My grandmother thinks Vicks is THE greatest medicine ever invented. I can’t tell you how many times she chased me around the house with that familiar blue jar, begging me to let her stick some of that vaporous goop up my nose. As far as I remember, I let her do it once. After that, no dice. So she’d put me to bed and then rub the Vicks between her fingers under my nose as I slept. But stuffy noses weren’t all that Vicks cured, oh no. She swears by Vicks for other ailments, too:
leg cramps (until she heard of putting a bar of soap in bed under your feet)
ingrown toenails
stubborn pimples
cuts
abrasions
splinters
headaches
and much more!
My grandpa’s cure-all was Campho-Phenique. <pukey smilie>
You know how the dad in My Big Fat Greek Wedding with his Windex? Same thing. So do you know anyone who thinks one product is the be-all end-all for a wide range of ailments? Do tell!
Ain’t nothin better for “hot feet” than slathering on the Vicks and slipping under cool sheets. Geekboy insists it worked wonders for his toenail fungus (although this has never been proven)
For me it’s Advil. That cures anything. Headache, aches & pains, sure. But also colds, sinus trouble, and in one instance, mononucleosis. Staved it off for a week.
I can’t take decongestants at night and I have had many a night’s sleep saved by Vicks. I clears my nose suffiiciently and can loosen up a dry, nagging cough. I could see that it might be helpful with headaches, too, if you follow the “slather it on, lie down and close your eyes” protocol.
I had a roommate who used it for pimples. I never had much in the way of acne, but I used aloe vera in the same way. However, I have to say that modern Clearasil type formulas are much better. (Had a few rogue zits lately.)
Asprin (just as good as anything else for pain).
Vicks
For back pain, the Chinese position*
*Complicated, but always fixes a sore back: stand with your feet at a 90 degree angle, then crouch down all the way, with your calves touching the back of your thighs. Clasp hands and hold your arms in front of you. Stay for about a minute (though 30 seconds is often fine if it’s too hard on your knees). When you rise, you’re back pain will be gone.
ok, technically not a cure-all, and as far I’m concerned it doesn’t do jack. My ex-fiancees mom had a penchant for garlic. She said that if you suffer from a cold, flu, throat-ache etc, the simplest cure is sticking a piece of garlic in your ear. HAHA. :smack: I was at their house once and was suffering from a mild case of the flu and she just wouldn’t back off until I tried it. So I did. What-the-hell. It was the most ridiculous thing I’d ever tried. It was probably my extreme scepticism that prevented any healing whatsoever. But still, comeon – garlic? Really?
With preparation and care, deer ticks can be avoided. I’m an avid hiker, I live in the mid-Atlantic, and I’ve never gotten a deer tick on me. I’ve had the other kind a few times though.
I usually disdain media-driven hysteria over things like this, but if it keeps crowds off the trails, I’m all for it!
My grandmother has loads of those kinds of cures, and I was astonished to find that a coupld of them worked. For example, she uses liquid vitamin B complex (you can find it at most health-food stores) for headaches. She gave a bottle of it to me. It will usually cure a normal headache very quickly, and even helps with migraine-- not curing it, but taking the edge off and making it bearable.
She also showed me carbonated mineral water for nausea-- it works like a charm.
But then, she has those kooky “cures”-- rubbing turpentine on a sprained ankle, for example. (I have arthritis in my finger joints. She suggested I soak my hands in atub of turpentine every night.)
My late aunt actually used to administer Vicks orally to my cousins. :rolleyes: A spoonful supposedly worked as a sort of high-powered gelatinous cough syrup. Who knows what that petrolated goo did to their insides, though.
Side benefit: keeps Grampa Lissa on his own side of the bed. :dubious:
Bubble water works for a queer tummy. So does Coke.
I fight colds with red wine and bed rest. Last cold I had, I tried Irish whiskey. Didn’t work so well – too raspy on the throat. I switched to lemons in chicken broth. That was damn nice.
My siblings used to think that an Ace Bandage would always do the trick. Any ache or pain, anywhere on their bodies, and they’d spool themselves up like mummies in yards and yards of stretchy beige. Strange children…
