Home Remedies from Great-Grandma's 'Doctoring" Book

When my mother passed away in 2005 my two brothers and I worked together to close out her home and pack away her belongings.

While in the process of cleaning out the attic I came across an old trunk which I had never before seen. It soon became obvious that this trunk contained items which had belonged my great-grandmother and which my mother had kept as favorite memories of her.

One of these items was an old, partially decayed, cloth bound journal which someone (my great grandmother or her predecessor) had labeled "Doctoring Book".

The journal originally contained 100 blank pages, but over many years entries had been made to document recipes and remedies for treating various illnesses and medical emergencies, which at the time were always treated at home. Some of the more interesting/amusing remedies included the following:

note:
(I have only corrected mispellings when I felt they were unreadable.)

Page 11 - Muskeeter Bites: Mix 4 spoons of baking soda in 1/4 cup of water. Make paste. Spread on bite.

Page 12 - Muskeeter Bites and Bee Stings: Tear off 1/2 plug of tobacker (tobacco) and soak in 1/2 cup of water. When good and wet, place tobacker on sting area.

Page 31 - To Treat Flu: - Bile (boil) tea kettle of water. In one cup of hot water add one spoon of lemon juice, one spoon of brown sugar, two spoons of honey and two spoons of brandy. Drink while hot 4 times a day.

Page 14 - Chest Cold: - Into pot containing two quarts of water add two cups of chopped green onions, six spoons of salt, one spoon of black pepper pods and one potato cut in quarters. Cook til potatoes are soft. Sip soup while hot 4 times a day.

Page 25 - Chicken Pox: - Make poultice of baking soda and water. Pad onto face and let dry. Do not rub or scratch pox.....(This entry includes a note that the local mid wife also suggests hat anyone suffering from "the Chicken Pox' should lie down in front of the chicken coop and let the chickens walk over him/her to prevent scars from pock marks.)

Page 16 - Sneezing Cold: - Mix one spoon of chopped red (cayenne?) pepper into one cup of boiling water. After cooling add one spoon of this soup to one glass of water and drink 4 times a day.