Home Remedies from Great-Grandma's 'Doctoring" Book

When my mother passed away in 2005 my two brothers and I worked together to close out her home and pack away her belongings.

While in the process of cleaning out the attic I came across an old trunk which I had never before seen. It soon became obvious that this trunk contained items which had belonged my great-grandmother and which my mother had kept as favorite memories of her.

One of these items was an old, partially decayed, cloth bound journal which someone (my great grandmother or her predecessor) had labeled "Doctoring Book".

The journal originally contained 100 blank pages, but over many years entries had been made to document recipes and remedies for treating various illnesses and medical emergencies, which at the time were always treated at home. Some of the more interesting/amusing remedies included the following:

note:
(I have only corrected mispellings when I felt they were unreadable.)

Page 11 - Muskeeter Bites: Mix 4 spoons of baking soda in 1/4 cup of water. Make paste. Spread on bite.

Page 12 - Muskeeter Bites and Bee Stings: Tear off 1/2 plug of tobacker (tobacco) and soak in 1/2 cup of water. When good and wet, place tobacker on sting area.

Page 31 - To Treat Flu: - Bile (boil) tea kettle of water. In one cup of hot water add one spoon of lemon juice, one spoon of brown sugar, two spoons of honey and two spoons of brandy. Drink while hot 4 times a day.

Page 14 - Chest Cold: - Into pot containing two quarts of water add two cups of chopped green onions, six spoons of salt, one spoon of black pepper pods and one potato cut in quarters. Cook til potatoes are soft. Sip soup while hot 4 times a day.

Page 25 - Chicken Pox: - Make poultice of baking soda and water. Pad onto face and let dry. Do not rub or scratch pox.....(This entry includes a note that the local mid wife also suggests hat anyone suffering from "the Chicken Pox' should lie down in front of the chicken coop and let the chickens walk over him/her to prevent scars from pock marks.)

Page 16 - Sneezing Cold: - Mix one spoon of chopped red (cayenne?) pepper into one cup of boiling water. After cooling add one spoon of this soup to one glass of water and drink 4 times a day.

Page 27 - Bee Sting: - Pinch out and remove bee's stinger. Cut one end off a slab of fatback meat. Place meat on sting place and tie with clean rag. Leave on sting until poison is gone.

Page28 - To Reduce swelling and soreness in bosum: - Wrap each bosum in cabbage leaves tied in place with cloth band neath under clothes. Change cabbage leaves every day. Wear until sweelling is gone.

Page 39 - To Remove Warts: - Coat wart in Castor oil every day until wart turns white and shrinks.

Page 42 - Nose bleeds: - Cover bottom of glass with salt. Add enough warm water to cover salt. Soak cotton or a clean cloth swatch in salt water. Use cotton or swab to pack in nose until bleed stops.

Page 48 - Constipation: - Mix one spoon of Epsom salts in one glass of warm water. Drink whole glass.

Page 51 - Ulcer: - Cut 1/2 head of cabbage. Shred and cook cabbage in little water. When cabbage is soft pour of juice and cool. Drink one cup of cabbage juice twice a day.

Page 44 - Bronchitis: - Mix one cup of mustard powder in with one cup of flour. Add enough water to make paste. Smear of chest.

Page 10 - Chapped Lips: - Chapped lips come from wet lips in cold or windy weather. Do not lick lips. If lips are wet dry them right now.
Treat chapped lips by rubbing butter on the lips.

Page 62 - Baby Bottom Rash: (diaper rash?) - Remove baby's clothes and wash bottom with yellow soap. Dry baby's bottom. Leave bottom clothes and underwear off for one day. Coat baby bottom in lard and dress.

Page 26 - Poison Ivy: - Remove and wash in boiling water with yellow or lye soap clothes that touched rash area. Wash rash area with strong yellow laundry or lye soap and hot water. Rash will be not be so red after washing. When color returns to rash, wash again in yellow soap. wash again until itch stops and rash fades.

Page 56 - Toenail White Moss (fungus?): - Soak feet in bowl containing half water and half apple vinegar for 30 minutes a day until moss is gone.

Page 67 Asthma: - To prevent attacks drink one cup of hot water and lemon when asthma breathing begins. If no lemon around can use dried sour apple. To help during attack boil water in large wash kettle and sit bending over kettle with rain slicker over head. Breathe steam from kettle until breathing is good again.

Page 73 Headache: - Strip tender bark from willer (willow) tree (springtime is best). Mash bark until pulp. Chew pulp until dissolved.

These are some of the old time remedies found in the journal. Please understand I have no idea that any of these work as prescribed. I present these only to give insight into another place and time. As this journal and these remedies are part of my family history I have truly enjoyed studying them and hope that any reader of this article will as well.