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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsI 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?
Turbineguy
(37,322 posts)when you fell and skinned your knee rollerskating.
cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)yellowdogintexas
(22,252 posts)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
Turbineguy
(37,322 posts)I think this stuff was left over from WWII.
Arkansas Granny
(31,515 posts)Laffy Kat
(16,377 posts)Memories of childhood.
Welded that stuff with a vengence.
She had my dad afraid of it.
SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)LOL
cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)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.
Arkansas Granny
(31,515 posts)cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)And I think they both stung less than iodine. You had to blow blow blow on iodine!
Laffy Kat
(16,377 posts)lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)yellowdogintexas
(22,252 posts)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)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.
SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)Fascinating! What did she call it?
cayugafalls
(5,640 posts)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)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."
Maybe grandma wasn't using quack devices after all. lol
I have to go read up on this. Thx again for sharing!
cayugafalls
(5,640 posts)Stay well.
SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)There are people who specialize in cool quack medical products.
Cirque du So-What
(25,932 posts)I got dosed with this vile concoction occasionally in my early childhood. The memory of its taste makes me want to toss up.
cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)Did you ever have straight castor oil?
Cirque du So-What
(25,932 posts)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)In the kitchen, bottle and spoon in hand, and dose us up.
Backseat Driver
(4,392 posts)Hoyt
(54,770 posts)While it didnt taste as bad, I was sometimes treated to the painful Salhapatica.
Harker
(14,015 posts)It made me... cranky.
Laffy Kat
(16,377 posts)Was it for childhood constipation?
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,681 posts)what seemed like barrels of it every summer from being treated for poison ivy.
cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)Didn't do a damn thing, as I recall.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,681 posts)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.
elleng
(130,882 posts)the 'dryl' stuff came in LATER! (I'm obviously older than you, Ocelot!)
cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)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)and caladryl wasn't around when I was growing up. Yes, the 'dryl's are effective on itches.
Harker
(14,015 posts)Are chiggers a real thing? I'll have to look it up...
yellowdogintexas
(22,252 posts)skin and leave a bump that itches like crazy.
Recommended treatment is to paint them with nail polish
CTyankee
(63,911 posts)Harker
(14,015 posts)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.
PennyK
(2,302 posts)We had Caladryl, which i think has Benadryl added.
I_UndergroundPanther
(12,463 posts)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)on scratches, scrapes, and cuts. Oh, that flap of skin? I leave it attached as long as possible.
cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)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)Theres 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)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)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)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.
yonder
(9,664 posts)cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)because it would give you the runs and wash all germs out of you.
ms liberty
(8,573 posts)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)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)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)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)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.
TEB
(12,841 posts)cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)unless it was the best. So yes indeed!
comradebillyboy
(10,144 posts)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)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)pleased with how well the gloves work. Happy cooking to you.
Glorfindel
(9,729 posts)Turpentine for minor scrapes, chiggers, and bee stings. Ah, the good old days!
Karadeniz
(22,513 posts)cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)and I'm glad to hear it worked. It sounds like magic to me.
I found it at CVS! Ichthammol!
Kimber432
(74 posts)Prid! In the orange and black tin. It's a drawing salve, great for splinters.
cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)And I welcomed it to avoid having my mother dig at splinters with a needle!
WestLosAngelesGal
(268 posts)...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.
Throckmorton
(3,579 posts)My mother was devoted to it. Made prescription only in the early 70"s.
3catwoman3
(23,975 posts)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 couldnt understand why it wasnt OK for me NOT to like something she liked. Why did my opinion not matter?
I_UndergroundPanther
(12,463 posts)To eat it,however she made it with cornbread and buttermilk..eewww.
Ohiogal
(31,988 posts)Like you said, utterly vile. Gag worthy.
Golden Raisin
(4,608 posts)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)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)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)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)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)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)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.
rampartc
(5,407 posts)and i still have my grandmother's little bottle of paregoric.
cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)and do you have an alarm system?
rampartc
(5,407 posts)i soaked a joint in the stuff (nit the mercurichrome). not bad.
cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)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)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)Did you dry banana peels and smoke them? We felt we had been ordered to by Donovan.
rampartc
(5,407 posts)but this trip down memory lane has been a blast!
dewsgirl
(14,961 posts)physically painful, I literally cringed.😉
cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)We're saving up for something we both want--a divorce!
Just kidding--one of my favorite Henny Youngman jokes.
JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,339 posts)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)I sustained my dreadful injury on a radish, the most bloodthirsty of vegetables--how do you think they get that color?
JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,339 posts)cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)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.
JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,339 posts)"I'm having an old friend for dinner."
cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)I wonder if he invited his victims "out to eat?"
Heartstrings
(7,349 posts)I gag at the thought of that smell. After a dose of that awful pink crap hed make milk toast for us to eat....
cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)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)I can remember my dad eating that damn milk toast....and Alkaline Seltzer was his evening cocktail after dinner. Maybe it was moms cooking? 🤷🏻?♀️
IADEMO2004
(5,554 posts)You appear to be a regular person with life experience similar to mine. LOL
cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)and I ordered a set yesterday. So no more thumb garnish.
IADEMO2004
(5,554 posts)MountainMama
(237 posts)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)My mother must've been punishing me for something. Something real bad.
lpbk2713
(42,757 posts)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.
discntnt_irny_srcsm
(18,479 posts)cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)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)She read oil of clove in a natural remedy book.
We didn't actually have any cloves in the house.
Hugin
(33,135 posts)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!
cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)Kimber432
(74 posts)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)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.
randr
(12,412 posts)Neosporin has never worked for me. In fact it prolongs the healing.
cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)randr
(12,412 posts)brewens
(13,582 posts)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)It doesn't sting and has some real antiseptic, antibiotic, antifungal properties. It is one of the main ingredients in my medicine kit.