To Make The Complexion Fair

November 19th, 2022

Take emulsion of bitter almonds, one pint; oxymuriate of quicksilver, two and a half grains; sal ammonia, one drachm. Use moderately for pimples, freckles, tanned complexions.

Source: Our Knowledge Box, ed. G. Blackie

Corns

December 19th, 2021

Apply to warts and corns, a piece of soft brown paper moistened with saliva, and a few dressings will remove them. A convenient plaster may also be made of an ounce of pitch, half an ounce of galbanum dissolved in vinegar, one scruple of ammoniac, and a dram and a half of diachylon mixed together.

Source: The Cook And Housekeeper’s Complete and Universal Dictionary, Mary Eaton

Tooth Powder

October 30th, 2021

Sal ammoniac, gum mastic, red coral, and myrrh, of each an equal quantity finely powdered.

Another: 3 oz. camphor, 1 oz. powdered cinchona bark, 1 oz. prepared charcoal, and sufficient spirits of wine to dissolve the camphor. Mix thoroughly, and pass through a fine sieve.

The mixture of chalk and camphor is very good for preserving as well as cleansing teeth.

Source: The English Housekeeper, Anne Cobbett

An Embrocation for Rheumatism

February 11th, 2021

Dissolve 1 oz. of gum camphor in 6 oz. of rectified spirits of wine; add by degrees, shaking the phial frequently, 2 oz. spirits of sal ammoniac and 2 drachms oil of lavender. This has been used with success.

Another: (known to mitigate the tic douloureux), is the caja peeta oil*, but it must be genuine. It is also good for strains, bruises, and chilblains.

Or: a mixture of 6 drachms French soap, 6 drachms ether, and 1 oz. spirits of wine.

[* Editor’s note: no, I have not the slightest idea what this is, and neither — it would seem — does anyone else online… the only occurrences of the phrase seem to be in the text of the book from which this came.]

Source: The English Housekeeper, Anne Cobbett

To Remove Tartar

March 17th, 2016

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

Warts

May 20th, 2015

If they give you no special inconvenience, let them alone. But if it is of essential importance to get rid of them, purchase half an ounce of muriatic acid, put it in a broad-bottomed vial, so that it will not easily turn over; take a stick as large as the end of a knitting-needle, dip it into the acid, and touch the top of the wart with whatever of the acid adheres to the stick; then, with the end of the stick, rub the acid into the top of the wart, without allowing the acid to touch the well skin. Do this night and morning, and a safe, painless, and effectual cure is the result; or, apply castor oil to a wart several times a day for a week or two, and it will disappear and not return; or, apply washing soda, just wet, a few times; let it remain on, and they will soon disappear altogether; or, scrape a carrot fine and apply as a poultice for six nights; or, rub sal-ammoniac on the wart twice a day until it disappears.

Source: Audel’s Household Helps, Hints and Receipts

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    NOTE: these remedies are listed only for information and/or amusement. They are not to be construed as medical advice of any type, nor are they recommended for use. Consult your doctor or other medical professional for any medical advice you require.