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cyclonefence

(4,483 posts)
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 02:02 PM Apr 2020

I dreamed about merthiolate last night

I cut up stuff for salad with an old device called a Feemster slicer, which is a poor woman's mandoline. I hate making (and eating) salads, but my husband feels they are part of a healthy diet, and I love my husband, so I make him salads. This slicer makes it a lot easier.



But of course I slice my thumb on a regular basis, and a couple of days ago I did it again. It was no big deal--shallow but bloody--but it left one of those annoying dead skin flaps. This one was too small for me to bite or cut off. Plus it was sore. I rubbed Neosporin into it, but it still hurt.

In my dream, I kept asking people if they had any merthiolate or gentian violet.

As a kid, those were my preferred antiseptics. Unlike iodine (which is what I ended up painting my thumb with) they didn't sting--gential violet was especially gentle, but my mother hated it because of the stains it left.

When my parents died and the house was being emptied, I was unable to see to it myself. I told my husband and son I wanted everything out of the medicine cabinet, but they thought I was joking. Merthiolate, gentian violet, *paragoric* which is *opium*, cough medicine with *codeine* in it, and "drawing" ointment, which supposedly "drew" infection out of boils and things. It all got thrown away, dammit.

Were there wonderful over-the-counter medicines when you were a kid?

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I dreamed about merthiolate last night (Original Post) cyclonefence Apr 2020 OP
Sulpha powder. Turbineguy Apr 2020 #1
Yes! Yellow caked on your scrapes! n/t cyclonefence Apr 2020 #5
is that the same as B.F.I. powder yellowdogintexas Apr 2020 #80
No idea. Turbineguy Apr 2020 #87
We also kept mercurochrome, Unguentine and Campho Phenique Arkansas Granny Apr 2020 #2
Our knees were always painted orange with the mercurochrome. Laffy Kat Apr 2020 #3
My mom MFM008 Apr 2020 #52
Yup SheltieLover Apr 2020 #53
Mercurochrome cyclonefence Apr 2020 #7
Mercurochrome and merthiolate both came in glass bottles with rubber stoppers with glass rod applica Arkansas Granny Apr 2020 #13
Yep cyclonefence Apr 2020 #15
I remember that bottle so well. Laffy Kat Apr 2020 #59
Imagine deliberately applying mercury to an open wound today! lagomorph777 Apr 2020 #111
I still keep Campho Phenique yellowdogintexas Apr 2020 #82
I don't remember any wonderful medicines. cayugafalls Apr 2020 #4
An early tens unit? SheltieLover Apr 2020 #55
I suppose it could be, but it was a quack device. I found it this morning on the web. cayugafalls Apr 2020 #63
Thanks! SheltieLover Apr 2020 #65
You are welcome! cayugafalls Apr 2020 #66
You, too! SheltieLover Apr 2020 #73
I've seen those go for big bucks to collectors. lagomorph777 Apr 2020 #112
Fletcher's Castoria Cirque du So-What Apr 2020 #6
I *loved* Fletcher's Castoria cyclonefence Apr 2020 #9
Unfortunately, yes Cirque du So-What Apr 2020 #16
My mom would line up all 4 of us for the cod liver oil. LastDemocratInSC Apr 2020 #58
Me too! Backseat Driver Apr 2020 #18
Me too. My parents were big on that when they said I was "cranky." Hoyt Apr 2020 #39
I hated being called "cranky." Harker Apr 2020 #44
LOL, I remember the ads for Flectcher's. Laffy Kat Apr 2020 #60
Caladryl. You can still get it, I think, but I remember going through The Velveteen Ocelot Apr 2020 #8
Measles, too cyclonefence Apr 2020 #10
And chicken pox. The Velveteen Ocelot Apr 2020 #14
CalaMINE, elleng Apr 2020 #20
I think Ocelot is older cyclonefence Apr 2020 #24
Mebbe, but I'm pretty old, elleng Apr 2020 #32
The go to remedy for chiggers. Harker Apr 2020 #45
God yes. Chiggers are vile little beasts that burrow under your yellowdogintexas Apr 2020 #81
We had 'em in East Texas when I was growing up. All the time, it seemed like... CTyankee Apr 2020 #84
I haven't thought of them for 50 years. Harker Apr 2020 #85
Similar but different PennyK Apr 2020 #62
My mom used white shoe polish I_UndergroundPanther Apr 2020 #46
I am now a proponent of triple antibiotic ointment Cirque du So-What Apr 2020 #11
It was bothering me so much cyclonefence Apr 2020 #23
Speaking of super glue... Cirque du So-What Apr 2020 #25
I have some of that cyclonefence Apr 2020 #26
New Skin has been around a while. House of Roberts Apr 2020 #57
My mother Chainfire Apr 2020 #12
"you could enjoy it longer". Yum. yonder Apr 2020 #17
My friend's father swore on blackberry brandy cyclonefence Apr 2020 #22
I have some gentian violet on my big toe right now ms liberty Apr 2020 #19
Whoa cyclonefence Apr 2020 #21
OhhEmmmGeeee! I have never met ANYONE who had ever even heard of it before ms liberty Apr 2020 #35
Oh I remember the wonderful paregoric... Trueblue Texan Apr 2020 #27
Oh, yeah! Ohiogal Apr 2020 #101
Does Pabst blue ribbon count my dad favorite TEB Apr 2020 #28
Well, it wouldn't have a blue ribbon cyclonefence Apr 2020 #31
I just got a new mandolin and it came with kevlar gloves. Buy comradebillyboy Apr 2020 #29
Well, I inherited the Feemster cyclonefence Apr 2020 #33
I've gotten some nasty cuts from mandolins and I was comradebillyboy Apr 2020 #34
Epsom salts for "purgative" purposes and for soaking sprained ankles Glorfindel Apr 2020 #30
Ichthemol...spelling...was what my mother put on a boil and it drew the crud right up! Karadeniz Apr 2020 #36
Did she call it "drawing ointment?" cyclonefence Apr 2020 #37
Black Salve Kimber432 Apr 2020 #97
That's the kind we had! cyclonefence Apr 2020 #98
I still swear by Bactine WestLosAngelesGal Apr 2020 #38
Phisohex Throckmorton Apr 2020 #40
Not on OTC med, but a home concoction my mother loved - milk toast. 3catwoman3 Apr 2020 #41
My mom tried to get me I_UndergroundPanther Apr 2020 #47
I remember my mom and grandmother trying to push that on me a few times. Ohiogal Apr 2020 #103
And so many of them were "Tincture of...." Golden Raisin Apr 2020 #42
My grandmother was an LVN and used to swab my throat TexasBushwhacker Apr 2020 #43
Here in 2020 I use Vicks VapoRub as drawing ointment. It works great, but use only the abqtommy Apr 2020 #48
Elixer terpin hydrate with codeine cyclonefence Apr 2020 #50
My Mom kept a bottle of tincture of iodine in the medicine cabinet csziggy Apr 2020 #49
That's a tough allergy to have cyclonefence Apr 2020 #51
Whatever they gave me for showers before the surgery made me itch csziggy Apr 2020 #61
mercurachrome rampartc Apr 2020 #54
... and where, exactly, do you live, cyclonefence Apr 2020 #67
a few times, long ago, rampartc Apr 2020 #69
REALLY? cyclonefence Apr 2020 #71
the mercury looked wild on those old silver quarters rampartc Apr 2020 #72
Yep, Heavenly Blue cyclonefence Apr 2020 #74
i missed that particular craze rampartc Apr 2020 #78
You must love him very much. Reading your thread was dewsgirl Apr 2020 #56
Fifty years and counting cyclonefence Apr 2020 #68
I heard that Chloroquine disinfects and heals without scars. Trump swears by it. JustABozoOnThisBus Apr 2020 #64
Oh, these salads are meatless cyclonefence Apr 2020 #70
Ha, I prefer beets in my salad. They can hide a lot of blood. nt JustABozoOnThisBus Apr 2020 #75
I'm really slow on the uptake cyclonefence Apr 2020 #90
Hannibal Lecter would have caught the joke. JustABozoOnThisBus Apr 2020 #95
For some reason, Jeffrey Dahmer springs to mind cyclonefence Apr 2020 #96
My dad thought Pepto Bismal could solve anything intestinal Heartstrings Apr 2020 #76
Doesn't this constitute child abuse? cyclonefence Apr 2020 #88
Thinking back, Heartstrings Apr 2020 #110
In the salad? In the salad? In the salad? No! Glad I kept reading. IADEMO2004 Apr 2020 #77
Some kind person suggested Kevlar gloves cyclonefence Apr 2020 #89
My sister has the gloves. I thought merthiolate was going in the salad. Hair on fire!! IADEMO2004 Apr 2020 #107
I remember it well! MountainMama Apr 2020 #79
I was given castor oil once in my life cyclonefence Apr 2020 #91
Sloan's liniment. lpbk2713 Apr 2020 #83
Oil of cloves for a toothache discntnt_irny_srcsm Apr 2020 #86
You must've been one of those rich folks cyclonefence Apr 2020 #93
My wife has always been a voracious reader discntnt_irny_srcsm Apr 2020 #105
I've taken the end off of both thumbs with those darned slicers! Hugin Apr 2020 #92
I just bought some Kevlar gloves--I'll send you one N/T cyclonefence Apr 2020 #94
Watkins vanilla (white) liquid syrup and Coca Cola syrup, milk toast and 7 Up Kimber432 Apr 2020 #99
Coca Cola syrup really does work cyclonefence Apr 2020 #100
Iodine or mercurochrome randr Apr 2020 #102
If it doesn't sting, it doesn't work n/t cyclonefence Apr 2020 #104
General rule of thumb randr Apr 2020 #108
The real wicked stuff was Nitrotan from Kramer. That was like using rubbing alcohol and lighting it brewens Apr 2020 #106
I use tea tree oil WhiteTara Apr 2020 #109

yellowdogintexas

(22,252 posts)
80. is that the same as B.F.I. powder
Tue Apr 7, 2020, 12:12 AM
Apr 2020

which was my mother's answer for everything. That stuff was outstanding for any kind of scrape or abrasion

I don't think it is made anymore

cyclonefence

(4,483 posts)
7. Mercurochrome
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 02:14 PM
Apr 2020

That's the one I really wanted. Merthiolate did sting, but mercurochrome didn't? It's the one with the otherworldly green sheen if you looked at it at the right angle?

My grandfather put Campho-Phenique on his athlete's foot.

yellowdogintexas

(22,252 posts)
82. I still keep Campho Phenique
Tue Apr 7, 2020, 12:17 AM
Apr 2020

it is the only thing that will heal up one of those little annoying splits on the edge of your mouth

cayugafalls

(5,640 posts)
4. I don't remember any wonderful medicines.
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 02:11 PM
Apr 2020

We grew up at my Grandmothers house. She had all sorts of devices and medicines (horrible tasting) for varying afflictions.

I remember waking up with a sore neck one morning and telling my brother. Gram overheard and came after me. She grabbed me and proceeded to use some kind of Tesla Lightning Bolt device on my neck that stung like a thousand bees! Now that I think back on it, the device was rather cool looking, kind of like a glass bong with electric parts in it and Tesla coil in the end of it that was rubbed on your neck.

cayugafalls

(5,640 posts)
63. I suppose it could be, but it was a quack device. I found it this morning on the web.
Mon Apr 6, 2020, 10:39 AM
Apr 2020

Boy my 5 year old memory was off a bit, lol.

I guess I was so shocked I only focused on the part that was zapping me. Called the Violet Ray. More like Violent Ray...



https://www.twotowers.com/

SheltieLover

(57,073 posts)
65. Thanks!
Mon Apr 6, 2020, 11:14 AM
Apr 2020

Interesting!

I am not familiar with this one, but there are devices which operate on the mortal oscillary rate (the presumption in physics that there is a frequency in the presence of which an organism cannot survive; the more complex the organism, of course, the higher the frequency). I have known folks who have cured themselves of lyme, Hep C, cancer, etc. with such devices. (See Barry Lynes book: "The cancer cure that worked: 50 years of Suppression.&quot

Maybe grandma wasn't using quack devices after all. lol

I have to go read up on this. Thx again for sharing!

lagomorph777

(30,613 posts)
112. I've seen those go for big bucks to collectors.
Tue Apr 7, 2020, 02:20 PM
Apr 2020

There are people who specialize in cool quack medical products.

Cirque du So-What

(25,932 posts)
6. Fletcher's Castoria
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 02:13 PM
Apr 2020

I got dosed with this vile concoction occasionally in my early childhood. The memory of its taste makes me want to toss up.

Cirque du So-What

(25,932 posts)
16. Unfortunately, yes
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 02:21 PM
Apr 2020

Makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up thinking about it. Oh, yeah...cod liver oil too. Believe it or not, it also came in mint flavor, which made it even worse.

LastDemocratInSC

(3,647 posts)
58. My mom would line up all 4 of us for the cod liver oil.
Mon Apr 6, 2020, 08:09 AM
Apr 2020

In the kitchen, bottle and spoon in hand, and dose us up.

 

Hoyt

(54,770 posts)
39. Me too. My parents were big on that when they said I was "cranky."
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 06:30 PM
Apr 2020

While it didn’t taste as bad, I was sometimes treated to the painful Salhapatica.

The Velveteen Ocelot

(115,681 posts)
8. Caladryl. You can still get it, I think, but I remember going through
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 02:15 PM
Apr 2020

what seemed like barrels of it every summer from being treated for poison ivy.

The Velveteen Ocelot

(115,681 posts)
14. And chicken pox.
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 02:19 PM
Apr 2020

It helped a little bit until it dried. Then it would flake off and you'd have to apply more, which is probably why we went through so much of it.

cyclonefence

(4,483 posts)
24. I think Ocelot is older
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 05:18 PM
Apr 2020

Caladryl is calamine with Benedryl mixed in, which I think would make it at least a little bit effective on itches.

elleng

(130,882 posts)
32. Mebbe, but I'm pretty old,
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 05:31 PM
Apr 2020

and caladryl wasn't around when I was growing up. Yes, the 'dryl's are effective on itches.

yellowdogintexas

(22,252 posts)
81. God yes. Chiggers are vile little beasts that burrow under your
Tue Apr 7, 2020, 12:15 AM
Apr 2020

skin and leave a bump that itches like crazy.

Recommended treatment is to paint them with nail polish

Harker

(14,015 posts)
85. I haven't thought of them for 50 years.
Tue Apr 7, 2020, 10:37 AM
Apr 2020

Seemed like an issue when I was a child in suburban Chicago in the early sixties.

Moved to CO in '68, and never heard of them since.

I_UndergroundPanther

(12,463 posts)
46. My mom used white shoe polish
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 10:49 PM
Apr 2020

On my face/body when I got poison ivy.

Oh,and icthamol black goo it smelled like an oil tanker.used it for splinters.

Cirque du So-What

(25,932 posts)
11. I am now a proponent of triple antibiotic ointment
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 02:17 PM
Apr 2020

on scratches, scrapes, and cuts. Oh, that flap of skin? I leave it attached as long as possible.

cyclonefence

(4,483 posts)
23. It was bothering me so much
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 05:16 PM
Apr 2020

catching on everything, that if I could have found the super glue I'd have glued it down.

Cirque du So-What

(25,932 posts)
25. Speaking of super glue...
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 05:20 PM
Apr 2020

There’s a product called New Skin Liquid Bandage that is chemically similar to super glue. I keep some on hand for holding cuts together.

cyclonefence

(4,483 posts)
26. I have some of that
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 05:24 PM
Apr 2020

Mine smells suspiciously like fingernail polish.

I took a fall recently and had to go to the ER with a gash in my forehead. I was offered the choice of glue or stitches. I went with glue because I'd already waited four hours (an old lady bleeding profusely from a head wound!) to get treated at all and I didn't want to wait god knows how much longer for the plastic surgeon.

The wound healed fine; the scar is about what I'd expected, but itchy as hell--where's the Caladryl?

House of Roberts

(5,168 posts)
57. New Skin has been around a while.
Mon Apr 6, 2020, 08:07 AM
Apr 2020

I used to use that on my thumb when I had to bowl a lot of games, usually during tournaments. I never lit it on fire like the current pro bowlers do though.

Chainfire

(17,536 posts)
12. My mother
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 02:17 PM
Apr 2020

Always used the stuff that burned like hell. She said that the burning was killing germs. I gotta tell you, I never hated germs that bad.

My mother also believed that magnesia cured everything, so I never let her know I was sick. Not only did we have to take the magnesia for any ailment, she would dilute it with water, to make a glass full, so that you could enjoy it longer.....

My Father, on the other hand thought that Whiskey and cigarettes cured all ailments. He died at age 57.

cyclonefence

(4,483 posts)
22. My friend's father swore on blackberry brandy
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 05:14 PM
Apr 2020

because it would give you the runs and wash all germs out of you.

ms liberty

(8,573 posts)
19. I have some gentian violet on my big toe right now
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 04:51 PM
Apr 2020

I always have some in my medicine cabinet, and just got a new bottle about a month or so ago. I ordered it from a local pharmacy because they didn't have any in stock when I was looking for it, so you should be able to get it. I live in a tiny town in a very rural area of NC, so if I can get it, anybody should be able to, lol!
When we moved to Florida I was only 3 and soon after started being sick almost all the time with a sore throat, from sinus drainage due to severe plant/tree allergies. The doctor my mom used told her to paint my throat with gentian violet when it became raw and inflamed, which was basically all the time til I was an adult. She did, and it worked really well. We had a ritual that I am amused to look back on now fifty some years later...I would get the garbage can and set it next to me under the light in the kitchen, she would have the bottle of gentian violet and two qtips, I'd open my mouth and say ahhh then she would ruthlessly (ruthless is the nicest way to put it!) paint my throat as thoroughly as possible before I gagged to the point of throwing up. It always worked, but I often had purple stains. Maybe two or three times in my life it hasn't worked that I can remember, and it was after she died when I was stuck with doing the whole job myself. It's really hard to do on your own!
So you may not be able to find mecurichrome or merthiolate anymore, but gentian violet is still out there. Also if you're looking for something similar to those, there's some stuff called Red Oil that as far as I know is still available. I haven't had to replace my stock recently but it's a medicine cabinet staple around here in furniture country.

cyclonefence

(4,483 posts)
21. Whoa
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 05:12 PM
Apr 2020

Gentian violet is still available? Thank you thank you thank you! I will order some. It never occurred to me to look for it--I thought it had some dangerous ingredient that took it off the market.

And my mother painted my throat, too!

I'm going to get some and force my husband to paint my throat (chronic sinus infection, lots of drip) and use Q-tips to put some up my nose, too. This is the perfect time to try it because I'm sure to end up with a purple nose until I get the hang of it.

ms liberty

(8,573 posts)
35. OhhEmmmGeeee! I have never met ANYONE who had ever even heard of it before
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 05:35 PM
Apr 2020

I thought I was the only person who had ever done it, and whenever I have told anyone about it they always looked at me like I was crazy. Thank YOU!

Trueblue Texan

(2,429 posts)
27. Oh I remember the wonderful paregoric...
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 05:24 PM
Apr 2020

When you had nausea that just wouldn't go away, that stuff CURED it. Every. Time. My mother had to sign for it at the pharmacy, even back then. So you know it had some strong, EFFECTIVE stuff in it.

Ohiogal

(31,988 posts)
101. Oh, yeah!
Tue Apr 7, 2020, 12:10 PM
Apr 2020

When I was a kid, I had stomach aches an awful lot, and the ONLY thing that got rid of them was paregoric! It tasted awful, I always thought it tasted like gasoline must taste.. But boy, did it do the trick! Only thing that ever worked for me.

comradebillyboy

(10,144 posts)
29. I just got a new mandolin and it came with kevlar gloves. Buy
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 05:28 PM
Apr 2020

a pair and you won't get cut again by your slicer. You could also buy a pretty good mandolin for the price of your Feemster slicer.

cyclonefence

(4,483 posts)
33. Well, I inherited the Feemster
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 05:32 PM
Apr 2020

and I actually do have a mandoline, but it scares me to death. My husband uses it all the time but I'm not going near that guillotine.

I will look for Kevlar gloves, though--thanks for the tip!

comradebillyboy

(10,144 posts)
34. I've gotten some nasty cuts from mandolins and I was
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 05:34 PM
Apr 2020

pleased with how well the gloves work. Happy cooking to you.

Glorfindel

(9,729 posts)
30. Epsom salts for "purgative" purposes and for soaking sprained ankles
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 05:29 PM
Apr 2020

Turpentine for minor scrapes, chiggers, and bee stings. Ah, the good old days!

cyclonefence

(4,483 posts)
37. Did she call it "drawing ointment?"
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 05:39 PM
Apr 2020

and I'm glad to hear it worked. It sounds like magic to me.

I found it at CVS! Ichthammol!

WestLosAngelesGal

(268 posts)
38. I still swear by Bactine
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 06:13 PM
Apr 2020

...and i still use it when I need it. I also take a couple of orange children's aspirin for headaches and chew them up, as in childhood and it seems that kiddie aspirin works better than Tylenol for me.

3catwoman3

(23,975 posts)
41. Not on OTC med, but a home concoction my mother loved - milk toast.
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 07:43 PM
Apr 2020

Utterly vile. White bread with a little bit of butter and sugar, and lots warm milk poured over it. My grandmother used to give it to my mom when she was a kid and not feeling well. She thought it was wonderful, and used to make me eat it when I was sick.

The disgusting soggy texture used to make me gag and feel worse, but she made me eat it anyway because she had liked it. I couldn’t understand why it wasn’t OK for me NOT to like something she liked. Why did my opinion not matter?

Ohiogal

(31,988 posts)
103. I remember my mom and grandmother trying to push that on me a few times.
Tue Apr 7, 2020, 12:14 PM
Apr 2020

Like you said, utterly vile. Gag worthy.

Golden Raisin

(4,608 posts)
42. And so many of them were "Tincture of...."
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 08:37 PM
Apr 2020

This thread is taking me back a LONG way. And I'm remembering all the different blazing colors my "wounds" were painted by Mom. Some stung and some were relatively pain-free.

TexasBushwhacker

(20,184 posts)
43. My grandmother was an LVN and used to swab my throat
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 09:00 PM
Apr 2020

with something in a big blue bottle. It was back in the 60s. I used to get a sore throat all the time. I finally got my tonsils out when I was 12.

abqtommy

(14,118 posts)
48. Here in 2020 I use Vicks VapoRub as drawing ointment. It works great, but use only the
Sun Apr 5, 2020, 11:58 PM
Apr 2020

Vicks brand. I also use Campho Phenique ointment for healing any number of boo-boos. When I was a teen we had codeine cough syrup but Mom had to get rid of it since my Sis got addicted to it... When I was young I was prone to chest problems so was on good terms with Vicks and Ben-Gay. No lung problems as an adult since I started smoking. go figure...

cyclonefence

(4,483 posts)
50. Elixer terpin hydrate with codeine
Mon Apr 6, 2020, 05:34 AM
Apr 2020

A bottle of that sat on the mantle in my bedroom because I coughed so much at night. I loved that stuff. I'm lucky I don't have an addictive personality, but boy that tasted good. That and Fletcher's Castoria. Yum yum.

I don't know whether it calmed my cough or just knocked me out, but it was very effective.

csziggy

(34,136 posts)
49. My Mom kept a bottle of tincture of iodine in the medicine cabinet
Mon Apr 6, 2020, 12:00 AM
Apr 2020

The same one, my entire childhood. Sometime just before I left home for college, I got a bad cut on my finger. Since I hated putting that stuff directly on a cut - it burned like crazy - I put it on the pad of a bandaid and stuck that on.

It itched for a while and the next day when I pulled it off, the skin that had been under the bandaid pad all came off. Now I know that most of the alcohol in the iodine must have evaporated and I ended up with a chemical burn from the concentrated iodine. But for years I refused to use any product containing iodine.

Around horses, Betadine is used a lot for washing around wounds and everytime I used it, all the skin on my hands would peel off. When I told my doctor about both these things, he put down that I am allergic to iodine. It's cause no end of consternation during prep for surgeries! Now I just tell the doctors that so long as it can be washed off soon, I will be OK. I'd rather lose a layer of skin than get an infection from insufficient cleaning for a surgery.

cyclonefence

(4,483 posts)
51. That's a tough allergy to have
Mon Apr 6, 2020, 05:39 AM
Apr 2020

Betadine (which I assume contains iodine) is *the* standard for surgery prep; you're supposed to wash the affected area at home before you even come to the hospital. I guess because you're in charge of how long it stays on your skin you're OK.

They used to sell Band-Aids with the pads pre-treated with iodine, but those were only for the rich.

csziggy

(34,136 posts)
61. Whatever they gave me for showers before the surgery made me itch
Mon Apr 6, 2020, 08:51 AM
Apr 2020

So bad I wanted to rip my skin off. The instructions they had given me was to take a shower and wash with it but NOT rinse it completely off, so once it dried I was miserable. I took a second shower with my normal soap and water. My skin was dry but I didn't itch as much.

I am not actually allergic to iodine - they used it in one of the scans (MRI?) when they were testing to see what was wrong with my heart and I did not react to the dyes. I think I am more allergic to the soap/detergent base Betadine has. I've always been sensitive to those - Ivory gives me hives.

I think those pre-treated Band-Aids were what gave me the idea to put the iodine on the pad.

cyclonefence

(4,483 posts)
71. REALLY?
Mon Apr 6, 2020, 11:53 AM
Apr 2020

I've never heard of that (and this from a woman who--in vain--soaked blue morning glory seeds in water to release their psychotropic qualities). That probably would actually be dangerous if you did it lots.

OTOH, we used to break thermometers to get the mercury out so we could play with it, and I have in my possession a "rocks and minerals" collection that contains--wait for it--a sample of uranium. It's in a drawer in the guest room that I can't get open.

rampartc

(5,407 posts)
72. the mercury looked wild on those old silver quarters
Mon Apr 6, 2020, 12:05 PM
Apr 2020

i must have had that same rock collection.

you need the "heavenly blue" morning glories. we made a tea, with plenty of seeds. but we were young and stupid. i'm sure it is deadly poison.

cyclonefence

(4,483 posts)
74. Yep, Heavenly Blue
Mon Apr 6, 2020, 12:12 PM
Apr 2020

Did you dry banana peels and smoke them? We felt we had been ordered to by Donovan.

cyclonefence

(4,483 posts)
68. Fifty years and counting
Mon Apr 6, 2020, 11:46 AM
Apr 2020

We're saving up for something we both want--a divorce!

Just kidding--one of my favorite Henny Youngman jokes.

JustABozoOnThisBus

(23,339 posts)
64. I heard that Chloroquine disinfects and heals without scars. Trump swears by it.
Mon Apr 6, 2020, 11:13 AM
Apr 2020

Kidding. That stuff'l kill ya.

But really, try making meatless salads instead.



I still have iodine in my medicine cabinet. It still stings, like it used to.

cyclonefence

(4,483 posts)
70. Oh, these salads are meatless
Mon Apr 6, 2020, 11:49 AM
Apr 2020

I sustained my dreadful injury on a radish, the most bloodthirsty of vegetables--how do you think they get that color?

cyclonefence

(4,483 posts)
90. I'm really slow on the uptake
Tue Apr 7, 2020, 11:17 AM
Apr 2020

and I can't blame it on these parlous times.

Meatless salad. I get it now. Good one.

When I was a kid, my aunt told me no one should tell me a joke on Wednesday because I'd disturb the church congregation with my laughter when I "got it" on Sunday.

Heartstrings

(7,349 posts)
76. My dad thought Pepto Bismal could solve anything intestinal
Mon Apr 6, 2020, 02:06 PM
Apr 2020

I gag at the thought of that smell. After a dose of that awful pink crap he’d make milk toast for us to eat....

cyclonefence

(4,483 posts)
88. Doesn't this constitute child abuse?
Tue Apr 7, 2020, 11:12 AM
Apr 2020

I'm gagging in sympathy. Maybe it was a plot to encourage not to complain of being sick? I mean, if you knew this was waiting for you, I bet you'd think twice about "I have a stomach ache--I can't go to school!"

Heartstrings

(7,349 posts)
110. Thinking back,
Tue Apr 7, 2020, 02:16 PM
Apr 2020

I can remember my dad eating that damn milk toast....and Alkaline Seltzer was his evening cocktail after dinner. Maybe it was mom’s cooking? 🤷🏻?♀️

IADEMO2004

(5,554 posts)
77. In the salad? In the salad? In the salad? No! Glad I kept reading.
Mon Apr 6, 2020, 02:10 PM
Apr 2020

You appear to be a regular person with life experience similar to mine. LOL

MountainMama

(237 posts)
79. I remember it well!
Mon Apr 6, 2020, 07:51 PM
Apr 2020

Merthiolate--my mom would put it on all wounds. "If it's burning, that means it's working" and I still say that to myself when some medicine burns my skin/throat.

Any one use Petro Carbo? That was one of Mom's weapons, too. I found it at Cracker Barrel. It's a drawing salve/first aid salve and it works.

My dad would threaten us with castor oil. We had some in the bathroom medicine cabinet and so I decided to see if it was bad as Mom said it was.

It was.

cyclonefence

(4,483 posts)
91. I was given castor oil once in my life
Tue Apr 7, 2020, 11:18 AM
Apr 2020

My mother must've been punishing me for something. Something real bad.

lpbk2713

(42,757 posts)
83. Sloan's liniment.
Tue Apr 7, 2020, 12:22 AM
Apr 2020


It had an image of a guy with a bushy mustache on the label.
It was supposed to be for sore muscles and such as I recall.

cyclonefence

(4,483 posts)
93. You must've been one of those rich folks
Tue Apr 7, 2020, 11:22 AM
Apr 2020

We were given a clove to bite for as long as we could keep it in our mouths.

BTW I was wondering where the word "clove" came from, and it's based on a French word for "nail"--isn't that cool?

discntnt_irny_srcsm

(18,479 posts)
105. My wife has always been a voracious reader
Tue Apr 7, 2020, 12:18 PM
Apr 2020

She read oil of clove in a natural remedy book.
We didn't actually have any cloves in the house.

Hugin

(33,135 posts)
92. I've taken the end off of both thumbs with those darned slicers!
Tue Apr 7, 2020, 11:20 AM
Apr 2020

I have dandy crescent scars on the tip of each.

I did it the first time in my teens using a slicer my Mom had... Then, a decade later, She bought me one!

I think I used it once with the tip-ical (sic) result. (I almost passed out after that slice )

If anyone wants a retro slicer, I have a like new one. Still in the box. Cheap!

Kimber432

(74 posts)
99. Watkins vanilla (white) liquid syrup and Coca Cola syrup, milk toast and 7 Up
Tue Apr 7, 2020, 11:57 AM
Apr 2020

I can't remember what these were given for and I don't remember who made the Coca Cola syrup but it tasted exactly like a thick room temp Coca Cola. For stomach problems, milk toast and 7 Up were given. Not Sprite or any other drink - only 7 Up.

cyclonefence

(4,483 posts)
100. Coca Cola syrup really does work
Tue Apr 7, 2020, 12:03 PM
Apr 2020

to settle an upset stomach. Since it's not carbonated, it doesn't make you throw up from the pressure of the bubbles.

I have some Watkins vanilla, but it's not white. I had a friend who drank vanilla extract all the time, but he did it because he was an alcoholic.

brewens

(13,582 posts)
106. The real wicked stuff was Nitrotan from Kramer. That was like using rubbing alcohol and lighting it
Tue Apr 7, 2020, 12:37 PM
Apr 2020

on fire. Sports teams used that and Tuf-skin made by those guys, which was almost as bad. But if you had what we called a "strawberry" scrape and hit it with Nitrotan, once you stopped screaming, you were good to go.

WhiteTara

(29,704 posts)
109. I use tea tree oil
Tue Apr 7, 2020, 01:51 PM
Apr 2020

It doesn't sting and has some real antiseptic, antibiotic, antifungal properties. It is one of the main ingredients in my medicine kit.

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