Folklore and Home Remedies

Today, let's have some fun. I want to write about medicinal folklore and various home remedies.

Some time around 1988 I was given a book, due to my intense interest in the subject, titled Folkology and Home Remedies, by "treeologist" Dick Frymire. It was published by the author, L. H. "Dick" Frymire of Irvington Kentucky. I've read this book frequently in the 20 years since receiving it (I even consulted it a few times while I was in medical school).

Now, Mr. Frymier was a student of reading nature and weather forecasting using nature's help. In this book he explains how he became interested in weather forcasting and he compiled a wealth of knowledge on home remedies. I give the credit for this article to Mr. Frymier. He was frequently a guest on radio shows and frequently gave presentations to the public. The following information was gathered from Dick Frymier's book.

Colds:

• drink lemon juice with sugar (use freely while cold remains).
• For cough due to colds, mix some honey with cooked onions for a cough syrup.
• You'll be free of colds all winter if you catch a falling leaf in your hand in autumn. It sounds so easy but just try catching one in your hand.
• At the first sign of a cold, drink one quart of orange juice a day, take garlic capsules. Chew vitamin C tablets for a sore throat.

Chest Cold:

• Take 5 drops of cinnamon oil in a tablespoon of water four times a day.
• Drink raw sauerkraut juice once a day.
• Peel and crush six cloves of garlic. Mix this in with 1/2 cup of white lard. Spread this mixture on the soles of the feet and cover with a cloth towel. Place paper towels under the feet to absorb the grease. Apply a fresh batch of garlic and lard every four hours.
• Combine three tablespoons of honey and the juice of one lemon with five teaspoons of rum. Then add this to six ounces of hot water and drink before going to bed.
• Place an ice cube on the bottom of both big toes. Cover with an ace bandage or piece of cloth to keep in place. This will treat "points" that can help a cold. Do this morning, noon and night.
• At the first sign of a cold start gargling with vinegar and salt and take a gram (1,000 mg) of vitamin C, followed by 500 milligrams every half hour until bedtime. Then a gram every time you wake up at night. That should do it.

Cough compound:

• For the cure of coughs, colds, asthma, whooping cough and all diseases of the lungs: 1 spoonful of common tar, 3 teaspoon of honey, yolk of three eggs and half a pint of wine. Beat the tar, honey and egg yolks well with a knife and bottle for use. A teaspoon morning, noon, and night before eating.

(just a thought, you might consider beating the tar, honey and egg yolks together, then throw that mixture away and just drink the wine. ed.)

Cough syrup:

• Take 2 large spanish onions and slice them thinly. Pour two cups of honey over them, cover and let stand over night. The next day, strain off the syrup and add a jigger of brandy. Take one teaspoon of the syrup every three hours, keeping the syrup bottled and refrigerated between uses.
• Mix honey and horseradish together. Take as needed.

Faithfulness:

• To make sure your future husband or wife will be faithful, you must both lick your thumb. Then press them together in promise of faithfulness.

Hiccups:

• Swallow a teaspoon of fresh onion juice.
• Gently inhale a little pepper, just enough to make you sneeze.
• Place an ice cube right below the adams apple and count to 100.
• Breathe into a brown paper bag.
• Plug your ears while you drink some water.
• Splash some cold water on the back of your neck.
• Eat a teaspoon of peanut butter.
• Mix 1 teaspoon of sugar with one teaspoon of vinegar. Take as needed.

Tonsils:

• Your appendix and tonsils should not be removed if at all possible. They act as the focal point for poisons, gathering them and sending out through the proper channels.

Toothache:

• A small piece of cotton saturated with ammonia and placed next to the bad tooth, will in a lot of cases, cure the toothache.
• Apply bruised or grated horseradish to the wrist.
• To cure a toothache, drive a nail into an oak tree (I'm not sure how the process of healing works with this one).
• Place ice on the web of the skin between thumb and index finger on the same side of body as the toothache. This should help relieve the pain.

Finally, the following is a home remedy for any type of muscular or skeletal injury or pain that my father, W. B. Pece, Jr., taught me from childhood. This concoction came from his father, W. B. Pece, Sr., who in the early 1920's studied naturopathic medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. Sorry, dad, for revealing one of your most precious secrets, but I think the world needs to know).

Take a 16 ounce bottle of Isopropyl alcohol and pour out 4 ounces. Add a 2 ounce bottle of camphor oil and a 2 ounce bottle of Spirit of Turpentine to the alcohol. Shake well. It should turn a milky white. For any type of muscular pain or arthritis rub solution well into the affected area. It can also be used for any other injury like bee stings, fire ant stings, bruises, etc. My father even uses it for chest colds by rubbing his chest with the solution and covering it with a cloth. I used it as a teenager for those pimples that always came up on the day you had a date...

These are some of the folklore and home remedies that often worked for our parents and their parents. Perhaps the old timers knew more than we have given them credit.

I will post other home remedies at a later time.