Sandy Supposes....

DOCTORS EARN THEIR KEEP

         PROMPT: Do you prefer home remedies to doctors' office visits? Share some favourite tricks you try to pull off before making the trip to see a doctor.

          I never actually opt to visit a doctor unless I have a grievous injury or need surgery. Blessedly, I rarely fall ill. Twice family members have succumbed to meningitis and it ignored me. Colds and the flu are nasty viruses that stalk my loved ones, but seem to bypass me. Repeatedly, I've been exposed to opportunistic illnesses such as pneumonia, bronchitis, scabies and more without any adverse effects. Am I charmed? Do germs fail to breech my defenses?

          I am not a sickness person, I am an injury person. Of course, I am well aware of first aid and deployed my knowledge and experience too many times. My three offspring tend to emulate me, unfortunately. We've all lugged plaster casts and endured stitches. Hell, I've even removed my own sutures. I've never attempted to fashion my own casts or stitch my wounds; there are professionals for that.

         I do remember my Mom being at her wits' end and desperate to find some kind of relief for my stubborn father. She was very much pro-doctor; they were the undisputed experts as far as she was concerned. My Dad was always reluctant to seek medical advice and this became a very real problem when he contracted pneumonia. Mom was a veteran of pneumonia and several lung infections; she knew the symptoms. Dad insisted upon suffering at home; toughing it out. Following the well-meaning counsel of a friend, Mom prepared a mustard plaster for my father's chest. It was meant to relieve congestion. Finding the dry mustard to mix a paste with water was pretty simple; dad used this for cooking, ( usually with pork). He became Mom's guinea pig; anything was worth a try. Mom smeared a generous layer of yellow mustard over my father's chest and sealed it against his skin with an old shirt sacrificed as a rag. By the next morning, my father was hollering for Mom to tear her poultice off and for good reason. The miracle cure had burned his chest and obliterated a sizeable patch of chest hair. Unwittingly, Mom had concocted a painful hair remover. Huh, and to think we ate that mustard! The failed home remedy did succeed in impelling my Dad to seek treatment from a doctor who diagnosed pneumonia and prescribed antibiotics.

         The only close home remedy I ever tried was a chance one, but I can attest to its efficacy. A few summers ago, I discovered an irritating plantar's wart on the sole of my foot. I fully expected a nurse-practitioner to zap it with a dose of freezing that in reality burns. Before this came to pass, I fractured several toes and tore ligaments in this same poor, beleaguered foot. Subsequently, I hobbled around, all sweltering summer, in an awkward boot cast. Imagine my surprise when my healed foot was finally freed and the wart had vanished. I've read testimonials to the anti-wart properties of duct tape. Apparently, a duct tape dressing smothers a wart. I never had the opportunity to try this, but I believe my hard, plastic cast smothered/strangled/steamed my wart away. I, in no way, endorse this drastic home remedy.

         I'm just thinking of a home remedy that seniors have shared with me.
"In their day", lice was prevalent. Okay, it's still a nasty scourge! One of their go-to-treatments or guaranteed cures was an everyday item known as kerosene. Just picture this; the itchy person's head was doused with pure, unadulterated kerosene. Folklore taught that lice smothered or perhaps it was drowned in this fuel. OOH! The stench must have been torture, but far worse than this, many people heated and cooked with woodstoves. Weren't these poor extremely flammable souls in mortal danger? "Stand clear of the stove, son." "Hey, get over here, so I can wring a few more drops into the lantern." Was the possibility of erupting in a flaming ball of fire a better fate than constant scratching?