Home grown
It’s nearly midnight and I just remembered that I hadn’t blogged. Of course, the moment I remembered was just as I was about to finally drift off to sleep. I hadn’t coughed in about ten minutes…a really amazing thing, since my ribs are likely bruised from the fits I had last night. I hate being sick. I hate having bronchitis or whatever it is I have. I hate missing sleep.
But what I do love is an excuse to have me some honey, whiskey and lemon.
My grandmother used to prescribe this remedy to me when I was a kid. She’d mix it up and I was allowed precisely one tablespoon full of the stuff per hour. Future tippler that I was, I’d watch the clock.
I believe this remedy was for sore throats…but the first sign of a cold and I break out the Jack Daniels. I don’t limit myself to one tablespoon anymore, but I do try to keep things in perspective. After all, I may not be driving, but I do have a kid in the house.
Makes me think about all those wonderful home remedies that we all have in our families. Beyond this toddy-like temptation, my favorite is aloe for burns. I have a huge plant, very hearty. When I got second degree burns on my hand from hitting a burner on my stove (don’t ask…goes to the whole “Julie needs a new kitchen” argument) the aloe was the only thing that offered any relief.
The bottled stuff won’t do, either. It’s got to be the real thing, a stalk sliced off the plant and then cut open to reveal all the gooey goodness inside.
So what are the home remedies you grew up with? Do you still use them? Do they work? Share! (Anything you can offer for a cough and sore ribs would be much appreciated.)
Oh, Julie, feel better. :cry: And avoid your phone. If I call you it’s going to be to yell at you b/c I am so worried you’re sick after what you went through two weeks ago (b/c ask my kids - when I’m worried I yell, weird but true) and you need to get your health in order. I :love2: you! Oh. No home remedies. Just a medicine cabinet full of stuff, as you well know!
Comment by Carly — February 28, 2007 @ 7:54 am
Ouch Julie- feel better soon. Being sick sucks.:cry:
The aloe plant is a given. I have had mine 30 years. It’s not in a huge pot anymore- I couldn’t move it after awhile, but in smaller ones. Love the things, they are so hard to kill.
You could add ice to that jack and lemon and make a Lynchburg Lemonade. Yummy.:cocktail:
Did you know that they have found Chicken Noodle Soup actually does have healthy properties and Grandma wasn’t nuts??:thumbsup2:
Comment by ev — February 28, 2007 @ 8:17 am
Feel better soon, Julie! There’s nothing more miserable than trying to sleep when you’re congested.
As for home remedies, my grandmother did the same thing with the honey, lemon and whiskey. We’re not far from Jack Daniels country, so it was always JD. :-)
Comment by Rhonda Nelson — February 28, 2007 @ 8:28 am
Coughing at night is so miserable. And why is it that you can go all day without coughing, but as soon as you lay down it hits?
If you’re ever at Sam’s Club and see the book, “Prescription for Natural Cures,” pick it up. They update it every couple of years and I think most Sam’s Clubs usually have it. It has tons and tons of things that you can use for “home rememedies.” Unfortunately, mine’s in storage (I had to pick between the health books and my romance - romance won) so I can’t look any of it up for you today.
Get better soon!!!!
Comment by Jodie — February 28, 2007 @ 9:07 am
I hope you’re feeling better soon! I never knew that the whiskey thing was real … in college I dated a guy who did the whiskey thing (but no lemon or honey) and I thought he was making it up, but it seemed to work …
Comment by Yolanda — February 28, 2007 @ 9:25 am
Julie: I hope you feel better. Being sick is horrible. I have had a migraine for the past two weeks off and on (more on than off). Yuck. The only thing I have to cure that is a Diet Coke (but I can’t drink caffeine, right now, so I am stuck).
Comment by katie — February 28, 2007 @ 10:42 am
Oooh, I remember those “hot toddy” days when I was sick. Hot lemonade with honey and whiskey.
One other home remedy I remember actually working was for earaches. My Dad would drip warm olive oil in my ear, then put a piece off olive-oil soaked bread over it and I’d lie on my side and just hold it. I know it sounds bizarre…but it always made me feel better!
Comment by Leslie — February 28, 2007 @ 10:43 am
I hope you feel better soon. The only home remedy that I have is the same one Leslie gave. The olive oil in the ear works wonders. Also a hot steamy shower before bed helps my kids stop coughing long enough to get to sleep. Take care of yourself.
Comment by Patty L. — February 28, 2007 @ 11:45 am
The problem with chicken soup is that it really has to be homemade in order to work…and no one in my family cooks it but me. So that’s out. But the suggestion is a good one!
My doc just called and they’re going to try a new cough medicine. Cross your fingers!
Leslie…that olive oil cure sounds like something my family would have come up with! For us, ear aches were heating pads on the ear. I have no idea if it helped.
Comment by Julie Leto — February 28, 2007 @ 11:47 am
Julie - I’m right there with you. I was up half the night coughing last night and I’m about to pass out at work today. I’ve tried every medicine in combination and nothing works. I may try the whiskey/honey/lemon though - it actually sounds good. DH will fix it for me and it will probably be heavy on the whiskey.
There is one cough medicine out there that works for me when I get this but it’s prescription and I think has codeine in it. I can’t remember exactly - but it actually tasted decent and knocked me out - maybe that is what you are getting.
Hope you feel better soon.
Comment by Crystal F — February 28, 2007 @ 12:02 pm
Big hugs to Julie and everyone else that’s not feeling well! Lots of things going around right now (flu, colds, coughs, etc), so everyone take care of themselves!
Comment by Janelle — February 28, 2007 @ 12:14 pm
Crystal, I hope so! I need sleep! Feel better!!! Let me know if the whiskey helps.
Comment by Julie Leto — February 28, 2007 @ 12:29 pm
The “hot toddy” was always the fix my dad gave us for coughing if the meds didn’t work. A good over the counter cough medicine is Delsum. Has an orange flavor and really works. I’ve had a cough for over 4 months(my doc told me it would clear up by the end of the season). The Delsum is the only one that is currently working for me(the prescription med said it would knock me out, but just kept me awake). It won’t knock you out, but seems to settle my lungs enough that I can rest or work.
Comment by Liza — February 28, 2007 @ 1:02 pm
Julie, Sorry your not feeling well. As a child I had bronchitis alot, and my family believed in rubbing Vicks on the chest, which at first feels a little yucky but then makes your chest feel warm and I love the smell, but it really does loosen up the congestion and help you sleep. Feel better.
Comment by Tina Martinesi — February 28, 2007 @ 1:09 pm
Tina, I’d forgotten all about Vicks. I will try it!!! Thanks.
Comment by Julie Leto — February 28, 2007 @ 1:22 pm
Feel better Julie!
I prefer southern comfort to jack but the idea is the same.
Olive oil is a good tip too.
We were the vicks family!
First you rub some on your forehead, neck, chest and back.
Oh yeah and under your nose and on your lips too.
It contains camphor and is great for chapped lips.
Nicer if you have someone with great hands to do this for you.
Then you need a sweatshirt to keep the warmth in.
Now in my family we did something, I wouldn’t suggest today but truth be
told Mom and Gramma would melt the vicks on one spoon over the stove
transfer to another cooler spoon and yes open wide. You don’t really
swallow it because it coats your throat as you swallow. Ewwww, you say
but it worked. A great use to aid tired feet or cracked heels (old age)
put some on your feet before bed and put on some warm socks. This
works arthritis too with jeweler’s gloves.
Now a warning on vicks it does open your pores so don’t put it on and then
go out cause Mom said it causes consumption.
I am so Old.
Wash it off really good or you’ll smell like a vicks bottle.
Another use boil some water on the stove add a tablespoon to the hot
surface after turning off heat, toss a towel over your head and inhale.
Okay that’s it for me.:love2:
Comment by jeannie — February 28, 2007 @ 1:50 pm
Stay away from the NyQuil- they took out the really good ingredient that would knock you out. So now I have to use the tylenol night time medicine and it seems to work. So did Aleve, but since I can’t take it anymore, I am stuck with the tylenol.:cry:
Comment by ev — February 28, 2007 @ 1:54 pm
The Hot Toddy works, whiskey, brandy–your choice, lemon, honey in hot tea, even if it doesn’t cure it after a couple you don’t care!!!!!
However, to be serious, it does seem to help. Mom always put Vicks on our chest & that really does help a lot. I did it for my kids also when they were little.
Feel better soon Jule, take care of yourself. :love2:
Comment by Donna M — February 28, 2007 @ 2:28 pm
HI Julie,
Good to know that the honey , whiskey and lemon home remedy is a winner:thumbsup2:
Here is a great one to avoid chronic ear infections.
You mix a 50-50 solution on white vineger and rubbing alcohol together. a few drops in each ear after washing your hair or taking a shower helps keep ear infections away.:thumbsup2:
It has worked for over a year on my daughter who had chonic ear infections. My daughter has type 1 diabetes and her ear infections were always bad until the doctor told us to try this home remedy to avoid ear infections.
This also works for dogs that have hanging ears like spainels:doggie: and such. I saturate a cottonball with the solution (warmed) and squeeze it into the dogs ear. Works like a charm.
Comment by Gigi — February 28, 2007 @ 3:10 pm
Feel better Julie! No home remedies here. We always drank lots of hot tea with honey and ate chicken soup or broth. Get well soon.
Comment by Carolyn A. — February 28, 2007 @ 3:11 pm
All I have is when I had an asthma attack as a kid, in went Return of the Jedi. I mean, there is a reason why there are so many Darth Vader/breathing jokes, because of me! LOL
Lois
Comment by Lois — February 28, 2007 @ 3:28 pm
The prescription cough medicine you guys are talking about might be Tussinex. Knocks me right out but causes my son to be wired, he can’t take it anywhere near bedtime.
When I was little I always heard the jokes about my dad and his cough syrup. I didn’t know until I was 25 that Dad dumped the cough syrup out and just put straight whiskey in the bottle. No wonder he was always so happy when he had a cold!
Comment by Jodie — February 28, 2007 @ 3:56 pm
Hope you feel better Julie
no home remedies here either. when I had bronchitis I took the the antibiotic the Dr. gave me and the prescription codiene cough medicine
When I don’t feel good the closest I can get to homemade chicken soup is Won Ton soup.
Just makde sure you drink lots of hot liguids tea or water to loosen everything up.
Comment by Cherylann — February 28, 2007 @ 7:57 pm
OMG you are bringing back horrible memories with the Vicks - my mother used to get two huge gobs and stick it up my nose. I refuse to have the stuff in my house
Hope you feel better soon!
Comment by catslady — February 28, 2007 @ 8:59 pm
Katie - for your migranes, try drinking a tall glass of ice water, filled with ice, top to the glass full and make sure the water is cold. Don’t sip, drink like you’re really thirsty. Ideally, it will give you almost an ice cream headache and nutralize the migrane and then the ice cream headache goes away in a few mintues … if done on the onset it usually works. Good Luck.
Comment by Yolanda — February 28, 2007 @ 10:21 pm
Hi, sorry to hear that you’re sick. I’m just getting over a sinus infection myself. No cold just nasal conjestion. No headache either. I went for almost two months and it wasn’t until hubby moved out of the bedroom due to my “unbearable” snoring
that I figured I should go to the doctor. Two weeks of tetracycline (last dose in a couple of hours) and I’m all cleared up. And hubby’s moved back into the bedroom 
:love2:
As for home remedies…for warts I can say this works 100% - soak your hand/foot whatever in warm water to open the pores. Remove any dead skin around the wart. Take a clove of garlic and crush it with the back of a spoon so that the garlic oil is oozing from it. Place a piece of the garlic on the wart and secure it in place with a bandaid. Leave it overnight and remove in the morning. Warning…you may wake up in the night with a sharp stinging sensation…it means it’s working, although it may not sting and still work. When you look at the wart the next morning your skin will likely be red. Remove the garlic, wash your hands and replace the bandaid. You may need to repeat this for a couple nights in a row. Then leave the wart alone and uncovered and in about a week, it will be gone and with no scars. I had about 10 on my hand and they were spreading when I was pregnant. I had numerous treatments (freezing, topical medicines, etc.) and none worked but this did. And…the warts have never come back.
Comment by Dayle — February 28, 2007 @ 10:39 pm
I think I need to print off all the comments from this post! Some great suggestions…Jeanie, Vicks down the throat…oy!
Julie, hope you’re better today!
Comment by Leslie — March 1, 2007 @ 10:36 am