There were many old cures for coughs. One of these involved making a hole through a lemon and filling it with honey. The lemon was then roasted and the juice collected and given to the patient. Another involved cutting a hole with brown sugar. This was left overnight and the juice given to the patient.
Many herbal drinks were recommended. An infusion of coltsfoot leaves sweetened with honey was recommended, as was a syrup made from boiling coltsfoot leaves and an equal amount of plantain leaves with an equal amount of honey. In another remedy involving coltsfoot leaves, they were boiled with garlic in water and had brown sugar added.
Dried sage, vinegar and honey formed the basis of another remedial drink, as did dried sage, ginger, brown sugar and water. Butter, honey, and vinegar were mixed and heated to form another cure, and hyssop, hartshorn, almond oil, sugar and water were mixed to make yet another. An infusion of horehound, marshmallow leaves, hyssop, mullein and ground coriander was also used.
A less readily available cure involved mixing the juice of leeks with the breast milk of a nursing mother. A distinctly less acceptable old cure in involved the boiling of two or three snails in barley water.
Sponsored Links: