The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1955-02-18
@ | I M P S { S
I'll E P A S 7
BY CAROLYN LLOYD

<Ao 1hilo tlitlC VI year IilG Sy lIlDOl
of the State of North Carolina
might well be a handkerchief or a
box of kleenex. l say North Caro-
lima because l would not be so
bold as to say what is going on
in South Carolina or Virginia, for
instance. 1t may be that the citi-
zens of those states have risen
above the common cold; but here
IN the Old North State the air is
rent with "achoo's", sniffles, and
assorted banks.
Though science has never found
a way to prevent colds, it certain
ay has gone long way toward
making them less annoying. Peni-
ciilin and other modern drugs may
not cure any faster than some of
the old remedies, but they are def
initely easier to take. One of the
unpleasant memories of my child
hood is of having my chest rubbed
with mutton suet. That may not
have been a standard remedy; but
it had been used on my mother
In her childhood, and she used it
on us children. l don't know how
or where it was procured, or
whether the mutton" meant it
actually came from sheep; but l
do know that it looked bad, felt
worse, and smelled awful. How
ever, it must have worked, for we
never went to the doctor with
colds. If the situation became des-
perate enough, the next step in
treatment was dose of castor
oil. That was never the first step
because the struggle involved in
getting it down the patient was
something not to be taken lightly.
Many was the time promised
myself that if / lived through a
dose to grow up, I would never
take castor oil voluntarily, and
that is one promise to myself that
has been kept.
Another messy, but effective,
old-time remedy was the mustard
plaster. Though I never had any
personal dealings with one, one
person of my acquaintance can
testify that, in the hands of one
not acquainted with the old
fashioned remedy, mustard plas-
ter cure can be worse than the dis
ease. Said gentleman, suffering
from a severe cold, had tried
every remedy he knew and finally
suggested to his wife that she
make mustard plaster for his
chest. Faithfully she ministered to
the grateful patient-grateful,
that she had smeared his chest
with prepared French's mustard
and carefully covered it with a
flannel cloth. He protested that
he hadn't asked to be prepared
for the barbecue pit. The scrub
bing necessary to remove the
nnxious mixture couldn't have i'm
proved either his cold or his dis
position, but he did recover event
ually. 1t might not be cricket to
mention his name, but for the
curious I will drop a hint: the
shade of his hair was not too far
from that of the mustard, and he
was especially well-known in
school circles here. In defence of
his wife, let it be said that few
mothers handed down their rec
ipes for mustard plasters with
those for cakes. l wouldn't have
known any better either.
Still another remedy for colds
and coughs was sugar and kero-
sene, or sugar and turpentine-
gust little bit in a spoon, but
what a taste.
For adults there were more
pleasant cures sometimes pre-
scribed. The most popular was
that of a famed Johns Hopkins
physician: "Hang your hat on the
bedpost. Go to bed with a fifth
of Bourbon. Drink same until you
can see two hats on the bedpost. !"
some may still prefer that remedy
10 penicillin.
n.lI. e oz III o~J