Strong ginger tea, sweetened and taken hot on going to bed, is very
good. Where persons have been exposed to the air, and think they have
taken fresh cold, keep the feet warm by taking a hot brick to bed, and
do not increase the cold the next day. If it is not deeply seated,
taking this a few nights will give relief. A piece of ginger root, kept
about the person to chew, is good for a tickling in the throat, which
many persons are subject to, when sitting in close heated apartments, in
lecture rooms, or places of worship.
Lemon Mixture for a Cough.
Put two fresh eggs in a jar; cover them with the juice of six large
lemons; let it stand until the hard shell of the eggs is eaten off; then
beat it together; strain it, and add half a pound of rock candy, one
gill of brandy and two table-spoonsful of sweet oil.
Mixture of Lemon Juice and Honey.
Take half a pint of honey and squeeze the juice of four lemons on it;
mix well together, and add a small portion of sugar; take a tea-spoonful
every time the cough is troublesome.
Hoarhound Candy.
Put two pounds of sugar in a pint of hoarhound tea, as strong as can be
made, which may be done by drawing two sets of hoarhound in the same
water, till the strength is out of each; when it is cold, mix in the
sugar and the white of an egg; when it begins to boil, take off the scum
as it rises, boil it slowly till it becomes thick, so that when you drop
it on a plate, it will be hard and crisp, and pour it out in plates that
have been greased with a little sweet butter; when cold, you can break
it up for use, and tie it up in a jar. This is quite as useful as the
candy you buy, and is much cheaper; it is very convenient for persons
that have a cough, to have a little box of this about them to take when
there is a tickling in the throat.
Mustard Bath for the Feet--Soap Stones, &c.
It gives relief to a bad cold in the early stages, to soak the feet in
warm water, in which you have put half a tea cup of salt and two table
spoonsful of pulverized mustard, and to drink ginger tea. You may keep
your feet in the bath for half an hour, and then retire with a warm soap
stone wrapped in a cloth and placed near them. A soap stone, the size of
a brick will, when thoroughly heated, keep warm till morning, and is
invaluable for an elderly person or one that suffers with cold feet.
Liverwort Syrup.
Make a quart of strong liverwort tea by extracting two sets of herbs in
the same water, tie a tea cup of flaxseed in a bag and put with it; keep
it covered while drawing; when the strength is all out, strain it on a
pound of sugar, and let it boil slowly till it is thick--keeping it
covered to prevent the strength from going off, when cold, bottle it,
and set the bottle in a cool place while using it. Take a table-spoonful
at a time about six times a day. This has been used for a cough with
great benefit.
For Sore Throat.
Make a gargle of cayenne pepper, honey and spirits, or sage tea, with
alum and honey, or figs boiled, mashed and strained, and use it once
in two hours. If it is very bad, steam the mouth with a funnel held
over hot vinegar, and put on a hot poultice of hops, boiled in weak
ley and thickened with corn-meal; there should be a little lard spread
over; renew it every time it gets cold. Another very good poultice, is
hot mush strewed with powdered camphor; put it on as hot as can be
borne, and change it when cold. A purgative should be given, either of
senna and salts, castor oil; or rhubarb and soap pills. An emetic is
of great importance, and has caused the throat to break when persons
have been very ill.
Sore throats have been cured when quinsy was apprehended, by using
powdered camphor and lard on flannel. It is a good way, when persons are
subject to it, to keep an ounce of camphor mixed with lard, in a
wide-mouthed bottle, or jar; and corked tight. The cayenne pepper and
honey gargle should also be kept ready mixed, and used when the first
symptoms appear; or in a violent attack, a plaster of snuff and lard may
be applied with benefit, keeping it on only a few minutes at a time.
Sometimes a bag of hot ashes sprinkled with vinegar, and applied hot as
can be borne, has cured a sore throat in one night. Persons that have
been afflicted for years with repeated attacks of sore throat and
quinsy, have been cured by bathing the throat, neck and ears with cold
water every morning. The constant use of the shower bath is very
important. Keep the feet warm.
Molasses Posset for a Cold.
Take a pint of the best molasses, a tea-spoonful of powdered ginger, a
quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and let them simmer together for
half an hour: then stir in the juice of two lemons, or if you have not
these, two table-spoonsful of strong vinegar; cover over the sauce-pan,
and let it stand by the fire five minutes longer. Some of this may be
taken warm or cold.
For Whooping Cough.
Dissolve a scruple of salts of tartar in a gill of water, put in half a
scruple of pulverized cochineal, sweeten it with loaf sugar, give an
infant a tea-spoonful of this mixture four times a day, and a child four
years old or upwards, a table-spoonful. In some cases the relief is
instantaneous.
Another Remedy.
Half a pint of honey, half a pint of vinegar, two table-spoonsful of
sweet oil stewed together a few minutes; when cold put it in a bottle,
and put in a tea-spoonful of laudanum; shake it well, and give a
table-spoonful when the cough is troublesome, and a dose just before
going to bed. For an infant of six months, a small tea-spoonful is a
dose, and for a child of four years, two tea-spoonsful. Where there is
not much fever, a little port or claret wine, mixed with sugar and
water, and taken with toast broken in it, is beneficial. Children should
be taken out riding if possible, and should be well wrapped up.
For the Croup.
Put the child in warm water, and keep up the temperature by putting in
more hot water; keep it in fifteen or twenty minutes, then wipe it dry
and put it in a warm bed, or wrap a blanket round it and hold it on the
lap; give it an emetic, and put powdered garlic and lard to the throat
and soles of the feet; keep up the perspiration, by giving a few drops
of antimonial wine every half hour. The next morning give it a dose of
rhubarb tea or castor oil, and keep it from the air for several days.
This treatment has been very beneficial when a physician was not at
hand; and nothing had been done till his arrival, perhaps the child
would have been too far gone to recover. In cases of croup, to wet a
piece of flannel with, alcohol, and apply it to the throat as hot as it
can be borne, has often a salutary effect, applied frequently. It is
also good to use for a bad cold, &c.
Molasses stewed with a lump of butter, and a table-spoonful of vinegar,
taken just before you go to bed, and to grease the nose, forehead and
breast with mutton tallow, will sometimes cure a child without any thing
else. To pound garlic in a rag and squeeze out the juice, mix it with
molasses, and give a tea-spoonful at a time, has given relief when a
child was very ill. Sliced onions, or garlic stewed with sugar and
water, or molasses, is very good to take for a cold. Where children are
subject to the croup, you should always have a pot of water over the
fire, and light-wood near, to heat it as quick as possible. Children
that are subject to these attacks should have their feet kept warm and
dry, and always wear flannel next to the skin.
It is the duty of parents to make use of the most simple remedies, which
may always be in readiness, and, if applied in time, may prevent the
necessity of giving strong medicines, which injure the constitutions of
young children. The least symptom of the disease should be attended to.
Lobelia is a certain remedy for croup. If the case is light, a few drops
of the tincture, increasing the dose according to the age of the child,
given at short intervals, will cause it to vomit and prevent danger; but
if the attack is a severe one, you should give the "third preparation of
lobelia;" for a child of ten years, ten drops, and so on in proportion;
mix it with sugar and water. Every mother should keep lobelia at hand,
as it has been known to give certain relief in many cases.
A child of twelve months, may take of the tincture ten drops every
fifteen or twenty minutes, till it acts as an emetic, or relieves by
perspiration; one of two or three years may take twenty or thirty drops.
The third preparation is of much greater strength than the tincture.
Infants' Colic, &c.
Tea made of catnip, and sweetened, given to an infant when it appears to
be in pain, is often useful. Sweet marjoram tea also relieves pain, and
has a soothing effect on the nerves.
To put the feet in warm water, and put a warm piece of flannel to the
stomach, is important; but if neither of these relieve the child, put it
in warm water for about ten minutes, and cover it from the air
carefully; wipe it dry, and keep it warm afterwards. A little weak
ginger tea is good for the colic; as also tea made of dried damask rose
leaves; a tea-spoonful of leaves will make a tea-cupful of tea.
Uneasiness is frequently caused by their stomachs being overloaded with
food, and care should be taken in this respect.
Having lately met with some remarks in the "Baltimore American," with
which I am much pleased, I take the liberty of inserting them.
"Narcotics and anodynes cannot be given with too much caution, the
sensitive and nervous system of an infant should never be acted upon by
these powerful drugs unless in extreme cases, and of these, few mothers
should presume to judge. Two drops of laudanum, says the London Medical
Gazette, have been known to kill an infant; and a single drop, it is
said, stole the life of a new born babe.
"The most experienced medical men never administer medicines of this
class to the very young, without exercising the utmost caution, and
making the most accurate calculations.
"In the present day, the more general diffusion of correct facts in
physiology and pathology has caused a large class of young mothers to
reject the old system of giving narcotic drugs to infants. In carrying
out this salutary reformation like all other reformers, they have a
strong opposition to contend with; old fashioned nurses do much harm in
opposing all nursery reformations, consequently young mothers will have
a hard task to execute.
"Too many have not the steady courage to hold on to the end in mild, but
firm opposition to all erroneous, but well meant interference. But there
are others whose pure and unswerving love for their tender off-spring
keeps them firm to their duty; to these the next generation will owe
much. They are the little band of true-hearted reformers, whose good
example will be like leaven, spreading until its influence is felt
throughout the wide circle of maternal responsibility."
Summer Diseases.
The food of children in summer, should be light and nourishing; if of
milk, be careful that it is sweet. If you cannot get it fresh as often
as you want it, boiling will keep it sweet. Sour milk and improper
food sometimes bring on the summer disease, which is easier prevented
than cured.
A little rhubarb tea or tincture, with a small quantity of prepared
chalk, will sometimes check it in its early stages, but the most
effectual medicine that I have tried is called by some apothecaries,
"red mixture," of which I will give a recipe.
Chicken water, slightly salted, is very good; make but a little at a
time, and have it fresh.
Rice gruel, sweetened with loaf-sugar, and a little nutmeg, is
nourishing. To make a drink of slippery-elm, shave the bark fine and put
it in water; strain it, mix it with milk, and sweeten it. Elderberry and
blackberry cordials are also good in cases where there is no fever.
The stomach and back should be bathed with spirits, and a little bag of
pounded spices, wet with spirits, applied to the stomach, may be used
with safety, when not within reach of a physician.
A bark jacket has been used with success in many instances, cut it out
of fine muslin, to be double, spread it open, and cover one side with
about two ounces of the best Lima bark, and twelve pounded cloves; put
on the other side, sew it up, and quilt it across; put on shoulder
straps and strings of soft ribbon; sprinkle it with spirits twice a day.
The child should have the benefit of the morning and evening air. If it
is not convenient to ride it out, walking will answer, in the arms of a
careful nurse, carried on a pillow, with an umbrella to protect its eyes
from the light.
When a child is taken sick in a city, removing it to the country often
has a beneficial effect. Milk thickened with arrow root is good diet for
children. Flour dried in an oven for several hours, and used to thicken
milk or water, is also good, sweetened with loaf-sugar, and is
nutritious. They should eat but a small portion of any thing at a time.
To cut slices of lean fresh beef or mutton, put it in a bowl, and pour a
pint of boiling water on it, and let it set close to the fire for an
hour, is very good to give children occasionally, with but little salt;
the stomach will sometimes retain this when other things are rejected.
As thirst is an attendant on this disease, much salt should be avoided
in all their food. Every thing about a sick child should be kept clean,
and its clothes well aired before changing them. If it is too ill to
carry out of doors, have it changed from one room to another, and the
apartment it left well aired.
Children who are afflicted with this disease, sometimes crave fruit.
Ripe peaches, fresh from the tree, or ripe apples, baked or roasted
before the fire, may he occasionally administered in small quantities
with perfect safety.
To make toast-water, the bread should be toasted on both sides very dry,
and boiling water poured on it.
I hope these hints will be useful to persons that cannot procure a
physician, which is often the case in the country.
Mustard Whey.
Boil a pint of milk, and the same of water, with an ounce and a half of
bruised mustard seed, until the curd separates--when strain the whey.
This is a most desirable way of administering mustard; it warms and
invigorates the system, promotes the different secretions, and in the
low state of nervous fevers, will often supply the place of wine. It is
also of use in chronic rheumatism, palsy and dropsy.
Red Mixture.
Take sixteen grains of powdered rhubarb, thirty of soda, fifty of
prepared chalk, and two drops of the oil of spearmint, mixed in a vial
with two ounces of water; keep it corked up and shake it before giving a
dose. A child of ten months old should take a tea-spoonful every three
or four hours. If there is much pain, two drops of laudanum may be added
to every other dose. A table-spoonful is a dose for a grown person.
Erysipelas.
The decoction of sarsaparilla has proved useful in cases of erysipelas.
Take two ounces of sarsaparilla, one of sassafras, one of burdock root,
and one of liquorice; boil them slowly in three pints of water, keeping
it covered close, until reduced to one-half. Take two table-spoonsful
four times a day.
While taking medicine for the erysipelas, meat and all strong food
should be avoided, and every thing that has a tendency to inflame the
blood. Dusting the parts affected, with rye or buckwheat flour,
sometimes has a cooling effect, and bathing with camphor or spirits will
allay the irritation.
Nettle rash is very much like erysipelas, and the same treatment is good
for both. Slippery-elm bark, chipped, and let to stand in cold water
till it becomes thick, is a very cooling drink. It may be filled up the
second time. Barley water is also a suitable drink.
Erysipelas is frequently brought on by violent exercise, and the
perspiration being checked too suddenly. Persons that have once had it,
should avoid extremes of heat and cold, and pay strict attention to
diet--not eating any thing that disagrees with them. All acids,
particularly pickles, are improper.
The stomach should be cleansed by emetics. Small and frequent doses of
senna and salts, if taken just at going to bed, will not occasion much
sickness, and tend greatly to relieve the system of this unpleasant
disease. Where the case is slight, the rhubarb pills sometimes give
relief. The pores of those that are subject to it are generally open,
and flannel should be worn all the year, to prevent too sudden a check
of perspiration.
Magnesia, Charcoal and Salts.
Form a valuable compound for family use: one ounce of each mixed
together, and put in a wide-mouthed bottle; it is useful for head-ache,
or diseases of the skin. Cases of erysipelas have been cured by its
continued use. Take a tea-spoonful of the mixture, in a little water two
or three times a day, or on going to bed at night. Persons of sedentary
occupations, that are in the habit of taking pills, will find it to
their relief to use this simple remedy. It has been found beneficial in
cases of tetter and ringworm in the head, using at the same time, as a
wash on the part affected, borax dissolved in strong vinegar.
In cases of erysipelas, the "charcoal mixture" has been used with great
benefit; it is excellent for purifying the blood. Take it in small doses
for two or three weeks, then discontinue it, and take it again at
intervals. If this medicine should be found unpleasant, take a
tea-spoonful of jelly, or something of that kind after it. It will
answer quite as well to keep the magnesia, charcoal and salts in
separate bottles, and mix them just as you take the dose, taking about
an even tea-spoonful of each.
For Dropsy.
Put a quarter of a pound of cream of tartar, and a pound of new nails,
in a stone jug, with half a gallon of water, let it stand three or four
days, occasionally shaking it; take a table spoonful three times a day,
on an empty stomach, and half an hour after each dose, take two
spoonsful of mustard seed or scraped horse-radish. If the swelling
abates, you may take the medicine less frequently, or omit every other
day, but do not leave it off until you are entirely cured. After it has
stood some time, it becomes stronger, when you may put in more water.
This has been highly recommended for the dropsy.
Another Remedy.
Take a quart of gin, put into it one handful of the white buds of the
common pine; shake it frequently, and take half a wine glassful at a
time, twice a day, about an hour before a meal, and occasionally eat a
little brown mustard seed; this should be persevered in, and has been
known to afford great relief, in two obstinate cases.