Antidote for Laudanum

When so large a quantity of laudanum has been swallowed as to produce dangerous effects, the fatal drowsiness has been prevented when all other remedies have failed, by administering a cup of the strongest possible coffee. The patient has revived and recovered, and no ill effects have followed.

Source: Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches, Eliza Leslie

Whooping Cough

Bruise a tumbler of flaxseed, three ounces of liquorice, two ounces of loaf sugar, two of strained honey. Pour to these a quart of water; boil until reduced half. Give frequently. Hog’s lard and molasses in equal quantities with a little laudanum is also good.

Source: Mrs Hill’s New Cook-Book

Colic Mixture for Infants

Eighty drops of laudanum, fourteen of oil of anise, two tablespoonfuls of alcohol, and a piece of asafoetida as large as a pea; put these in an eight-ounce phial, and fill with warm water. Sweeten with loaf sugar. Dose from four to six drops to a child a few days old. Increase the dose as the child grows older.

Source: Mrs Hill’s New Cook-Book

Dysentery

Make a strong tea of sweet gum bark ; to a pint, add a gill of good brandy, half an ounce of laudanum, a little loaf sugar to make it palatable. Take a teaspoonful every hour until the effect of the laudanum is apparent, then at longer intervals, until the disease abates.

A very good and simple remedy, if used when the first symptoms appear, is : Give an adult five drops of spirits of turpentine
in a teaspoonful of sweet milk. Repeat, if necessary. Give a child according to age.

Another remedy : A teacup half full of apple vinegar. Dissolve as much salt in it as it will hold, leaving a little at the bottom. Pour boiling water upon the solution until the cup is three-fourths full. Scald it, and remove the scum. Take a tablespoonful three times a day.

Source: Mrs Hill’s New Cook-Book

To Relieve A Cold

At the very first symptoms, have the feet bathed upon going to bed, and take three grains of quinine (five grains is sometimes given), twenty drops of laudanum, in a tablespoonful of ginger tea or water. If not relieved by the first dose, repeat the next night. Two doses will generally relieve an obstinate cold.

Source: Mrs Hill’s New Cook-Book

To Stop The Flow Of Blood

For a slight cut there is nothing better to control the hemorrhage than common unglazed brown wrapping paper, such as is used by marketmen and grocers; a piece to be bound over the wound. A handful
of flour bound on the cut. Cobwebs and brown sugar, pressed on like lint. When the blood ceases to flow, apply arnica or laudanum.

When an artery is cut the red blood spurts out at each pulsation. Press the thumb firmly over the artery near the wound, and on the side toward the heart. Press hard enough to stop the bleeding, and wait till a physician comes. The wounded person is often able to do this himself, if he has the requisite knowledge.

Source: The White House Cookbook, F.L. Gillette

For Neuralgia

Alcohol one quart, sulphuric ether four ounces, chloroform two ounces, laudanum two ouncss, oil of wintergreen one-half ounce, oil of lavender one-half ounce, camphor one-half ounce. Apply with a
silk handkerchief. Half this quantity is enough to have mixed at one time, as the chloroform and ether evaporate so quickly.

Source: The Housekeeper’s Friend: A Practical Cookbook

A Most Excellent Remedy for Toothache

Alcohol one ounce, laudanum one drachm, chloroform five drachms, gum camphor one-half drachm, oil of cloves one-half drachm, sulph. ether two drachms, oil of lavender one drachm. Saturate a small piece of cotton, and put into the cavity; be careful not to touch any part of the mouth with it as it is very pungent; put the cotton on the point of some sharp instrument, put it into the cavity and place a small piece of clean cotton over it.

Source: The Housekeeper’s Friend: A Practical Cookbook

Another Mixture for Cholera

Laudanum two ounces, spirits of camphor two ounces, essence of peppermint two ounces, Hoffman’s anodyne two ounces, tincture of cayenne pepper two drachms, tincture of ginger one ounce. This is also invaluable. A teaspoonful in a little water, or a half a teaspoonful repeated in an hour afterward in a tablespoonful of brandy. This preparation will check diarrhea in ten minutes, and abate other premonitory symptoms of cholera immediately.

Source: The Housekeeper’s Friend: A Practical Cookbook

Cholera Mixture

Laudanum, tincture of Rhubarb, and spirits of camphor, equal parts. Begin with thirty drops, taken clear and unmixed, with a little sugar placed in the mouth afterwards. Repeat the dose (after every evacuation) increasing it if the case becomes urgent to sixty drops, (a teaspoonful), or ninety if necessary. No household should be without this remedy, particularly in the summer.

Source: The Housekeeper’s Friend: A Practical Cookbook