Whooping Cough
Two level tablespoonfuls of powdered alum, two-thirds of a cupful of brown sugar, dissolved in two quarts of water; bottle and put in a dark closet where it is cool.
For a child one year old, a teaspoonful three times a day on an empty stomach. For a child two years old, two teaspoonfuls for a dose. For a child five years old, a tablespoonful. The state of the bowels must be attended to, and the doses repeated accordingly. No other medicine to be taken, except an emetic, at first, if desirable. Except in the case of an infant, a milk diet is to be avoided.
Source: The White House Cookbook, F.L. Gillette
Filed under Remedy | Tags: alum, brown sugar, child, children, cough, emetic, infant, milk, stomach, sugar, whitehouse, whooping cough | Comment (0)For Toothache
The worst toothache, or neuralgia, coming from the teeth may be speedily and delightfully ended by the application of a bit of clean cotton saturated in a solution of ammonia to the defective tooth. Sometimes the late sufferer is prompted to momentary laughter by the application, but the pain will disappear.
Alum reduced to a powder, a teaspoonful of the powder and an equal quantity of fine salt well mixed, applied to the gums by dipping your moistened finger in the mixed powder; put some also in the tooth, and keep rubbing the gums with it; it scarcely ever fails to cure.
Source: The White House Cookbook, F.L. Gillette
Filed under Remedy | Tags: alum, ammonia, cotton, gum, gums, mouth, neuralgia, salt, teeth, tooth, toothache, whitehouse | Comment (0)Croup
Croup, it is said, can be cured in one minute, and the remedy is simply alum and sugar. Take a knife or grater and shave off in small particles about a teaspoonful of alum; then mix it with twice its amount of sugar, to make it palatable, and administer it as quickly as possible. Almost instantaneous relief will follow. Turpentine is said to be an excellent remedy for croup. Saturate a piece of flannel and apply it to the chest and throat, and take inwardly three or four drops on a lump of sugar.
Another remedy.–Give a teaspoonful of ipecacuanha wine every few minutes, until free vomiting is excited.
Another recipe said to be most reliable: Take two ounces of the wine of ipecac, hive syrup four ounces, tincture of bloodroot two ounces. Mix it well.
Dose for a child one year old, five to ten drops; two years, eight to twelve drops; three years, twelve to fifteen drops; four years, fifteen to twenty drops; five years, twenty to twenty-five drops, and older children in proportion to age. Repeat as often as shall be necessary to procure relief. If it is thought best to produce vomiting, repeat the dose every ten or fifteen minutes for a few doses.
Source: The White House Cookbook, F.L. Gillette
Filed under Remedy | Tags: alum, bloodroot, chest, croup, flannel, hive syrup, ipecac, ipecacuanha, sugar, syrup, throat, turpentine, vomiting, whitehouse, wine | Comment (0)To Remove Tartar
To remove tartar, use a mixture of sal-ammoniac, common salt, and burnt alum, as a tooth powder, with a strong brush ; and if you cannot thus remove the tartar after using the powder twice a day for a few days, apply to the dentist, for an accumulation of tartar is sure to destroy the teeth. This, however, may usually be prevented by an unstimulating diet, abundant exercise in the air, and the use of good water, observing the rules just given.
Source: Health, Disease and Remedy, George Moore
Spongy Gums
If the gums become spongy, or detached from the necks of the teeth, your diet is probably defective, and more fresh vegetable is demanded. Lance the gums, however, and let them bleed freely, and
gargle the mouth with alum and water, or strong sage-tea unsweetened ; but the best application to spongy gums, and in case of salivation, is pure tannin, or, as a substitute, tincture of galls.
Source: Health, Disease and Remedy, George Moore
Sore Throat
Everybody has a cure for this trouble, but simple remedies appear to be most effectual. Salt and water is used by many as a gargle, but a little alum and honey dissolved in sage tea is better. An application of cloths wrung out of hot water and applied to the neck, changing as often as they begin to cool, has the most potency for removing inflammation of anything we ever tried. It should be kept up for a number of hours; during the evening is usually the most convenient time for applying this remedy.
Cut slices of salt pork or fat bacon, simmer a few minutes in hot vinegar, and apply to throat as hot as possible. When this is taken off as the throat is relieved, put around a bandage of soft flannel. A gargle of equal parts of borax and alum, dissolved in water, is also excellent. To be used frequently.
Camphorated oil is an excellent lotion for sore throat, sore chest, aching limbs, etc. For a gargle for sore throat, put a pinch of chlorate of potash in a glass of water. Gargle the throat with it
twice a day, or oftener, if necessary
Source: The White House Cookbook, F.L. Gillette
Filed under Remedy | Tags: ache, aching, alum, bacon, borax, camphorated oil, chest, chlorate, chlorate of potash, fat bacon, flannel, gargle, honey, limbs, pork, potash, sage, salt, salt pork, sore throat, throat, whitehouse | Comment (0)Eye-Washes
The best eye-wash for granulated lids and inflammation of the eyes is composed of camphor, borax and morphine, in the following proportions: To a large wine-glass of camphor water–not spirits–add two grains of morphine and six grains of borax. Pour a few drops into the palm of the hand, and hold the eye in it, opening the lid as much as possible. Do this three or four times in twenty-four hours, and you will receive great relief from pain and smarting soreness. This recipe was received from a celebrated oculist, and has never failed to relieve the most inflamed eyes.
Another remedy said to be reliable: A lump of alum as large as a cranberry boiled in a teacupful of sweet milk, and the curd used as a poultice, is excellent for inflammation of the eyes.
Another wash: A cent’s worth of pure, refined white copperas dissolved in a pint of water, is also a good lotion; but label it poison, as it should never go near the mouth. Bathe the eyes with the mixture, either with the hands or a small piece of linen cloth, allowing some of the liquid to get under the lids.
Here is another from an eminent oculist: Take half an ounce of rock salt and one ounce of dry sulphate of zinc; simmer in a clean, covered porcelain vessel with three pints of water until all are dissolved; strain through thick muslin; add one ounce of rose-water; bottle and cork it tight. To use it, mix one teaspoonful of rain-water with one of the eye-water, and bathe the eyes frequently. If it smarts too much, add more water.
Source: The White House Cookbook, F.L. Gillette
Filed under Remedy | Tags: alum, borax, camphor, copperas, eye, eye-wash, eyelids, eyes, inflammation, linen, milk, morphine, muslin, porcelain, poultice, rain water, rock salt, rose water, salt, sulphate, whitehouse, zinc | Comment (0)Vermin Exterminator
A blessing to housekeepers, and no danger of poison: Take a half pound of alum to one pail of water boiling hot; dip in the ends of the slats; then take a good scrubbing brush and apply thoroughly to all parts affected, all cracks in the plastering or wood work. A certain cure for bed-bugs. Tried.
Source: The Kansas Home Cook-Book
For the Prevention of Wrinkles
The white of an egg, beaten with five grammes of alum in five grammes of sweet oil, applied as paste to the face on retiring, prevents wrinkles, keeps the flesh from becoming flabby, and is strengthening and softening to the skin.
Source: Audel’s Household Helps, Hints and Receipts
To Keep the Hands from Perspiring
To keep the hands from perspiring, make a lotion consisting of a quarter of an ounce of powdered alum and one teaspoonful of spirits of ammonia in a pint of boiling water. When cool, bottle it, and use on the hands freely.
Source: Audel’s Household Helps, Hints and Receipts