Hilda's diary of a Cape housekeeper

HOME REMEDIES App. poultice of bread-and-water, or linseed-meal, and sprinkle on it a teaspoonful of finely-powdered vegetable charcoal. Cover with thin muslin, and apply the charcoal side to the affected part. Cough Mixture (for a cough from a cold). — 2 tablespoonfuls of grated horse-radish. I bottle of brandy. ^ lb. brown sugar-candy. I tablespoonful of dried buchu leaves. ^ lb. dried figs sliced thinly. Put all these ingredients in a glass jar, screw up the stopper, leave standing for a week, shaking and stirring occasionally. Dose : half a wineglass three times a day. Excellent for a consumptive cough. Cure for Toothache. — Mix cocaine 6o grains, i teaspoonful tincture of opium, and bottle. A tiny piece of cotton-wool steeped in this and put in the cavity of the aching tooth will give instant relief. All such powerful applications should be kept locked up, and measured out by some person, not the patient. Overdose of Laudanum, etc. — In case of an overdose of laudanum or opium or alcohol, immediately administer an emetic of mustard-and-water, and above all keep the patient awake and in motion, slapping him with wet towels and trotting him up and down the room till a doctor can be had. For soothing Irritation of the Eyes after grit or dust has blown into them. — Put a drop of castor-oil on a feather into the eyes every hour until relieved. Eye-wash. — An ounce of boracic acid dissolved in a quart of boiling water applied morning and evening makes an excellent eye-wash. Very soothing. App. ' HOME REMEDIES For Hoarseness. — An infusion of eucalyptus or blue gumleaves slightly bruised and covered with boiling water, put into a jug, and inhaled by the patient, is excellent. Eucalyptus oil is very generally used now instead of the leaves. A few drops on a lump of sugar are good to eat for any chest affection. For Hoarseness in Children. — Blue-gum leaves fried in buck-fat or goat-lard, with a little turpentine to soften it, rubbed into the chest, or applied on a linen rag as a plaster, is excellent. Jaundice. — The yellow flowers of the wild hemp, known at the Cape as “ Dacha,” Cannabis sativa (the leaves of which plant used to be dried and smoked by the natives), made into a tea and taken three times a day, is most efficacious. Kidney Tonic. — Take a pinch of dried buchu leaves, make as you would ordinary tea, and take three times a day. This infusion is also very efficacious for any inflammation of the bladder or kidneys, and also for indigestion. For Mustard Linseed Poultice. — Take i teaspoonful of mustard, i tablespoonful linseed ; mix smoothly with boiling water, and spread thinly with a knife on linen rag, folding up the edges all round ; keep on from ten to twenty minutes, putting handkerchief next skin. A friend says, “ Mrs. R uses common mustard out of the pot, and spreads it on paper with muslin or linen over, as a rough-and-ready plaster.” The ready-made sinapine mustard or linseed leaves, to be got at any chemist’s, are well worth keeping in the house ; and being in boxes keep very well. Damp surface and put handkerchief between it and skin. Mustard Plaster.— To be applied in cases of pleurisy, HOME REMEDIES App. bronchitis, and deep-seated pains, and to stop severe vomiting. Apply to the chest and top of stomach. Ingredients — I tablespoonful of mustard. I tablespoonful of flour, or more according to the size required.