Dad would put his head over a bowl of steaming water and cover his head with a towel. This was for a cold I think but don't know what was in the water. It had a smell to it.

I believe they used Friars Balsam to inhale in the steam.
I had a nasty accident doing that one day.

I was a few days off my 13th birthday, and Mum had made this bowl of steaming stuff for my cold and bunged up nose.
I had the towel over my head, and when I had finished, I pulled the towel back not knowing it was under the edge of the bowl - until it was too late.
I pulled the bowl of scalding water into my lap.

I remember screaming, and Mum rushing in and pulling my thick woolly stockings off, and seeing my skin come off with them!
Luckily it missed my 'privates' - phew - but I was burned down one thigh from my knicker leg almost down to my knee.
Dad had to come home from work to take me to hospital.
Luckily, I was only left with a scar about 1" big, and even that has faded now.

I never used that darn stuff again.

I still carry old fashioned smelling salts, great to perk a person up should they feel faint or even clear a blocked nose when you have a cold. Kids cringe when I get them out I can't think of anyone actually enjoys that smell.

Honey and lemon for a cough or sore throat is a favourite too
None of those harsh chemical tablets that knock you out here.

Friar’s Balsam had an unforgettable smell, didn’t it ... it would get through any blocked nose

That must have been an awful experience for you Mups, and future smells of the balsam would bring back a constant memory for life

A cough medicine one can no longer purchase, but which I found very effective on several occasions, - Tincture of Morphine and Ipicacuana.

A cough medicine one can no longer purchase, but which I found very effective on several occasions, - Tincture of Morphine and Ipicacuana.

Yes, it was pretty awful Mags.
Do you remember years ago when girls used to wear those big frothy brightly coloured stiff net petticoats? Well I was given a bright orange sparkly one for my 13th birthday, and I remember being really upset because I couldn't wear it, as all the layers of stiff netting scratched my poor legs.

I was frightened of anything hot, even an iron, for ages afterwards.