Wives Tale Remedies

[Kelly d]

I would never undermine the advantages of modern medicine but sometimes good ole wives tale remedies work better than expensive medicines.

My favourite is baking soda paste on chicken pox and stings.

Use Bicarbonate of soda or baking soda and add just enough water to make it a paste. Apply to the infected area. This draws out the itch and sting.

Bicarbonate of Soda for whitening teeth : make the paste as above, just replace water with hydrogen peroxide. Dip a tooth brush in the paste and give your teeth a good scrub. DO NOT SWALLOW and rinse thoroughly. This removes coffee and tea stains.

I hope everyone has an old remedy to add!

[Alastair]

Re: Wives Tale Remedies

Well if you get stung by nettles look around the area as Dock leaves are usually growing at the same place and using them to rub on the stings does a great job.

Alastair

[FriedaKateM]

Re: Wives Tale Remedies

We have poison ivy, both plants & vines of it here in USA. If you've brushed up against it, look around for the plant that is called jewelweed, it grows around PI, & it is kind of succulent, has little orangish looking (like nasturtiums) flowers, (also called "touch me not" because it has a seed pod that shoots seed when touched.) Wad some up your hand, & wipe the area that touched poison ivy. Or, you can gather jewelweed, make a large pot of steeped tea with the stems, leaves, & save the liquid in ice trays till frozen. Then put these cubes into a plastic bag, & use each one melted to dab on with a soft cloth, to help get rid of the rash, when you already have poison ivy. I am the local authority on poison ivy, as when I was 15, I had it all over my body. What a mental/physical difficulty!!! I use a major weed, woody vine, killer on the PI on my land, but haven't been able to lately, with all the rain!!! Joan