Grandma was so wise that her old-fashioned remedies have come full circle. As a child in the ‘50s (I know, I am dating myself), I remember many soothing concoctions that I thought were just the ordinary ways we handled minor health problems.
Then along came the great marriage between drug companies and television and we all walked around chanting, “Pop. Pop. Fizz. Fizz. Oh, what a relief it is,” and began taking the much advertised Alka-Seltzer every time our tummies hurt. Bayer works wonders for headaches, the television commercials promised. That’s when television was in its infancy and we were mesmerized by this new toy. We believed everything we saw and we bought what we were asked to buy.
Now television is in its adolescence and so is the deluge of information that besets us from every possible angle. We’re more savvy consumers and much more suspicious of commercials.
And now many of us are realizing that Grandma had some pretty powerful stuff right there in her medicine cabinet, stuff that still works in today’s world.
Toothaches
The pungent scent of clove oil would waft out of Grandma’s medicine cabinet anytime someone opened the door, even if it was just to get the toothpaste. I confess to fanning the medicine cabinet door on many occasions, just to get a whiff of that sweet scent.
Whenever a baby tooth would jiggle loose or one of us kids would wake up with a swollen jaw, Grandma swabbed clove oil on the offending tooth, easing the pain in short order.
Clove oil swab would also ease pain later on when we were wearing braces that scraped tender mouth membranes. Grandma would just put a few drops of clove oil in a glass of water and have us swish it around.
Grandma knew what she was doing, all right. Clove oil is a natural anti-microbial that attacks bacteria, fungi and viruses. It’s even been known to heal abscesses, saving teeth that might otherwise have been lost.
Clove oil is definitely in my medicine cabinet.
Tummy aches
Peppermint tea was Grandma’s remedy for tummy aches, whether it was when we kids ate too much candy or when we reached our teens and later we were suffering the result of other types of overindulgence or had a touch of the flu.
Why are so many childhood memories associated with smells? I’m not sure, but even thinking about the smell of peppermint tea makes me feel safe and loved. Whatever the source of the pain the calmative and numbing properties always worked like a charm. Grandma had a patch of peppermint in her backyard. Like hers, mine has threatened to take over my herb garden, but it will always have a treasured place there.
Headaches
Whether we stayed too long in the sun, ate a popsicle that caused brain freeze or even stressed about something or other, Grandma’s
first line of defense was a cool cloth on the back of the neck and a matching one on the forehead. The compresses cooled overheated brows stopped muscle spasms that are sometimes responsible for headaches.
At the same time, she’d serve up a big cool glass of water, since she knew even then that headaches are often caused by dehydration. She’d keep us sipping until we felt better.
Her final weapon against headaches: ginger tea. It’s natural anti-inflammatory effects almost always worked to banish any lingering pain and tasted delicious since she liked to add a little honey.
Grandma was truly a wise woman. She may not have had the power of scientific research from great institutions to back up her country doctoring, but even if she didn’t know why, her remedies always worked. That’s why they’ve come full circle and now that I’m a grandma myself, I’m applying the same folk medicine in my own life and passing it along to my grandchildren as well.
Grandma was so wise that her old-fashioned remedies have come full circle. As a child in the ‘50s (I know, I am dating myself), I remember many soothing concoctions that I thought were just the ordinary ways we handled minor health problems.
