When I was in 4-H many years ago, I took a Veterinary Science project. As part of the project, I had to write about the way various equine ailments were treated. I had a great source–or so I thought. It was my great-grandmother’s old veterinary book, published in the late 1800s. I found out that I could cure almost anything by using turpentine, castor oil, pine tar, or kerosene. Sometimes these materials were used externally as wound dressings and at other times mixed with other ingredients for oral treatment. After finishing my paper and giving it to my mom to read, she gently informed me that veterinary science had moved beyond turpentine, pine tar and kerosene. I found a new source in the library and wrote a new paper, but I’ve always been fascinated by the use of turpentine as a medicine.
Turpentine is made from pine trees and has a long history of use as a solvent, paint thinner and water repellent, as well as a medicine. We now know that turpentine should NOT be ingested, as it causes kidney and lung damage, but before the side effects were understood, it was used routinely in medical treatments. Romans used it to treat depression. Doctors used it both internally and externally throughout history to treat wounds, infections and to kill internal parasites such as tape worms. It was a widely used component in the snake oil treatments sold in medicine shows in the late 1800s, and during Prohibition, turpentine was used to make fake gin. Also, many folk remedies contained turpentine and when ingested, it will make urine smell like violets.
Turpentine does have some medicinal benefits. It is an antiseptic and it burns enough to make one feel like the germs are indeed being killed. It will help stop heavy bleeding. It is also still an ingredient in Vick’s Vapor-Rub, although it’s listed as an inactive ingredient. (Can you recall the feel of PJs stuck to your chest as Mom used Vicks to fight cold symptoms? I sure can.)
Do any of you have home remedies that you still use? I don’t use turpentine, but I’m totally onboard with ginger tea and mint tea for nausea, as well as baking soda paste on bee stings.
Jeannie Watt raises cattle in Montana and loves all things western. When she's not writing, Jeannie enjoys sewing, making mosaic mirrors, riding her horses and buying hay. Lots and lots of hay.
I use mint tea for nausea and Coca Cola for migraines.
I will try Coca Cola for migraines, Denise. I never heard of this and I like the sound of it.
Cotton ball with witch hazel for earache.
Ginger ale over crushed ice for upset stomach.
Good ones, Danielle. I wish I’d known about the witch hazel when my son was young. He had so many earaches.
witch hazel across a bruise will speed the healing – you can feel a tingle as your blood is pulled to the area. Also use tea tree oil (natural antiseptic) mixed 1 to 4 for skin ailments (except eye area) honey is also a natural antiseptic that can be used – vinegar to lift burn from a sunburn also works really well! My mom and others before her used what they had on hand to help – I can remember as a child drinking baking soda dissolved in warm water for a tummy ache!
Those are all great, Teresa! I use tee tree oil and love it. I never heard of the vinegar for a sunburn, but I’ll try it!
We wet a brown paper bag with vinegar and laid it on our sunburn. It pulls the burn out.
I discovered pesto bismol helps stomach upset in cats and dogs as well as humans
Interesting, Cindy! Thanks for passing that along!
I can’t recall any home remedies at this time, but I do so recall the smell of Vicks as I rubbed it on my kids chests. Oh, yes, my dad used to pour white vinegar in a glass and add baking soda to it. When it began mixing it started fizzing. It was to be drunk down while still fizzing for stomach upset. For the flu, we kids were fed milk toast. Mom poured warm milk over freshly toasted and buttered bread. I still do this today, if and when I have an upset stomach or do not want to disrupt it after having the flu with accompanied vomiting.
Judy that toast with milk thing is something I’m going to try. I choke down dry crackers, but this sounds so much better. Also the vinegar and baking soda is interesting. I can see where it would really make a person burp and relieve gas.
We didn’t eat milk toast for the flu. Mom just made it for us for breakfast. I have never heard anyone else talk about milk toast. When I’ve mentioned it to people, they have no idea what I’m talking about.
I use the same ones you use – ginger, mint, and baking soda.
Trued and true!
Absorbine horse liniment works great on sore muscles, but I’ve also discovered that it will take the itch and pain out of ant bites.
A great remedy for a stuffy nose: Pour yourself a glass of orange soda (Sunkist or Always Save Orange are my favorites but any kind will work) and drop in a few Life Savers Wint-o-Green Mints (or any other kind of wintergreen flavored mints). Let them sit for awhile until they partially dissolve; you can break them up a little bit to help with that. Then drink. It tastes great and helps relieve congestion. My mom always rubbed Vicks on our chests and put a little dab under our noses when we had a cold.
For a sunburn, rub it down with wheat germ oil. It takes away the pain and will keep it from blistering and peeling. Warning: it smells REALLY bad! I always get in the bathtub and put it on, then let it sit for 20-30 minutes and wash it off.
A cure for hiccups: eat a spoonful of peanut butter. It works every time.
I love these, and I’m writing down all the cures you guys have passed along. Definitely going to try the orange soda and wint-o-green trick next time I have a stuffy nose. Thank you!
We use Vicks for colds.
At this point in my life, I think just taking a whiff of Vicks would start the healing process.
Good morning , I grew up with our mom making us some mint tea for upset stomachs. Wow turpentine huh?
Yes, I was surprised at how long it’s been used for things other than stripping paint. 🙂
Jeannie, this brought back memories of my uncle. He used to drink kerosene and turpentine (not together) for a cold. Thank goodness my mother never made us drink it or castor oil, but she did rub our chests with plenty of Vicks and put warm rags around it. I still remember how good that felt and most times after several nights of that it cleared up our colds. I can’t imagine what kerosene and turpentine tasted like! Must’ve been horrible. Also, my cousin’s wife went crazy and drank gasoline trying to kill herself. Poor thing. I don’t think she drank much before my cousin caught her. I use tea tree oil quite a bit for skin problems. Thanks for an interesting blog.
Linda, that’s all so fascinating! I can only imagine how awful kerosene or turpentine tastes. I bet it burns going down.
The only home remedy that I ever used (or rather, Mom used for me) that I still use very rarely, is mixing equal parts honey, lemon juice, and whiskey for coughs. When I was little, I had croup a lot. My uncle told Mom to give me Old Man Boston Rock and Rye, and that’s when it started. It worked, stopped my cough and we could all sleep.
That’s a home remedy I use. I rarely drink bourbon, but if I have a cold I put honey lemon and bourbon in my tea. I’m glad it helped your cough!
My grandma had a tea or herb for every ailment.
A crushed leaf or two of rue, along with a warm couple of drops of olive oil in a cotton ball was for earaches.
Depending on the tummy upset, a tisane of mint, oregano, or raspberry.
She encouraged chugging warm coffee to cure constipation.
Your grandmother sounds very knowledgeable, Mary Ellen. Very cool!
Dr. Pepper with lemon juice heated up on the stove or in the microwave relieves a sore throat and it tastes good too.
I’m going to try that. I sounds kind of tasty. 🙂
I sometimes would make an onion syrup for my children when they were younger with onion and sugar let it stand to make a syrup then give them a teaspoon or 2 My mom would make this for my sister and I when we were young Have a Blessed Day!
That’s so interesting, Sarah. I’ve never heard of onion tea.
One thing I remember my mom using when we were little was clove oil. For ear aches, she would warm it and put a few drops in the ear, keeping it in with a piece of a cotton ball. I’m not sure how medically valid it is, but it felt and smelled good. The ear never hurt as much afterward.
Honey is another remedy used then and now. I have used it straight by the spoonful for a cough or to sooth a sore throat. Honey in hot tea, no matter what kind, soothes a cold or sore throat. Lemon tea or ginger tea are always good for what ails you, especially when honey is added.
Baking soda mixed with water is good for an upset stomach.
Not that I have done it, but when I was in the Peace Corps, most homes had a Marijuana plant or two in their garden. They used the leaves to make a tea for upset stomachs and other intestinal ailments The seeds were roasted and used in cooking.
As for Vick’s Vapor Rub, we both remember how it smelled and how good it made us feel. That warm vapor cleared the breathing passages and made it easier to breath. Having the vapors drawn into the lungs felt so good.
Great post, Patricia, full of excellent information. I’ve heard of using marijuana leaves to heal cuts. Honey is an excellent remedy and like you, I love the smell of cloves!
Jeannie, I remember my mom telling me that when she was growing up (she was born in 1922) her parents would take a drop of turpentine and put a little sugar in it on the spoon and give it the kids when they had a sore throat. I guess it worked, at least up to a point, because it was a pretty common remedy. People were so poor. This was during the Depression and in the Dustbowl days of Oklahoma. No money for doctors. Another thing my granddad did was this: I had an aunt who had chonic earaches. He would smoke an unfiltered cigarette and blow the nicotine smoke into her ear to sooth it. These are all I can remember but I wish I had asked more questions.
When I was young, maybe second grade, my brother decided to teach me to throw my leg over the bicycle seat and take off riding rather than having to stand and balance the bike and get the pedal in the right spot. There was a piece of rusty tin sticking up on the seat. (I’m the youngest of seven so the bike was old, had been used by everyone. I threw my leg over and cut my calf muscle open. Mother poured turpentine over it, wrapped it in a clean cloth and that was it. My brother, as punishment, had to carry me everywhere I needed to go, wasn’t allowed to walk on it for awhile. Still have a 1″ wide scar to this day.
We had many home remedies. One thing you can also use Vicks salve for, when you have a bad cough, rub it on the bottom of your feet, then cover with a pair of socks. No more coughing at night. Have also been told, though I have no proof, that raw honey will cure MRSA.