Old Style Home Remedies, Medicine and Self Care

Elisheba

Since I'm full of cold today I thought I'd start a thread and see what everyone's Old Style and homemade recipes and cures are for illness. Nothing against 'real' medicine, but I think that when you are taking the time to make home remedies you are also much more likely to be resting and taking care of yourself, rather than popping Lemsips and ignoring everything your body needs to heal.

To start this off, today I've lathered myself with Mr T's own brand menthol rub, and have made a cough syrup from honey, lemon, ginger and thyme. I've also taken the day off work and plan to rest as much as possible.

What tips does everyone else have?

VfM4meplse

Elisheba wrote: »

I've also taken the day off work and plan to rest as much as possible.

What tips does everyone else have?

Treat yourself kindly. When I am rough with a heavy cold. I start feeling sorry for myself - along the lines of "why me?". Then I kick myself and remember that it is just a cold and annoying rather than serious :doh:

Even though you may not feel like eating, a spicy dish helps to decongest and lift phlegm off the chest. A hot bath might help. A tot of brandy in hot water helps at night.

thriftwizard

I've found blackberry or raspberry vinegar (recipe here) absolutely excellent for tickly coughs. Sounds awful, but it slips down easily & really helps. However DS3 swears by elderberry rob (nice recipe here) but then he'll eat elderberries fresh from the bush!

whiz90

As soon as I feel myself coming down with something, while I still have the energy I try to make a big pot of something, usually a curry full of spices and plenty of vegetables. I find it much to easy to survive off bread and snacks when i'm ill as I feel too rotten to prepare anything, but it's so important to get those vitamins and protein in.

I did try and do a 'lemsipless' cold once after doing some reading about how suppressing a fever is stopping the bodies natural way of burning off the bugs. Although all that happened was I felt absolutely awful and couldn't be bothered to get out of bed. A day later I gave in, had a lemsip and felt well enough to keep getting up to make some proper food and get enough water into me

Shropshirelass

If I have a 'running' head cold, I find it will settle down if I can stay in a warm room. (with no draughts). As soon as I move round the house I start sneezing. Luckily DH is sympathetic, and also wants to avoid the sneezes.

Nothing beats retiring to bed and sleeping as much as possible.

Elisheba

Thanks VFM4 I am very much in the 'Oh no, I have a cold! The end is nigh!' camp when it comes to getting ill. I hate it, I hate having no energy or motivation. It reminds me of being depressed and I hate that too. Its all just blooming awful imo. So I do try to look after myself properly and do proper self are and rest a lot if I do get poorly. Its just me, so if I don't spoil myself, who will!

I have made a very spicy vegetable soup, and had a hot bath. Can't stand brandt so that one is out!

Thriftwizard, I have bookmarked your raspberry vinegar recipe. I'm in the process of getting an allotment which has loads of raspberry canes on it so it'll be useful for next year.

Whiz90 I'm hoping this soup I've made will help with the vitamins. It's lots of veg, and I've also filled it with garlic, ginger and chilli powder. It does taste a bit odd but hopefully it will help!

I was wondering last night if take meds like paracetemol which reduce temperature was the best way to go. Surely a temperature is designed to kill all the bacteria/virus cells? Still I've not been brave enough to try med free!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Elderberry syrup.

Ginger, lemon and honey tea.

Tomato soup with chilli flakes.

Sinus irrigation with sterile saline.

unrecordings

Taking the scorched earth approach:
1) Make a fiendishly hot chilli/curry
2) Wrap up, put extra layers ongo to bed and sweat the !!!!!! out
3) Out drink it - not for the fainthearted, if you don't quite drink enough then you end up with the hangover from hell AND whatever bug you picked up in the first place

Paracetamol raises temperature, but not enough to affect what's being discussed here

DigForVictory

I lack your courage, Un! I’m of the honey lemon ginger & homemade veg soup or curry, in bed, school.

If I try to scorch exhausted earth, I loose my topsoil. I compost myself & try taking it seriously easy.

Whatever works for different strains of the cold!

unrecordings

DigForVictory wrote: »

I lack your courage, Un! I’m of the honey lemon ginger & homemade veg soup or curry, in bed, school.

If I try to scorch exhausted earth, I loose my topsoil. I compost myself & try taking it seriously easy.

Whatever works for different strains of the cold!

Must be said that amongst my peers, it's generally agreed that method 3 becomes less effective once you're in your 30's (or have superhuman drinking powers)

There is a fourth way, it involves chemo, but does give you the inalienable right to ban the diseased from your household, be downright rude to people sneezing upwind or within a 10m radius of you and to interrogate potential vectors [STRIKE]friends & family[/STRIKE] on their current state of health

Pollycat

thriftwizard wrote: »

I've found blackberry or raspberry vinegar (recipe here) absolutely excellent for tickly coughs. Sounds awful, but it slips down easily & really helps. However DS3 swears by elderberry rob (nice recipe here) but then he'll eat elderberries fresh from the bush!

My Grandma (who would be 110 if she was still here) used to give us raspberry vinegar for sore throats.
I wonder if white wine vinegar was available when she used to make hers?