Mama & Old Wives (Products & Remedies) updated 4/9/24

3/19/24 UPDATE: There are a couple -

1. I am currently trying to perfect a honey/pepper/cinnamon cough drop. When I do, I will be posting the recipe on the blog and linking to it here.

2. I am looking up information on the aronia berry (or chokeberry). I have heard of its antioxidant properties and possible benefits to kidney health. I will be asking my nephrologist about this at my next appointment (specifically this!) 

Again, as with any and everything posted here, do your own research. I am not qualified to remember the last place I put my house keys, let along offer medical advice to anyone.

2/28/24 UPDATE marked this way: Because I have been scouring books and other sources (including family members) for more remedies, I will just add them to the "Just Plain Useful" category. When I can, I will note the source and possibly some notes. Also, I recently started a separate page for Mothers' Remedies. I didn't want this page to get too convoluted. 

12/13/23 UPDATE:  I am adding a category for useful tips that don't fit anywhere else. It's at the bottom and is called - haha - "Just Plain Useful". You might notice that I have been adding some things that my mother didn't even know about...

 Whenever I used to tell the younger folks in our family about my mother and grandmother and their "old-fashioned" remedies, they'd be respectful but I'm sure there were some eye-rolls later. These days, the "kids" are listening when some of the same or similar remedies pop up in their TikTok feeds. My reaction:🙄

I still use Mama's remedies and have even "updated" some of them! Here is the list below of things I keep around and why:

• Vaseline/petroleum jelly
• Coat your clean feet with a good layer of this. Put on some warm socks and leave them for at least half an hour (overnight is good tho). Your feet will be soft.
• If you have a lot of calluses, use the treatment for an hour, then gently scrape off any dead skin. Reapply the Vaseline and socks. 
• Mix with baking soda and use a wet cloth the gently exfoliate the dry skin. Afterward, apply a little of the jelly as a lip softener.
• Use over your nightly moisturizer as a face mask. The jelly works as an occlusive. It works as a sort of "locking in" product. In the morning, cleanse and moisturize your skin as usual. (I tend to prefer CeraVe's Healing Ointment in place of Vaseline. Also, I sometimes use a thin layer over my moisturizer and under my sunscreen if I'm extra dry.
• Swipe a little Vaseline over your front teeth to keep them from sticking to your lips. (I would do this when I was nervous speaking in front of training classes.)
• Smooth a tiny bit over your eyebrows to keep them in place. (Yep, we thought we were cute back before all these brow-specific products!)
• Honey 
• I now use Manuka and stingless bee honey but... back in the day, Mama used the raw honey she got from neighbors.
• We used it to treat wounds and burns. These days, that practice is backed up by science - as are some of the following uses.
• For a cough, Mama would give us a straight spoon of honey to swallow down. When we were grown, she'd tell us to mix some into a shot of brandy or whisky. My "Big Mama" was an actual bootlegger, by the way. RIP, Big Mama!
  
• NOTE: As with everything here, do your research and ask your medical team. However, no one should give honey to kids under 12 to 15 months old. I'm not a doctor, people. Use your heads!
• (As I mentioned, I now use Manuka and stingless bee honey. Manuka honey has kept a life-long cold sore problem under control.)
• Cornstarch
• Mama's laundry skills were amazing. Her whites were the whitest and her colors didn't bleed or fade. Being married to an airman, she kept his shirts ironed perfectly. One of her ironing secrets was using cornstarch. (I have not used cornstarch. I do not do a lot of ironing. LOL!) Apparently, this is how to use cornstarch in place of canned starches.
• We also used cornstarch in place of talcum powder - and this is even before we knew talc might not be safe. Mama would spritz a cotton ball with a scent and put it into a little tin of cornstarch. We girls could dust our underarms, clothes and bosom (I didn't have an actually bosom at the time) to absorb sweat on hot days and make us smell nice. Before I ever had actual perfume, Mama made me a personal fragrance using the now-forbidden baby powder and some vanilla extract. Oh, I have some memories! I suppose cornstarch can replace talcum powder in that recipe.
• Of course, cornstarch can be used to thicken sauces and gravies. Just the other day, I made my beans too watery. I drained a lot off a lot of the water then added some cornstarch to about a cupful. When I finished thickening that bit of juice, I added it back in to my beans while they finished cooking. Perfecto.
• Pinto Beans
• Since I am speaking of beans... Pinto beans was the go-to solution for constipation for years. At least in our family. Mama would fix a pot of beans and whoever was having problems would eat a couple of bowls. The next day, problem solved. That remedy was always more effective and comfortable that using other methods. In most cases, Mama was only making a small pot of beans for the affected person. In lieu of her full and seasoned recipe, the beans would be plain so she'd crush saltine crackers into them for the "patient".
• Hydrogen Peroxide
• For earaches, Mama would use a dropper to put some of the liquid into the affected ear. A cotton ball lightly placed would keep the fluid from leaking out but Mama would make us hold our head to one side for at least a minute before then.
• For a lot of our childhood scrapes and light skin damage, Mama would clean the wound with hydrogen peroxide first, then treat it with honey or whatever other remedy.
• Clove Oil
• Although it can be so astringent and nasty-tasty, the remedy for toothaches was often cloves. Either lightly crushed whole cloves or some clove oil placed right on the sore tooth or gum was the whole remedy. (I actually forgot this when I had a toothache once and a younger family friend remembered.)
• a couple of crushed cloves placed into a trash can helps with odors. I don't know how or why this worked but it's what Mama used before we had all these specific odor-beating products.
• Cast iron cookware
• I was very anemic when I was younger and iron pills constipated me. Mama already used cast iron for most skillet-prepared foods but, for me, she usually prepared everything she could in cast iron. Her go-to meal when I was especially suffering was liver. I didn't like the look of beef liver and I hated the grainy texture of pork liver. Big Mama told Mama to feed me chicken livers for 2 reasons, chicken livers were plentiful and, according to Big Mama, they were the best for my anemia. (These days I love pork liver with onions and I could gorge on chicken gizzards. Go figure me out.)
• Thyme
• Thyme was another of my Big Mama's things. She drank it when she was trying to deal with a cough.
• Cranberries/Juice
• This was a favorite of the older and wiser women of my youth. I didn't understand until I was grown and was suffering from a UTI  - that was caused by a freaking antibiotic I took! I have never been in that kind of pain before. I hate cranberry juice but I was chugging it like crazy for a couple of days. And it worked... These days, because of some of my medication, I regularly take cranberry tablets for kidney and bladder health.
• Ginger Tea
• Mama used to make ginger tea for all the women in the family who were dealing with morning sickness. I never was pregnant but I drink ginger tea now for the nausea my meds induce. It's a lifesaver.
• Peppermint oil
• To be honest, this one isn't really from the "Old Wives Club". This is one I learned about some years ago from a cosmetics counter at Nordstrom. They were selling a bougie product (with a bougie price tag) in a little roller-ball. It was meant to be rubbed into your temples to "ease away stress". When I told one of the older aunties about it, she said it was probably just peppermint oil. According to her memories, women would mix peppermint oil with "church oil" (aka olive oil!) and rub it onto their temples and necks to get rid of stress headaches.
• Magnesium Oil
• This one is not an oldie. I have used magnesium oil for years to help with anxiety and sleeplessness. I like it because it's topical but there are also magnesium glycinate tablets for sleeplessness.
• Aloe Vesta 
• This is an OTC product and nothing my Mama knew about. I learned about it when my wheelchair-bound sister needed something in between being able to bathe. I've told other caregivers about it. This product is a spray and, used with baby wipes or damp cloths, it's wonderful for freshening up. I have used it for when I am traveling and don't have access to showers. It takes very little to clean the torso and it can be used, um, everywhere and does not require rinsing. Despite the link I'm using, it can be found in several places and insurance companies might even provide for it.
• Listerine (original brown)
• This is probably the best kitchen, bathroom, laundry hamper, and garbage can disinfectant ever. I keep some in spray bottles for a Listerine/water mix. For the trash and bathroom, I use about 2 parts (Listerine) and 1 part water. For the kitchen counters, kitchen towels, and appliance surfaces, I use a 1/2 and 1/2 ratio. For the grossest messes, I will use a spray of straight Listerine. NOTE: After adding this, I have learned that there are MANY other possible uses for Listerine and other mouthwashes. Here is one link but just do a search to find others.
• "Just Plain Useful" - 
• Did you know that you can make your own cornmeal by running popcorn through a grinder? But if you don't want to make your own, here's a basic recipe that I like (but I do have a better one that I will be adding when I do a page of recipes). Also, sometimes I will buy coarse or medium-ground cornmeal and mix it with "regular" cornmeal. It makes for a more old-fashioned and crumbier finish. But there is also hot-water cornbread - which is quicker and easier to whip up.
• Manuka Honey has (for me) taken the place of over-the-counter cold sore remedies (think Abreva which I see is currently at around $231/oz). I buy one small jar of Steens Manuka and it lasts me for a few years. I use it for cold sores (use it when I feel the first tingle and the sore never develops!); light burns, scrapes, cuts; etc. I also sometimes take 1/4 tsp when I have a sore throat. I actually put some in lip gloss container to keep in my purse. Again, I'm not offering medical advice. Talk to your medical team and maybe read up on medicinal honey. I found this regarding medicinal honey and cold sores. (Also Stingless Bee Honey is worth looking into.)
• If you don't know how (or have time) to make a good chicken gravy, give Bisto a try. I no longer bother making gravy from scratch. Bisto is the best thing to come out of having lived in England. I get mine from Amazon. One can lasts me forever because just a couple tablespoons produces enough gravy for a 2- or 3-person meal.
• If you buy packs of pre-made pizza and bread dough, you can save money using a super-simple recipe. I use it for pizza, rolls, garlic bread, bread with mozzarella filling, etc. I make this dough almost every other week and freeze it for quick meals.  For a really nice and more standard sweet bread dough, there is this recipe. It's a little more work, IMO, but worth it for special occasions.
• NEW For a dry cough, I heard about mixing black pepper and raw honey to soothe a dry throat. I tried it and it works faster than honey/lemon tea for me. I just mixed a good quality ground pepper into some honey. I keep it next to the bed with a small spoon to dip & lick when I have a cough. BTW - for those who, like me, have trouble with spicy things, the honey almost completely obscures the pepper! (Healthline had a suggestion of using turmeric with black pepper. I have to watch my turmeric intake. For me the black pepper and honey works great.) P.S.: I will be sharing my recipe for homemade cough drops soon. I looked for a way to make them with no heat since I will be using honey as an ingredient. Stay Tuned.
• NEW  I have not yet tried this but have heard that zinc can help with skin issues - such as acne, age spots, etc. It's worth doing a little bit of research on. If I try it, I will report back on my results.
• You might like my recent posts. One is about fermenting things in honey and the other is about the onion tea remedy I tried.
• NEW Since I love honey, I try new ones often & Linden honey (aka basswood or lime honey) is the latest. There are many supposed benefits. I like it for its soothing properties and use it in my bedtime cup of tea.  This happens to be the one I got the first time. This is another one (much cheaper). The first is a softer texture; the second is much more firm. Both lasted several weeks. You can find it all over in health food stores and online.
•  NEW  I'd clean forgotten this useful "hack" for hair care. Instead of fancy types of towels made for drying your hair - especially hair that is fragile, dry, damaged, and/or frizzes easily - use a large flour sack kitchen towel. Just make sure that it's 100% cotton. If you don't have one, they are easy to find for cheap prices. I have several but bought a 2-pk of the extra-large (33x38) ones when they went on sale because I wanted that size. Aunt Martha's a good brand but find any on sale. Make sure it's large enough to dry your hair or sew 2 of them together. The 33x38 does wrap turban style on my hair. (ALERT: As I type this, Amazon also has a 2-pk of the 33x39 towels for under $6.50.)
• Speaking of 👆🏾, the towels are great to keep in the kitchen. I like them better when I have washed them to a softer texture but they are very absorbent and versatile in the kitchen. I use mine into "aprons" by tucking them into the waistband of my pants; use them to cover dishes and bread before serving; I put them down under warm pans to save my countertops; they also make really good drying mats for dishes too large to put in the drying rack. 

Okay. That's it for now. I will be asking my siblings and friends if they have any more old remedies to share.  Also, I will be adding a page for recipes!

Once again, I am not a medical professional and have no letters behind my name. I don't recommend anyone using or trying any remedy they hear about online without checking with someone who is a medical professional. 

Peace

--Free