Hay Fever, To Cure

This unpleasant complaint may be cured by aconite and white wine whey taken at bed-time. Boil half a pint of milk, add a little aconite and a glass of sherry, strain through muslin, and sweeten the whey with white sugar.

To twelve parts of absolute phenol, eight parts of carbonate of ammonia, twenty-two parts of strong solution of ammonia, half a part of oil of lavender, and one and a half parts of camphor, add a little sifted pine sawdust. Inhale five or six times a day, or when the sneezing comes on.

Relief has often been found by wearing tinted side spectacles to soften the light and lessen the glare of the sun.

Source: Recipes for the Million

To Remove Sunburn

Squeeze the juice of a lemon into a small teacupful of new milk. Allow it to curdle. Apply it to the face and throat with a piece of cotton wool, after having been out in the sun, or the last thing at night. Allow it to remain on the skin for a short time then wash it off with tepid soft water. This will remove all heat and tan from the skin.

Source: The Dudley Book of Cookery and Household Recipes, Georgiana Dudley

Ointment for Sunburn

Make a stiff paste with white Fuller’s earth, or good French chalk, and elder flower water. Let it remain on the face for a few minutes, then wash it off with hot rain water and apply a little cold cream.

Source: The Dudley Book of Cookery and Household Recipes, Georgiana Dudley

Sunburn

To prevent: Anoint exposed parts with cold cream, vaseline, or use toilet powder before going out.

Treatment: Never wash sunburn. Never open blisters.

Apply—

1 part lime water, 3 parts olive oil, shaken together in a bottle.

Source: The Mary Frances First Aid Book, Jane Eayre Fryer

Complexion Wash

Put in a vial one drachm of benzoin gum in powder, one drachm nutmeg oil, six drops of orange-blossom tea, or apple blossoms put in half pint of rain-water and boiled down to one teaspoonful and strained, one pint of sherry wine. Bathe the face morning and night; will remove all flesh-worms and freckles, and give a beautiful complexion. Or, put one ounce of powdered gum of benzoin in a pint of whisky; to use, put in water in wash-bowl till it is milky, allowing it to dry without wiping. This is perfectly harmless.

Cream cures sun-burn on some complexions, lemon juice is best on others, and cold water suits still others best.

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

To Remove Sunburn

Take two drachms of borax, one drachm of Roman alum, one drachm of camphor, half an ounce of sugar-candy, and a pound of ox-gall. Mix and stir well for ten minutes, and stir it in the same way three or four times a day for a fortnight. When clear and transparent strain through blotting-paper, and bottle for use.

Source: Cassell’s Household Guide

Sunstroke

Wrap a wet cloth bandage over the head; wet another cloth, folded small, square, cover it thickly with salt, and bind it on the back of the neck; apply dry salt behind the ears. Put mustard plasters to the calves of the legs and soles of the feet. This is an effectual remedy.

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

Mildew

Equal parts of lemon juice, salt, powdered starch, and soft soap ; rub on thickly, and lay on the grass in the hot sun ; repeat this process two or three times a day.

Source: The Unrivalled Cook-Book and Housekeeper’s Guide, Mrs Washington

Sunstroke

Bind the head with wet cloths; wet another cloth, fold into a small square, cover thickly with salt, and apply to the back of the neck; apply dry salt behind the ears, and mustard plasters to the calves of the legs and soles of the feet. The salt is an Arabian remedy, and is very effective.

Source: The Unrivalled Cook-Book and Housekeeper’s Guide, Mrs Washington

Milk Soothes Sunburnt or Rough Skin

There is nothing that will more quickly soothe a sunburnt skin than a frequent bath of milk, and if the skin has become dry or rough with wind, washing in warm milk is excellent.

Source: Audel’s Household Helps, Hints and Receipts