Comments on: The “Mormon Highball” and Other 19th Century Mormon Home Remedies

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:56:49 +0000

Glad you like it, Carrie — I got a kick out of it. (I’d point out, though, that it’s a little dangerous to base health or Word of Wisdom decisions on Brigham Young, who chewed tobacco much of his life to dull the pain of very bad teeth, until he finally had all his teeth pulled.)

By: Carrie

Carrie — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:28:09 +0000

I absolutely love this article! I have recently started a journey into the natural healing art of herbs. I feel vindicated that herbal tea is ok to drink. This article also indicates that tinctures are helpful to restore health and were used by the prophet himself!

That being said I count my blessings that I was not subject to daily doses of cod liver oil or to the occasional mustard paste for coughs. To quote the ageless quote: “what doesn’t kill us just makes us stronger.” ;o)

By: John Taber

John Taber — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:52:15 +0000

Bruce #15:

You never heard of the “healing powers of magnets”? How about Kevin Trudeau’s books circulating among members?

By: Mark

Mark — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 04:00:38 +0000

This was fascinating, thanks! My 3rd great grandfather, Richard Steele, wrote down these remedies in the 1870′s:
“Cure for diphtheria: Pure Lemon juice in large doses and used as a gargle. For small pox: Indian Root made in tea to drink and wash with. Also a tablespoon of strong vinegar and a thimbleful of cayenne pepper 2 times a day. A Herb called Black Cohosh it is called snakeroot, rattleweed, and squaw weed. It is good for Smallpox Measles Scarlet fever and yellow fever made in tea.”

At least he wasn’t promoting hemlock…

By: bfwebster

bfwebster — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 16:25:15 +0000

Ah, yes. Cod liver oil and “iron drops”. Memories of my childhood. Also, sneaking into the medicine cabinet and chewing St. Joseph’s Aspirin for Children, which had a wonderful orange flavor.

When my (former) wife was 9 1/2 months pregnant with our first child, she asked our OB nurse-practitioner what she could do to induce labor naturally and got a few suggestions. She dutifully went out and bought cod liver oil and choked down a hefty dose. When nothing happened, she called the nurse-practitioner back — who replied, “Marla, I said castor oil, not cod liver oil.” ..bruce..

By: Maurine

Maurine — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 00:42:13 +0000

I grew up having the morning dose of cod liver oil in my orange juice, and I still have chills thinking about it. Thankfully, my parents didn’t believe in mustard plasters, having been subjected to them as children.

By: Sheldon

Sheldon — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:36:44 +0000

Whether the hemlock was poisonous or not depends on what they were using. The Socrates bane was of the genus Conium and is an herb. The Hemlock trees of North America are of the genus Tsuga.

“Native Americans from many unrelated and geographically disjunct tribes used decoctions of hemlock inner bark, roots or needles internally or externally to treat rheumatism and arthritis. The Indians also used it as an antiseptic and a cold medicine. However, there are no modern medicinal uses for hemlock. The “hemlock” that killed Socrates was a totally unrelated biennial herb (Conium maculatum) in the carrot family.”

http://www.floridata.com/ref/T/tsug_can.cfm

[Sorry, Sheldon, your comment was caught in the spam filter and I didn't discover that until now. -- AEP]

By: Hunter

Hunter — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:32:00 +0000

Ha! Bruce, that comment made me laugh outloud. Good one.

By: Bruce Crow

Bruce Crow — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:02:19 +0000

I’m so glad we don’t have any folk medicine today that is worthless, expensive, or perhaps even dangerous.

By: Martin

Martin — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:53:52 +0000

My mom told me that her mother used to put the cod liver oil in her orange juice. She’d complain, saying “Please, I’ll take the oil, but don’t ruin my juice”, but Grandma would say “Oh, you can’t even taste it”. My mom still gets irritated thinking about that.

We may smile at these folk remedies, but it really opened my eyes when the FDA declared all those child cold medicines potentially dangerous from overdoses, and then said they didn’t really work anyway. No wonder parents were giving their kids too much — they were trying to get them to work!

I think the remedies people use has always had more to do with what was being sold than what really works.