While at the 2006 Shutts Family Reunion in Maine, I learned of a few home remedies that the family swore by while growing up. At least one is still used today, though I'll let you guess which one it is.

1. Vicks VapoRub was used for a variety of ailments. My father remembers having it on his chest "at least an inch thick" any time he had the slightest cold. If someone had a boil on his or her skin, a layer of Vicks was applied, followed by a thick bandage. Within a day or two, the boil would open and drain. Similarly, difficult slivers were removed by a coat of Vicks that was covered by a band-aid. This too would usually take effect within a day or two.

2. Another common treatment for chest colds, much to everyone's dismay, was castor oil mixed with a teaspoon of honey. I've read on some alternative medicine websites that a chest-rub containing castor oil is an effective treatment to alleviate coughing. Nowhere, however, have I found anything supporting the ingestion of castor oil.

3. For an earache, a spoonful of rubbing alcohol was held over the stove until warm. It was then poured into the ear to help get rid of excess wax and to dry out the area.

4. There are probably several variations of this one, but when my brother was a baby my grandmother advised my mother to try this. If a baby is not sleeping at night, here is what should be done. Hold the baby upside down by the ankles. Then walk the baby around the kitchen table three times in a counter-clockwise direction. After having done this, the baby will return to a normal sleep pattern.

5. This is less of a remedy and more of an old wives' tale. It was thought that if someone had a wart, plantar or otherwise, he or she should never try to lance it off. If they were to cut it, they would surely bleed to death.

 

Some other remedies that I learned about from the daughter of Vivien (Shutts) LaVare:

1. If you're chewing gum and it somehow ends up in your hair (of if a sibling puts it there), use peanut butter to get it out. Just rub it in to where the gum is stuck and the peanut oil acts to un-stick and break up the gum.

2. To prevent infections in a bad cut, soak a piece of bread in evaporated milk and apply it to the cut. Leave it on until it dries, then pull it off and re-apply with a freshly soaked slice of bread. The woman who told me about this once cut her foot in a river and ended up getting stitches at the emergency room. Immediately upon coming home, her mother applied the milk-soaked bread and made her lie down with her foot elevated, re-applying the bread often over the course of a few days. No infection occurred.

3. If you've been stung by a bee, apply mud to the site of the sting. The mud will cool the skin and take the pain away, while also drawing the stinger out.