my chest.
Repeated sickness brought the little glass of whisky and hot water. “Get that down you-it’ll kill it or cure it!” It worked but I still hate whisky today.
Best? Bread and milk, Lucozade and chance to stay in bed and read.
Anyone remember a disgusting tasting medicine called Merbentyl

Flakesdayout Sat 14-Mar-20 10:39:11

I used to have butter balls rolled in sugar for a sore throat and Lucozade when I was older.

b1zzle Sat 14-Mar-20 10:39:54

Vick!

Shortlegs Sat 14-Mar-20 10:40:03

My mother once treated a bad cut on my leg with iodine. Bloody hell!

henetha Sat 14-Mar-20 10:41:32

Whisky in hot milk...oh how I hated it. Can't bear even the smell of whisky now.
Lots of Cod Liver Oil and Malt, a big spoonful daily. I think I quite liked it.
Bread and Milk, which I still have sometimes as it's lovely.
Andrews Liver Salts, not sure what they were for.

grannyactivist Sat 14-Mar-20 11:04:39

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

Well the honest answer would be, ‘benign neglect’. grin
As a child I got really bad tonsillitis frequently and my mother always reacted as if I was ill just to annoy her, she described me as a @*&*# nuisance because she had to call the doctor out. I was simply packed off to bed with a cup of cold water and left to get on with it. Because my throat was too sore for me to swallow my mum would bring me a cup of oxo at dinner time, with some dry bread to dip in it, and for my tea it would be half a tin of Heinz tomato soup. Apart from delivering my food I was completely ignored all day long......until the doctor arrived and my mum would act as if she’d never left my side. I took huge amounts of penicillin when I was a child as I got so many infections. (No change there then!)

Wendy Sat 14-Mar-20 11:15:40

If we felt sick as children, Mum would give us Soda water from a syphon. We were either sick or got better. I still can’t drink fizzy water to this day. She also made gruel from patent groats, this is what she called it. It was like porridge and sweet. I loved it. I wish I could make it now.