Tag: homeopathic cures

Coughing up a special brew

Would you be tempted to rub goose fat on to your chest to relieve a cough?

 

Following my recent column discussing weird and wonderful ‘remedies’ for coughs and colds, I have had some interesting messages from readers.

Liz Davidson from Darlington says: “An old neighbour of mine gave me a jar of goose grease to rub on my son’s chest when he was a baby for a persistent cough. I don’t think it did much good but at least I could have a good a fry up with it!”

Nick Whelan from Romanby recommends: “Warmed whisky (can be substituted with lemon juice or similar) and ginger with local honey. It’s best to use local honey as the pathogens have been collected and the astringents will then allow your body to absorb them more easily.” (I’m not sure what that means but it sounds like it should be effective!)

Caroline Newnham from York was not tempted to try the more extreme remedies I mentioned involving fish, mice and ferrets, but offers a similar suggestion to Nick: “I’m a great fan of a fresh ginger brew and paracetamol with a whisky hot toddy at bedtime. I’m not a whisky drinker any other time. I have read this week that fresh pineapple is very good for annoying coughs. Got to be better than a cold fish!”

It so happens that whisky and ginger is what my dad used to recommend whenever I was suffering with a cough or sore throat. I never tried it because I didn’t like whisky, but I can imagine that if it is warmed with a dollop of honey, some lemon and some ginger, it would be soothing to drink.

Clare Proctor says: “At my great age, and on the advice of my doctor, I only take paracetamol when I have a cold. After all, in any over the counter ‘cold remedies’ you buy, the only active ingredient is the paracetamol. All the rest is just window dressing – well that’s what she told me. She also said there was no cough medicine to get rid of a cold, they only soothe your throat, so I guzzle Benylin too. Nothing ‘old wife’ for me!”

And Judith Barber adds: “I never take Lemsip because I now react badly to all medication. Four years ago, my face became lumpy, the skin saggy, after using certain eye drops. My eyelids were so bad I had to have surgery to reduce them. The surgeon was wonderful, but it was a surreal situation, being conscious, him chatting away to me, maybe to distract me from what was happening! Talk turned to Covid, which I had not had – and still haven’t. I put it down to drinking lemon tea, with added honey, apple cider vinegar, and a piece of fresh ginger, once a day. The surgeon said I probably had a strong immune system, but another patient recommended drinking a whole bottle of red wine each day!”

Drinking a daily bottle of red would not be recommended by any medical professional I know, although a glass a day is supposed to bring some health benefits. Judith’s experience with the eye drops is horrific, but by a strange coincidence, I have recently listened to a true crime podcast where the killer had poisoned the victim by spiking her drink with eye drops. I don’t know which ingredient caused Judith’s adverse reaction, but some over-the-counter eye drops in the USA contain tetrahydrozoline which is poisonous if swallowed in sufficient quantities, which the killer obviously knew. I had a good scroll through all the brands of eye drops available in a UK-based online chemist, and to my relief could not find any that contain tetrahydrozoline.

I find it fascinating that some people have still never caught Covid. Are they naturally immune, or just lucky? Maybe Judith’s very own daily ‘special brew’ does boost her immune system and protects her from certain illnesses. Who knows? Having said that, the so-called ‘placebo’ effect can be as successful as medication in making one feel better thanks to the mind having such a powerful influence over how we feel physically. Placebo or not, when you’re under the weather, what matters is whatever works for you.

And finally, referring to my 400th column which appeared a couple of weeks ago, Lynne Wheatley sent me the following kind message: “Congratulations! Your dad would be so proud of you.”

Thank you, Lynne. I really hope he would.

Do you have opinions, memories or ideas to share with me? Get in touch with me via the ‘Contact’ tab at the top right of this page.

This column appeared in the Darlington & Stockton Times on Friday 14th Feb and the Ryedale Gazette and Herald on Wednesday 12th Feb 2025

Getting it in the neck

Dad wrote more than 2000 Countryman’s Diary columns over 41 years

Will either of these help my cough symptoms?

Would you believe this is my 400th column since I took over from my dad in 2017? I’m pleased that I have made it this far without missing one, despite deaths, illnesses and pandemics trying to throw me off my stride.

Dad was committed to his column-writing duties and made sure he submitted them well before the deadline. Of course, my seven and a bit years pale into insignificance compared to his 41 years of service, which means he compiled more than 2000 of them. If ever I achieve that milestone, I will be 91 years of age, which is quite a thought!

Even then though, I’ll be some way off the record of the man who started this column in the first place, Major Jack Fairfax-Blakeborough. His first ‘Countryman’s Diary’ appeared in the Darlington and Stockton Times in 1922, and his last one at the very end of 1975 when he was aged 93. He died on New Year’s Day 1976, and my dad’s first column (a tribute) appeared on 10th January. That means the Major contributed more than 2750 columns, quite a feat. I’d be interested to know if anyone in this country has (or had) written a weekly column for longer.

We columnists are so attached to our little corners of glory that we are loathe to let anyone else step in, even when we are sick. As I mentioned last week, I was rather below par, and am thankfully much better now, although the nagging cough is hanging on. Everyone I speak to seems to have had it and offer the cheery warning that it will ‘go on for weeks’. I really hope not, and if you’ve been afflicted, then I hope you are not suffering too badly.

The fact it is persisting, even though I can function normally, means that I have ditched the Lemsip. I do not like to take medication for too long if I can help it, but the rattly chest is rather annoying so I have investigated some traditional ‘at home’ remedies that are supposed to help.

I have found plenty, although I am not sure I am going to give all of them a go. I am most tempted to try the first one – drinking hot chocolate. Dark chocolate with a minimum 70% cocoa content contains a good dose of theobromine which is a stimulant similar to caffeine. Recent research suggests it is better at suppressing an annoying cough than codeine, and if you melt it and turn it into hot chocolate by pouring into hot milk, the milk will also help you sleep. But I am a little confused. Does the milk override the stimulating effect of the theobromine? Or is it the other way round? I have yet to find out!

Another tip for a persistent cough is to eat mashed turnip. Not only is the vegetable packed full of vitamins (C, A and B) but it acts as an expectorant, that is, it loosens the mucus that causes you to cough. Spicy foods and curries are also believed to do the same thing, so perhaps if I add chilli powder to my mashed turnip I’ll be on to a winner.

There are some remedies that are more suited to survival experts like Bear Grylls than soft old columnists like me. According to Lady Eveline Camilla Gurdon in a self-help manual published in 1893 by the Folk Lore Society, you must place a large, live, flat fish on your bare chest and keep it there until it dies. It is supposed to help with congestion in the chest and ease coughing. She also advises eating roasted mouse or drinking milk that has already been ‘lapped by a ferret’.

If you are suffering from a sore throat and fever, then you can try basting your throat with lard or chicken fat before wrapping your neck with dirty socks. This is similar to the wartime advice of wrapping your neck with a rope dipped in tar. The fumes from the stinky socks & the toxic tar are supposed to help clear the lungs and a blocked nose. I suppose if you die from inhaling poisonous fumes then you won’t be so bothered about your fever, will you.

I don’t know about you but I will stick to eucalyptus oil soaked into a tissue, thank you!

Do you have any interesting home remedies?

Do you have opinions, memories or ideas to share with me? Get in touch with me via the ‘Contact’ tab at the top right of this page.

This column appeared in the Darlington & Stockton Times on Friday 31st Jan and the Ryedale Gazette and Herald on Wednesday 29th Jan 2025