Lotion for Chapped Hands

Soak 1/8 oz gum tragacanth in one pint soft water for three days, or until quite soft, then add to it one gill alcohol, 1 gill glycerine, and 1/4 gill cologne. Shake well and it is ready for use.

Source: Book of Recipes, Daughters of the American Revolution, Genesee Chapter

A Hair Tonic

Scald two ounces of black tea in one gallon of boiling water; add three ounces of glycerine, one quart of bay rum and half an ounce of the tincture of cantharides; scald for five minutes longer; strain and bottle. This will prevent the hair from falling out, and at the same time will stimulate a new and healthy growth.

Source: The Kentucky Housewife, Mrs Peter A. White

To Destroy a Wart

Wet frequently with strong soda (baking) water. Touched two or three times a day with castor oil will hurry the process.

Source: Book of Recipes, Daughters of the American Revolution, Genesee Chapter

Gargles

For sore and inflamed throat, dissolve 1 dram of alum in 12 oz of water. For ulcerated throat: 1 oz, by measure, of Condy’s fluid in 12 oz of water.

Source: The Complete Household Adviser

Elecampane and Hoarhound Syrup

Put a pint of hoarhound in a quart of water, and let it draw by the fire; put a tea-cupful of dried elecampane root in a pint of water, cover it close, and let it boil till all the strength is out; strain it and the hoarhound together, and put them to boil with a pound of sugar; when it is a rich syrup, pour it in a pitcher to cool, and bottle it. Take a table-spoonful at a time when the cough is troublesome. Sometimes flaxseed is a useful addition to this syrup.

Source: Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers, Elizabeth E. Lea

Cologne Water

No. 1:

1 drachm oil lavender.
1 drachm oil bergamot.
2 drachm oil lemon.
2 drachm oil rosemary.
50 drops tincture of musk.
8 drops oil of cinnamon.
8 drops oil of cloves.
1 pint of alcohol.

No. 2:

60 drops oil of lavender.
60 drops oil of bergamot.
60 drops oil of lemon.
60 drops orange-flower water.
1 pint of alcohol.

Cork and shake well.

Source: Common Sense in the Household, Marion Harland

Bruises

The only treatment that does any good is to bathe the bruised part with cold water — the colder the better — to check the diffusion of blood through the tissues. The part should be kept as still as possible and not be rubbed. Applying a piece of raw meat to a black eye may not do any harm, but it certainly has no useful effect.

Source: The Complete Household Adviser

Eau Sucré

Dissolve three or four lumps of loaf sugar in a glass of ice-water, and take a teaspoonful every few minutes for a “tickling in the throat,” or a hacking cough. Keep it ice-cold.

A simple, but often an efficacious remedy.

Source: Common Sense in the Household, Marion Harland

Eczema

The places affected must be protected from the air and be softened by applications of oil and ointments. The following is a good ointment: 2 parts each of boracic ointment and zinc ointment, 1 part tar ointment. Rub into affected parts and powder with oxide of zinc. The hard scabs that form should be softened by oil and poultices and be gently removed with some perfectly clean instrument, and the ointment then be applied, either as described or smeared on a piece of linen, which requires changing every few hours. Washing with soap and water is not permissible. Children should have their hands tied up at night or covered with gloves, to prevent scratching.

Source: The Complete Household Adviser

Burns and Scalds

The great thing in treating these is to exclude air as quickly as possible from the wounded part. Oily substances are the most useful for the purpose. Carron oil (linseed oil and lime water in equal proportions) and carbolized oil (1 part of carbolic acid to 50 parts of olive oil) are among the best things to apply, and one or other of them should be kept in stock for emergencies. In their absence olive, linseed or castor oil, lard, vaseline, or cornflour will serve for an immediate application. It is better to use at once what is to hand than to waste time in searching for what might be more beneficial. On no account pull away clothing that sticks to the burn: soak it off with tepid water. Blisters are pricked before applying the dressing of strips of lint soaked in carron or carbolized oil, covered with a layer of cottonwool and held in place by bandages. Acid burns — Dust them over with whiting or powdered chalk to neutralize the acid; then wash in clean water and dress with oil. If no whiting, etc., be available, wash at once in water. Alkali burns — Neutralize alkali with vinegar; wash, and dress with oil. Severe burns cause a serious shock to the system, and a tendency to collapse, so the patient should be kept warm while the doctor is fetched.

Source: The Complete Household Adviser