Health Care

My great-grandmother didn’t have a home.  She had three adult children and therefore spent four months of each year in each of their homes.  My uncle told me about how all of her earthly possessions were stored in a very large trunk that she transported by train as she moved from one home to the next.  He and my dad were always charged with going to the train station in order to carry the heavy trunk to their house and then, four months later carrying it back to the train so that she could move to the next place.

Uncle Norm also told me other interesting stories.  For example, when he was sick, his grandmother would cut a vest shape out of brown paper.  After covering his back and chest with a thick layer of goose grease she would rub the vest onto his body.  He was firmly instructed to not touch the vest or try to pick at the corners until the grease dried and the vest fell off by itself.  My thoughts are that this was maybe just a good way to keep him in bed until his body was able to fight his germs!

Mustard plasters were also common in the past. My mother was told by a nurse when I was a baby to put Vicks gel into a Kleenex and squeeze it every time she passed my crib as a treatment for colds.  No prescriptions or vaporizers.

My dad would make us a hot toddy of lemon, honey and boiling water.  Sometimes he would put a little rum into it.  He then had us drink it quickly and not get out from under the bed covers until the next morning.  Cured!  In one day!

I have a book of home remedies that promote the use of herbs and common-sense.  Things that were used effectively for decades.

Recently, I have re-discovered the value of castor oil which has been used for centuries by cultures throughout the world with miraculous results.  Even though the bottle states not to take it internally, there are so many videos on YouTube that promote its effectiveness for skin care, constipation, female issues, and relief of pain. 

Now I am a psychologist, which means that I do not have training or license to act like a Family Physician, but I do have a personal life in which I have learned simple methods to be and stay well.  We are all responsible for our own choices and sometimes we don’t make very good ones.

I think that it is sad to see hospital and medical clinic waiting rooms that are filled with coughing patients who are hoping for a miracle prescription to fix their ailments.  Perhaps, if they had focused more on self-care, they wouldn’t have become so desperate for professional help.  And maybe, going to bed to rest while taking in lots of water would be a more natural way to regain health.  Less strain on our medical system and on the individuals involved.

Just saying….