Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society
History Quarterly Digital Archives

Source: October 1990 Volume 28 Number 4, Pages 125–132

The Kitchen Cupboard Pharmacy

Club Members

• Sources

Page 125

[It should be noted at the outset that the various remedies described in this article are presented for historical interest only. In no way should their presentation be considred a recommendation or endorsement for their use.]

Until relatively recently, the mother or homemaker in the family frequently was also the family physician, particularly in rural areas where doctors were not readily available. In addition to her other household activities, she took care of the family's various illnesses and ailments. Many of the remedies she used had been handed down from mother to daughter for several generations; others were gleaned from farmers' almanacs or household almanacs.

Before "over-the-counter" drugs and preparations became so available, the kitchen cupboard often also served as the family's medicine chest.

A kitchen cupboard staple used as a remedy for several different ailments was baking soda, or bicarbonate of soda.

Perhaps its most common medicinal use was to provide relief for an upset stomach or heartburn. A half teaspoonful of baking soda in a tumbler of water was drunk down to alleviate the discomfort, with the cure repeated every two or three hours or so, if necessary, until the "tummy-ache" disappeared. Sometimes a few drops of peppermint or spearmint were added, not only to make it more palatable but also to make it more effective.

Page 126

(Mint was also used to give relief to persons suffering from a nervous headache or dizziness, and as a cure for seasickness.)

Baking soda was also mixed with water and made into a paste that was applied externally to relieve the itch and swelling of a bee sting or insect bite. In a poultice with oatmeal and goose grease, it was also used to soothe the pain or itch of sunburn or other first degree burns.

Before toothpaste was a common commodity, baking soda was also used as a dentifrice, and was particularly effective in removing tobacco stains. (In fact, just recently a new brand of toothpaste, advertised as containing baking soda, has been introduced!)

Another product used for a variety of medicinal purposes was vinegar, especially a vinegar made from apple cider.

It was used to relieve a migraine headache. One method of application was to soak a coarse brown paper in vinegar and then place it on the forehead, meanwhile bathing the eyelids gently with cold water.

A solution of equal parts of vinegar and water was used as a gargle for a sore throat. Sometimes honey or lemon juice were added, and sometimes salt or a small amount of red or black pepper.

Externally, vinegar was also applied to the sore spots to cure ringworm, impetigo, and other skin infections. Equal parts of vinegar and water were also applied externally to soothe the irritation of poison ivy or poison oak. Undiluted, it was applied to burns.

Vinegar was also used as a linament to relieve shingles or lameness. In a solution of one part honey, two parts vinegar, and three parts water, it was also applied to relieve arthritic pains and muscular cramps.

To reduce the swelling of a sprain or strain, a poultice made from one cup of corn meal, cooked in enough vinegar to make a mush which was then spread on a cotton cloth, was placed on the swollen area. An alternate method of application was to bring plain vinegar to a boil, and then pour it into a brown paper bag, with the soaked sack then placed on the sprain and covered with a towel.

Vinegar was also used to remove corns. A quarter of a cup of strong vinegar was mixed with bread crumbs to make a poultice which was put on the corn before retiring for the night. In the morning the soreness would be gone, and the corn could be picked right out. To remove a wart, a drop of vinegar was put on the wart and then covered with as much baking soda as could be piled on; if the cure was repeated several times a day, in three days the wart would be gone.

Page 127

Finally, a teaspoonful of vinegar, sometimes with sugar added, was a popular cure for the hiccoughs. Table salt was another standby sometimes taken from the kitchen cupboard to be used for medicinal purposes.

A teaspoonful of salt in solution in a glass of water, in its own right and without vinegar, was used as a gargle to relieve the rawness of a sore throat.

A hot salt bath was also recommended as a remedy for an earache.

Similarly, a bag of hot salt was placed over a strained joint to allay the pain and discomfort and to help reduce the swelling. A bag of hot salt was also used simply to soothe aches and stiffness.

A warm mild salt solution also made a good eyewash.

Honey alone was also a handy household remedy when someone complained of a sore throat; a spoonful was swallowed to provide relief. Sometimes a bit of lemon juice was also added.

Chewing a honey comb was also a means of relieving the discomfort of a hay fever victim, while a spoonful of honey in a cup of hot tea provided a mild sedative to induce sleep.

It has also been reported that honey was sometimes used on burns.

The juice of a lemon, in addition to its use with vinegar or honey to soothe a sore throat or cough, was also used externally to cure ringworm and similar skin disorders. A solution of one part lemon juice and three parts water was used to bathe the inflicted area.

The onion was also used for medicinal as well as culinary purposes.

It too was used to relieve coughs or asthma: a thin slice from an onion was covered with honey and left overnight, forming a syrup that was then used as a cough remedy. To provide relief, a teaspoonful of this syrup was taken three or four times a day.

A large white onion, peeled and then eaten like an apple, was also considered a cure for pneumonia or the flu. For an earache, the heart of an onion was heated and then applied to the aching ear.

An onion with salt was also considered a remedy for snake bite, though many advocated that it be taken with considerable amounts of whiskey or brandy to be fully effective.

A somewhat unusual home remedy was one in which an onion was used to break a fever. The onion was simply placed on the soles of the feet; when it turned black, according to those who advocated this cure, the fever was broken.

Page 128

While chicken soup is the traditional folk medicine that "worketh wonders" for a cold, it is just one of the many pantry products that were used to cure the common cold. (It has been suggested the use of these various remedies would clear up a cold in a week, while otherwise "it would take seven days.")

Among the products used as a cure for a cold was borax. One use was to take a pinch of borax and sniff it up the nose, like snuff. Others made a solution of a tablespoon of borax in a pint of water, to be sniffed at a tepid temperature two or three times a day. (A weak solution of salt and water, sniffed from the hollow of the hand, was sometimes used instead of a borax solution.)

A solution of garlic in water was also used to treat a cold or "respiratory catarrh". Garlic was also used to prevent colds: a piece of garlic worn around the neck was alleged to ward off and kill germs, including those spreading a cold. To the extent that it warded off people carrying cold germs, it was probably effective! (Garlic was also alleged to give strength to the heart, and was also sometimes used to alleviate gas pains in the digestive system.)

Mustard was another condiment used to treat colds. A number of us can remember still the dreaded mustard plaster or poultice made from mustard that was put on our chests as a cure for a chest cold or bronchitis. A hot mustard foot bath was a less stringent use of mustard to combat a cold or chill.

Corn meal mush, in addition to its use with vinegar in a poultice for sprains, was used to make a poultice for chest colds or pneumonia. It was spread over a cloth large enough to cover the whole chest and applied to the chest as hot as could be without burning the patient. To keep the mush from sticking to the chest, it was covered with lard before the poultice was applied.

Applications of goose grease were another popular remedy for bronchitis. It was applied by rubbing the patient's chest with a flannel rag soaked in goose grease and turpentine, after which the chest was covered with another flannel cloth before the patient was put to bed, with lots of bed covers.

Turpentine alone was also sometimes used to combat a chest cold. A hot flannel rag, soaked in boiling water and then wrung out and sprinkled (some say saturated) with turpentine, would be placed on the patient's chest to effect the cure. Another, and more unusual, application of turpentine to counteract chills or fevers was to take the string from a flour sack, dip it in turpentine, and then tie it around the patient's waist.

Page 129

(Turpentine, poured over cuts or wounds, was also widely used as an antiseptic, particularly to prevent lockjaw or tetanus. Some people advocated first sprinkling sugar on the wound and then adding a few drops of turpentine. )

A somewhat milder household remedy used for colds was tea, taken not only during the worst of the cold but also, mixed with milk, making a cambricte a during recovery.

Tea was also used to relieve other ailments. A cloth soaked in cold tea was applied as a soothing compress on burns, and for irritating and itching skin disorders.

Similar compresses were used to cure pink-eye or conjunctivitis. (In more recent times, an old used tea bag has served the same purpose.) A poultice of fresh tea leaves, moistened with water, was also recommended as a cure for a stye on the eyelid.

Kerosene was another standard ingredient in several home remedies.

A few drops of kerosene in a teaspoonful of sugar was commonly used as a cough syrup, while a sore throat would be painted with kerosene, applied with a swab that often was made simply by wrapping some cotton around a pencil or small stick.

Like turpentine, kerosene was also applied to cuts or wounds as an antiseptic and to prevent infection.

Another kitchen product used for various ailments was bread. As noted earlier, bread crumbs were used with vinegar to make a poultice to remove corns. Bread was also made into a poultice to relieve burns, or put on infected cuts or scrapes as an antiseptic to "draw out" the infection.

Similarly, to draw out a splinter, some families used a poultice of bread and milk; sometimes meat fat, a dash of salt, or the membrane lining of an egg shell were also added.

A poultice of bread and milk was also used to bring an ingrown hair to the surface so that it could be removed.

Eggs were also a part of the homemaker's stock of remedies.

Another method of curing an ingrown hair or boil was to apply the skin or membrane peeled from a hard-boiled egg to the boil: it was said to bring it to a head and alleviate the soreness within a few hours.

The white of an egg, beaten stiff with lemon juice and sugar into a meringue and taken a teaspoonful at a time, was also recommended for a sore throat or hoarseness.

Page 130

And if you are wondering what to do with the egg yolk, it was used to take the sting out of an insect bite: with salt stirred into it, it was made into a thin paste that was put over the bite and inflamed area.

For another remedy to relieve itching skin or bites, a potato was taken from the potato bin. Cut in half, the raw potato was rubbed against the itching area to provide relief.

In a similar manner, a potato was used to cure warts. After cutting a piece off the end, the potato was simply rubbed against the wart to make it disappear. If more than one application was needed, a slice was cut from the potato each time before the potato was used again. (In a more ritualistic application it was believed that the cure would be effective only if used when the moon was on the rise, and that after rubbing the potato on the wart it was buried under the eaves, with no one to be told of the entire happening.)

Mashed potatoes were also used as a poultice to soothe aches and pains, and to draw out ingrown hairs.

Cucumbers were similarly cut in half and used externally to alleviate the pains of gout or rheumatism, and to reduce inflammation.

They were also taken internally as a diuretic.

A dose of sulfur and molasses was a traditional "spring tonic" to cure spring fever and counteract the lassitude that had developed during the less-active winter months. To be effective however, according to some, it had to be taken on three successive days, .

Stewed rhubarb or "pie-plant" was another tried-and-true antidote for spring fever, and used as a tonic "to cleanse the blood". It was also an effective laxative.

A number of different spices were taken from the kitchen cupboard (or from the herb garden) for medicinal purposes.

Cinnamon, for example, in solution in water, was used to alleviate nausea and to prevent vomiting. It was also relied upon to cure diarrhea.

Oil of cinnamon was also used as an antiseptic for minor cuts, wounds, or scrapes, and on bee stings. When used on stings, only a drop or two, applied with a small splinter or piece of straw, was needed to provide the desired relief; a more liberal dose would cause blisters.

Page 131

Oil of cloves too was used to relieve nausea. It was also a standby for use in case of a toothache. (If oil of cloves was not available, the pain of a toothache was sometimes alleviated simply by chewing on a clove.)

A teaspoonful of ground cloves and cream of tartar, mixed well in molasses and taken three times a day, was another remedy for chills and fevers.

Ginger was also relied upon to relieve stomach cramps, worms, and nausea, and as a laxative, as well as to cure a sore throat or to dissipate excess phlegm.

A little ginger or red pepper in hot water or hot tea was also used to stop the hiccoughs.

Caraway seeds, boiled in water, were given to babies and infants to cure the colic.

And grated horse radish was often applied in cases of neuralgia: if parts of the head were affected it was applied to the temples; if the pain was in the arms or shoulders, it was applied at the wrists. Some also believed that an application of horse radish to the wrists would ease the discomfort of a toothache.

Meats were also used for various ailments.

As noted earlier, meat fat, especially salt pork, was an ingredient of a poultice used to draw out a splinter. It was also used to bring a boil to a head: the sore spot would be covered for several hours with a poultice of fat back, after which the head of the boil could be picked out with a needle.

Old bacon, stitched to a piece of flannel cloth and blackened with pepper, was used in another cure for a sore throat. After the cloth had been prepared, it was warmed up and secured around the patient's neck, to be worn until the soreness and irritation disappeared.

To reduce the swelling and discoloration of a black eye or "shiner", a piece of beef steak was placed on the eye. It was equally effective when put on bruises on other parts of the body. (Fortunately, many families did their own butchering - otherwise, at today's prices, it would be an expensive cure!)

Beef steak was also applied to "draw the poison out" of a snake bite.

A piece of beef was also used to cure warts. After being soaked in vinegar for twenty-four hours it was shaved into very thin slices, which were bound over the wart. If the application was renewed for three or four days, the cure was effected. The same application was also said to cure corns.

Page 132

Butter was also a handy salve for use on burns, to keep the air from aggravating the pain. Lard could also be used for the same purpose.

And, finally, when necessary corn starch could be taken from the kitchen cupboard to be used to provide relief for a baby's diaper rash, or to give relief from prickly heat or similar skin irritations.

These are some of the many ways in which the kitchen cupboard also became the medicine chest for many families. But while the homemaker had these products on hand to meet emergencies as they arose, she obviously much preferred to avoid any need for their use.

To insure this, one other item was often taken from her larder, in the belief that the proverbial apple a day kept the doctor away. [Note 1]

Sources

Most of these remedies were recalled by various club members, among them (in alphabetical order) Jean Bellamy, Aileen Collins, Elizabeth Goshorn, Bob Goshorn, Lloyd Magi 11, Janet Malin (who contributed a number of them), Tom Pugh, and Anne Slaymaker. There may also have been a few others that we missed in the confusion of our discussion; if so, our apologies.

A few were garnered from books on folk medicine (though most of the books on the subject deal for the most part with the use of herbs), among them:

W.W. Bauer : Potions, Remedies & Old Wives' Tales Garden City, N.Y..: Doubleday & Co. 1969

D.C. Jarvis: Folk Medicine, A Vermont Doctor's Guide to Good Health New York, N.Y. : Henry Holt & Co. 1958

Michelle Morriss : Health Secrets of Medicinal Herbs New York, N.Y. : Arco Publishing, Inc. 1981

Carol Ann Rinzler : The Dictionary of Medicinal Folklore New York, N.Y. : Thomas Y. Crowe 11 1979

Elmer L. Smith : Early American Home Remedies Lebanon, Pa. : Applied Arts Publishers 1968

1. "If eaten frequently at breakfast, with coarse bread and butter, with no meat or flesh of any kind, it [an apple] has an admirable effect on the general system, often removinq constipation, correcting acidities, and cooling off febrile conditions more effectively than the most approved medicines. Leibic says they prevent debility, strengthen disgestion, correct the put refaction tendencies of nitrogenous foods, avert scurvy, and probably maintain and strengthen the power of productive labor." [The Farmers' Almanac for the Year 1869]