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Monday, April 28, 2014

X is for Xamined by Dr. Mamaw



That’s right.  My Daddy’s mother thought she had the perfect remedy for everything that came along.  She would mix up concoctions for us to drink or rub on all of our “ouchies.”  This didn’t seem to hurt any of us.  Whether it cured us of what ailed us, I can’t say.  We always got better, but it may have been a case of the ailment running its course.

She would mix up lemon juice with honey and a shot of whiskey for sore throats.  Maybe or was the whiskey that made us forget about our sore throat.  We’d go to bed and be much better in the morning.

The only pic I have of Daddy's mother

We used Vicks a lot.  We rubbed it on our chest when we had a cold and we’d even put a dab on our tongue and swallow it.  I don’t think people do things like that today.  In fact, I’m sure there must be a warning on the label not to ingest it.

When we had a bellyache, they instructed us to lie on the floor with our butt against the wall and our legs extended up the wall.  We had to lie there for about twenty minutes.  It usually fixed us right up.

We rarely went to the doctor for anything because we didn’t have the money.  They fixed most things on the farm with old-fashioned remedies.  The only time I can remember any of us having to go to the hospital for incidents was with one of my sisters.  Bonni was always getting into a mishap.  She had to have her stomach pumped once for eating some old medicine out of the garbage and another time when she cracked her head open.  Mama tried to stop the bleeding with vinegar and water, but that didn’t work because the gash was a big one, so they took her to get it sewed up.  However, it did stop by the time the doctor was ready to work on it.  I guess my sister remembered her first trip to the emergency room and her sheer fright stopped it.

Did you have any childhood mishaps or have to suffer through childhood remedies?

10 comments:

  1. My mom told me that her mom used to have them drink whiskey when they were sick. I thought that was hilarious...as terrified as everyone is today about children consuming a drop of anything unhealthy!

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    1. Stephanie,

      I know what you mean. Times have changed a lot.

      Sunni

      Delete
  2. My mother used to give the same remedies to the animals as to us - a wee drop of whiskey was definitely a cure all for colds ... but I remember one time seeing her giving day old chicks the tiniest little drop of whisky when they were not progressing ... then they were put into a shoe box lined with cotton wool and put into the warming oven of the old Aga range.
    Fil
    Fil’s Place - Old Songs and Memories

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    Replies
    1. Fil,

      Wow, giving chicks whiskey? I wonder if my grandmother did that because she did place small boxes of chicks in the oven sometimes. Maybe we just never knew about the whiskey part.

      Thanks for visiting.
      Sunni

      Delete
  3. I'm sure that whiskey helped with the sore throat :)

    My aunt used to put struggling new born lambs into the warming oven of the Aga to help the along - don't think she used whiskey in their bottles, though. ;P

    Sophie
    Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles - A to Z Ghosts
    Fantasy Boys XXX - A to Z Drabblerotic

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    1. Sophie,

      They must have used the oven for lots of things. Thanks for stopping by.

      Sunni

      Delete
  4. I never knew about the one for the bellyache, that I am going to try it. Twenty minutes, eh? I'm glad I'm following your blog. This is really interesting. I'm not going to share my embarrassing mishaps at this time, but maybe someday. :-)
    Deb@ http://debioneille.blogspot.com

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    1. Debi,

      Yes that's right on the bellyache. It works. I still use that one today. I'm glad you're finding this interesting. I want to hear about your mishaps someday. :)

      Sunni

      Delete
  5. One time after falling down stairs, I remember having butter rubbed on my nose! And the cure for all sore throats was honey, lemon juice and a drop of whiskey. Chicks were definitely placed into the Aga for warming by my grandmother but I too am not aware of any alcohol being given to them. http://pempispalace.blogspot.co.uk/

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    Replies
    1. Senco,

      Butter on your nose? I've never heard that one.

      Thanks for stopping by. I'm going to check out your blog a little more.

      Sunni

      Delete

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comment on my posts. I appreciate it.
Sunni