When you were little, and sick.

My mom rubbed Vicks on my chest too and under my nose, gave me chicken soup, Cheracol cough syrup, ginger ale, toast, Saltine crackers, aspirin, Pepto for upset stomach.
 

Before vaccines, I had all the childhood diseases and the one I remember most was mumps. It hurt like heck and mom would put cold washcloths around my neck to try to ease the soreness. Always felt a little better when mom or grandma would give me a few new comic books to read.
 
Aspirin, Vicks, flat ginger ale, chicken noodle soup, milk toast, vaporizer, Kaopectate, hot water bottle ... these were among my mother's standard remedies. One that stands out today was Pertussin syrup for coughs. The active ingredient was chloroform. Today it's classified as an extremely hazardous substance and a suspected carcinogen. It depresses the central nervous system. Ackkk!
 

Pinky said:
I had chronic asthma as a child. Mom would put hot towels on my throat and chest and back, over the Vick's Vaporub, and I would have to take Buckley's Mixture .. smells like horse linament. I had a bad cold last winter, and actually bought the old Buckley's (that's how bad I felt). Chicken noodle soup and hot tea. I never felt good enough to watch t.v. I was laid out
flat, gasping for every breath. One time, when we were renting, our Chinese landlady made a potion for me to drink. Oh, it was so horrible tasting, but I was a polite child, so I drank it.
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Pinky, did it work??? ;)
 
What did my folks do? Not much, you were just left to get on with it.

The only time I was allows off school was when I had menigitis and not expected to live. I always stayed in my own bed
 
jujube said:
Remember mustard plasters? My mother was a great believer in them. They either cured you or took the skin off your chest.
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Sure do remember them!

Me, along with all of my baby siblings got them!

An aunt of mine made up a mustard plaster for a baby cousin of mine that was so strong it blistered him.

My mom also bought Ginger-Ale for us when we were sick, and in keeping with the times, I remember a yellow cough medicine that she'd give us that was so awful tasting it nearly made you throw-up.

Mom also kept a bottle of Buckley's Mixture in the house, and that, too, was so bad, I took to plugging my nose first before swallowing a spoon-full.

Lots of bed rest and television.
 
My mom would put me on the couch in the living room and I would be stuck with watching her soap operas with her. Those shows took the fun out of being sick....😂 Aspirin and Vicks also. That was standard treatment, I guess.
 
Ronni said:
My mum would always put me in her bed when I was sick. I don't remember the name of the medicine, but no matter what was wrong with me, she'd make me take a spoonful of some wretched tasting thick liquid from a brown bottle.

She would give me a hot water bottle to snuggle up to, and make a pot of weak tea which she'd serve me with milk and sugar, and a slice of buttered toast.

What did your folks do?
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Usually got 7UP for the upset tummy like with the flu. If we had colds we got hot tea with milk and sugar and toast with grape jelly. I still find the tea and toast with jelly comforting to this day.

Only thing I like better now is that at least there's electronic entertainment. Back then we just had to lay there and just be sick. It was so boring.
 
The only thing that really sticks in my memory was that our Doctor came to the house when me and my older sister would be sick from ear infections. My Mom would put us in her bed and me and my sister dreaded the Doctor showing up. He then would lance our ears. The pain was unbelievable and even now we have so much scar tissue in our ears that it is getting hard to hear. In those days they didn't have decongestants.
 
Ceege said:
My mom would put me on the couch in the living room and I would be stuck with watching her soap operas with her. Those shows took the fun out of being sick....😂 Aspirin and Vicks also. That was standard treatment, I guess.
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OMG! I would've gladly traded you. I loved the soaps!!!!!!!
 
Aunt Marg said:
Sure do remember them!

Me, along with all of my baby siblings got them!

An aunt of mine made up a mustard plaster for a baby cousin of mine that was so strong it blistered him.

My mom also bought Ginger-Ale for us when we were sick, and in keeping with the times, I remember a yellow cough medicine that she'd give us that was so awful tasting it nearly made you throw-up.

Mom also kept a bottle of Buckley's Mixture in the house, and that, too, was so bad, I took to plugging my nose first before swallowing a spoon-full.

Lots of bed rest and television.
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Why would you put something on your kid that blistered their skin?
 
MarciKS said:
Why would you put something on your kid that blistered their skin?
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My aunt made the plaster way too strong, Marci.

She didn't mean to and felt absolutely horrible.

The overall strength of the plaster combined with length of time to leave the plaster on, were two important factors when applying a mustard plaster.
 
Aunt Marg said:
My aunt made the plaster way too strong, Marci.

She didn't mean to and felt absolutely horrible.

The overall strength of the plaster combined with length of time to leave the plaster on, were two important factors when applying a mustard plaster.
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Sounds dreadful.
 
I'd get Vicks on the chest and through a vaporizer for any congestive illness like a cold. If throwing up, I'd be given only ginger ale to drink, which I disliked, and dry toast the next day. Staying home from school meant bed confinement, which was boring as the only TV set in the house was in the living room...
 
Fyrefox said:
I'd get Vicks on the chest and through a vaporizer for any congestive illness like a cold. If throwing up, I'd be given only ginger ale to drink, which I disliked, and dry toast the next day. Staying home from school meant bed confinement, which was boring as the only TV set in the house was in the living room...
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Ah, yes... the good old vaporiser.

It ran in our house, too.
 
Fyrefox said:
I'd get Vicks on the chest and through a vaporizer for any congestive illness like a cold. If throwing up, I'd be given only ginger ale to drink, which I disliked, and dry toast the next day. Staying home from school meant bed confinement, which was boring as the only TV set in the house was in the living room...
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yes and if we were sick we had to stay in our room.
 
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