Friday, November 9, 2012

Folklore Cures and Urban Legends - but do they work?

It is cold and flu season. Every family has their own special treasure chest of cures, and remedies. They are passed through the families,  as old as the ages. Most are like chicken soup and honey for colds. Universal, tried and true. Some not so common. When couples make a new home together they bring their family cures and belief systems.

What YOU think is a perfectly normal and plausable cure, is strange and odd to someone else. I offer our coke syrup ( cure for vomiting). You would go to the neighborhood luncheonette ( what's a luncheonette) and buy coke syrup. No it is not a drug.! Now, we substitute flat cola. You drink 1 teaspoon of soda every 5 minutes for 1 hour. If you vomit you begin again. At the end of the hour you are cured.

The Rock Candy Cure

Each time my son had a cough my mother in law broght over Rock Candy. It is white and hard and pointy. My son never had candy, or gum and very little sugar before he started school. You can imagine not MY favorite cure. Interestingly my friend tells me her grandmother in Germany would carve out a white radish, and added pieces of rock candy, and made a potent radish juice, used for coughs. It was a very popular and successful remedy.

Lastly I would like to offer the perfect meal for sick children, fussy eaters of the world, and pregnant quessy girls. CCCC this one honors you!  Cherrios, or fruit loops, sometimes worn as a necklace, or bracelet, and ices for dessert. Offer your beloved family cures very quietly. Got any good ones to share?

1 comment:


  1. We were big with coke syrup (or flat Coca Cola) for nausea, later I found that ice chips, ginger root, and pepper mints were better, but not so easy for little ones. There are mint and even ginger sucking candies that are ALMOST as good.

    For coughs, my mother's health care provider introduced us to ginger root and fresh garlic pieces boiled in water and then strained to create a ginger-garlic tea to get rid of the mucous. It seems to be quite effective.
    Barbara

    ReplyDelete