Home Remedies - Part 2

Home remedies have been passed down for generations. Sometimes they’re helpful, sometimes they’re down right outrageous. This series is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to home remedies. And it goes without saying that the remedies in this series are for entertainment purposes only.






Asthma

Take the roots of skunk cabbage, dry and pulverize them and give three doses per day until cured. Give at a dose what will lay on the end of a pen knife. – John Stoner’s Sympathy, 1867

Honey is one of the most common home remedies for asthma. At the time of asthma attack a jug full of honey should be placed under the nose of the patient, within a few minutes the patient would start breathing easily. One can also mix 1 teaspoon honey in a glass of water and have it 3 times a day.

Indian gooseberry has proven valuable in asthma. Five grams of gooseberry mixed with one tablespoon of honey forms an effective medicinal tonic for the treatment of this disease. It should be taken every morning. Lemon is another fruit found beneficial. The juice of one lemon, diluted in a glass of water and taken with meals, will bring good results

String a line of crickets on a silk string and wear them crickets around the neck. Kentucky Superstitions, 1801

The roots of the bitter gourd plant have been used in folk medicine for asthma since ancient times. A teaspoon of the root paste, mixed with an equal amount of honey or juice of the holy basil leaves, given once every night for a month, acts as an excellent medicine for this disease.

A soup prepared from drumstick leaves, and taken once daily, has been found beneficial in the treatment of asthma. This soup is prepared by adding a handful of leaves to 180ml of water and boiling it for five minutes. After being allowed to cool, a little salt, pepper, and lime juice may be added to this soup.

Dip a brown paper the size of two hands in strong saltpeter water and burn the same in the room before going to bed. It will give great relief.
Farmer’s Directory and Housekeeper’s Assistant, 1851

A teaspoon of fresh ginger juice, mixed with a cup of fenugreek decoction and honey to taste, acts as an excellent expectorant in cases of asthma. The decoction of fenugreek can be made by mixing one tablespoon of fenugreek seeds in a cupful of water. This remedy should be taken once in the morning and once in the evening.

Garlic is another effective home remedy for asthma. Ten garlic cloves, boiled in 30 ml of milk, make an excellent medicine for the early stages of asthma. This mixture should he taken once daily by the patient. Garlic cloves boiled in milk or steaming ginger tea with two minced garlic cloves in it, can also help to keep the problem under control, and should be taken in the morning and evening.

Get a Mexican hairless (Chihuahua) dog and keep it nearby. The asthma will go from you to the dog. You can not use someone else’s dog. – Texas Folk Medicine, 1825

The herb bishop's weed has been found valuable in asthma. Half a teaspoon of bishop's weed should be mixed in a glass of buttermilk and taken twice daily. It is an effective remedy for relieving difficult expectoration caused by dried-up phlegm. A hot poultice of the seeds should be used for dry fomentation to the chest twice daily. The patient can also inhale steam twice a day from boiling water mixed with carom seeds. It will dilate the bronchial passages.

Safflower seeds are beneficial in the treatment of bronchial asthma. Half a teaspoon of powder of the dry seeds, mixed with a tablespoon of honey, can be taken once or twice a day in treating this disease. This acts as an expectorant and reduces the spasms by liquefying the tenacious sputum. An infusion of five grams of flowers mixed with one tablespoon of honey, taken once daily, is also useful in this disease.