Castor oil ?

[IKE]

I have no earthly idea what made this come to mind at 5 o'clock in the morning.......funny how the mind works I guess.

Anyway, I can recall being somewhere between 6 and 8 years old and a couple times my grandmother giving me a large spoon of castor oil for some reason.......in my mind I can still taste it (Yuck !) and the oily after taste seemed to linger forever.

I wonder if the stuff had any real medicinal qualities or was she just punishing me for trying to shave the cat or something ?

Jeez the more I think about it the more I can taste it........note to self, "never think about castor oil again".

 

[Shalimar]

Castor oil is a laxative.

 

[jujube]

When we had croup, we used to get dosed with this stuff called W.O.W. (Wonder of the World). As far as I can remember, the active ingredients were eucalyptus oil and oil of cajeput and probably eye of newt and toe of frog. It would raise the dead and make the lame to walk. It had a taste that is truly indescribable......it shows up in my nightmares to this very day. But, boy, could that stuff cut through phlegm. You got well for the sole purpose of not having to take another dose of the stuff.

 

[Happyflowerlady]

Castor oil comes from the Castor bean plant, which is seriously poisonous if eaten. The plant itself is a beautiful plant that can even grow into a small tree in areas where it is not killed by frost in the winter.
However, if the leaves are eaten by a puppy, or a child, it can be fatal; so it is only safe to plant them as an ornamental when you know that they might not be accidently injested by humans or animals.
Apparently , the oil does not contain the poisonous properties of the rest of the plant. In fact, the oil has long been used for its health benefits, and even the leaves are okay to use for external treatments, such as curing ringworm.

http://www.homeremediesweb.com/castor-oil-health-benefits.php

 

[Pappy]

I think I have had castor oil at one time for a laxative. Mom use to pump Geritol down me. God awful tasting stuff.

 

[Falcon]

I don't remember ever being dosed with castor oil, but we got plenty of peppermint flavored cod liver oil during the winter months.

 

[imp]

FWIW, the deadly stuff in castor beans is called Ricin. It's been used to poison folks now and then. Not sure if it was ever used as a rodenticide or such. Likely, though. imp