Feeling Rotten, old wives’ tales please!

[Happyclouds19]

I feel horrible. Cold season got me. Streaming nose, sore throat, head like a cement block, the whole shebang. I’m doing all the sensible things like paracetamol, fluids, resting when the children (rarely) let me, steam, honey.

Please hit me with your weird and wacky granny passed down remedies. The kind your great aunt swore by and said it kept her going to 103.

Safe ones only of course, nothing that’s going to have me hallucinating or sticking onions to my eyes, but I’m open to the quirky, the unexpected and the slightly unhinged!

I’ve been trying hot ribena, doesn’t hit the same way it did when my nan gave me one as a kid though

My first thought was this:
The use of lard on brown paper is an old-fashioned folk remedy for chest colds and congestion. It is not a medically proven cure, but rather a traditional home treatment.

Lard is pretty cheap, not sure if vegetable oil would work. Lard has the added benefit of making sure your DH doesn’t go bothering you for nookie whilst you feel rough. 👍🏻

Yeah the new saccharine instead of sugar Ribena won't hit it.

I've read on here vicks vapour rub on your feet (maybe chest too where it is recommended).

Keep blowing your nose frequently and keep with the warm fluids in.

Hope you feel better soon.

Echinaca tablets, vitamin c and a curry with lots of vegetables in it always helps me hope you feel better soon x Vic's vaporub on your chest and back at night. Also hills pine and honey balsam really gets rid of the gunk x

A shot of brandy always works for me,an elderly lady who I used to work with recommended it.

I always found Lucozade effective but only the type from1976 with crinkly paper

My dad’s granny (who was born around 1875) swore by a boiled onion tied up in a cloth and then tied round your neck for a cold. I’ve never tried it. She died at 101.
Also from the same source, to cure warts, rub them with a snail then impale the snail on a thorn. When the snail shrivels up and falls off the thorn the wart will fall off too. Never tried that either.

I make blackberry vinegar every year from a very old recipe and it's great. Honey, vinegar and blackberries. I can post the recipe if you would like it but it takes a few days!

My mum used to make home made orange squash when we had colds, if I recall correctly you boil chopped oranges with their skins in water, strain then add sugar. Served hot it was delicious and soothing.

Cut a turnip in half, scoop out some of the inside and fill it with honey. Leave to marinate for a few hours or overnight and then take a few teaspoons of the honey.

Cold and flu was always treated by my nan with port and brandy, mixed together. But with 15+ grandchildren, she was probably just wanting to sedate us all 😂
I also remember her saying "feed a fever, starve a cold".

In Ireland we always got a hot whiskey going to bed .boiling water , measure of whiskey ,lemon juice, Lemon slices honey and cloves .You have to be in bed when drinking it and then cover yourself up with the duvet or blankets 'to keep the heat in'.It has always worked !

Whisky , honey and lemon at night sends you into a blissful sleep ( worked for me at ages 12 and over ! )
Menthol crystals ( my parents always had some in the medicine cabinet ) but a good dollop of Vicks might work . Boil water put in a bowl with crystals / Vicks quickly cover with towel . Put head over steaming bowl under the towel and inhale the steaming vapours .
Then I'd be put into my bed with the electric blanket on ( convinced they could get hotter back then ) blankets piled on and sweat it out .

Yep, my mum and Nan used to give that to me when I was little ( odd 40 yrs ago)
A lard or really fatty bacon on my chest to relieve chest congestion. It did work for me..

@GrumpySparkler Pretty sure it's the other way around 'Feed a cold, starve a fever' 🤔You need nutrients and energy to get rid of the cold, but once you have a temperature, it's your body trying to create a hostile environment for germs so food and digestion is not what it needs.

OP - I second Vicks for rubbing on and steaming. If nothing else, it does seem to feel comforting and like you can breathe if you can smell it. Otherwise rest, hot honey and lemon (squeezy lemon juice works, with some honey and boiled water, stir). Warm drinks are good for the steam up your nose, feeling cosy and relaxing on your throat. Also a good way to get fluids in if you are feeling rubbish.

Pretty sure there is something about half a raw onion in the room while you sleep....but never tried or seen in action

If you don't need paracetamol to sleep, avoiding it at bedtime can sometimes help as they can sometimes have a stimulant effect (maybe, but also maybe I can't remember the reason, just told by a doctor once) or something that can mean it can be harder to get a good night's sleep

Garlic. It has antiviral properties. Eat a raw garlic clove if you can bear it, or get some garlic tablets, or cook something very garlicky. It will help your body fight off the virus.

Thanks everybody, there’s about to be some very interesting smells coming from my house lol!

Root ginger, about a thumbs worth, sliced thinly and placed in a large pot with water. Boil for about ten minutes then simmer for five more.

Add some brown sugar and drink the lot.

Second the boiled onion one, only it was to soak your feet in boiled onion water. There are a lot of nerves in your feet so it makes sense.

On a more serious note, I find the cold and flu tablets work best as they combine paracetamol, ibuprofen and another ingredient. I buy the cheap supermarket brands.

For a cough my nan used to make a concoction of sugar, butter and vinegar.

Certainly works for me - just the threat of having to drink that is enough to stop me coughing!

I second the recommendation of brandy and port together, though for my family that's the cure for stomach upsets 😃

I had something akin to norovirus over Christmas last year, but was getting back to normal by New Year's Eve, so spent the evening drinking those. And very nice they were too! (A single pub measure of each, so 1:2 brandy to port.)

MIL and now DH prescribe chicken soup. Makes a lot of sense- onion, garlic, clear fluid, some easy to digest calories.

Onion soup with garlic in it OP, absolutely delicious and helps with the symptoms too - onions and garlic are both great for health 💐Hope you're better soon!

@NoNewsisGood ah that makes sense. I've either got it muddled, or my Nan did - probably too pissed on the brandy and port! 😂

My grandparents are in their 90's and swear by gargling 3x a day with warm sage tea (made with a big bunch of garden sage and hot water) mixed with sea salt at the first sign of a cold. Also berries like blackcurrant and elderberry cordial, if you can't get the berries to make it yourself a good quality jam diluted in hot water will be better than stuff like ribena.

My Nana also had duck/goose fat on her chest wrapped in brown paper treatment for childhood coughs but she goes for Vicks now instead.

Olbas oil - liberally sprinkled! Keep a clean hanky with some on. Sprinkle on your pillow case at night. You can put a few drops in hot water to inhale.

No suggestions just solidarity I’m in bed with muscle aches, hot & cold…. The lot! X