Useless Remedies.

Having tried all the cold and flu commercial remedies over the years I found them all to be completely useless, there's no need to name them, you see them advertised every winter. With a bad cold or flu the only thing you can do is stay indoors and warm with hot drinks and let it take it's course, at least that's what I do although everyone has their own ways of dealing with it, when I was a kid and complained about minor ailments I would ask my grandmother what was the best thing for it, "Keep it until it gets better." Cheeky but sound advice.
Fortunes are made from people buying these useless remedies, my wife was taking lemsips by the six pack, for all the good they did. Hot whiskey lemon and cloves helps me but she won't touch whiskey. I quote from Agatha Christie about patent medicines. "The triumph of advertising over good medical sense." It seems we have been fooled for centuries and are still being fooled.

Re: Useless Remedies.

Totally agree with you .... although I have found night nurse quiet good , enough to dry you up so you can breath and fall asleep for a while

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My dad used to swear by a bowl of hot boiled onions before going to bed and then sweat it out overnight. Strangely enough, he always seemed better the next day!

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My mum use to put half an onion in our beds when we had colds and yes .... I do remember feeling better the next day , although I have never tried as an adult but then i dont often get colds any more

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Jem as a child I had a daily dose of Angier's Emulsion , are you telling me I went through all that for nothing

I also had Virol and syrup of figs which I loved and cod liver oil which I would rather forget


Does anyone remember Angiers junior aspirin they tasted like sweeties.

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Strangely enough the humble Onion does seems to have healing powers - so your Mum had the right Idea Nobaggage ..here an article about its powers
http://everydayeinstein.quickanddirt...hty-onion.aspx

AND

http://www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.co...in-onions.html

Re: Useless Remedies.

Jem as a child I had a daily dose of Angier's Emulsion , are you telling me I went through all that for nothing.

Serves you right for drinking paint, we use Emulsion on the house walls.

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I have a really bad cold right now which I collected from the woman sitting next to me on a train for three hours. I actually find that cold and flu tablets do help - they don't cure it of course but they do dry up the gunk and clear your nose which means I can sleep till it goes away of its own accord.

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My grandmother had the cure for all childhood ills - a spoonful of brandy in milk. Always worked.

When I lived in the UK briefly in the mid 1970s with toddlers, when they were poorly we used a medicine called "Collis Browns Mixture" (I think that was right) freely available from the chemist and which worked wonderfully. When we returned to Australia it was confiscated at customs as it contained only one ingredient Tincture of Opium. It obviously worked so well by zonking out the kids.

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I agree that these cold remedies are useless. I don't often get colds but when I do I just let nature take it's course. My own antibodies are far superior to cough mixtures.