Mountain Folk Remedies: The Foxfire Americana Library (9) by Edited by Foxfire Students Page B

copperas and put it in a little metal lid (like a snuff can top) and set it on the hot stove. Let that copperas burn till it makes ashes. Pour honey into the copperas and work that up together. Dip that feather mop into that mixture and mop out the throat; three moppings and the diphtheria was gone. I had diphtheria and they used it on me. I have used it on my kids for real bad tonsillitis or any kind of tonsil trouble.
    F LORA Y OUNGBLOOD
Diphtheria, Prevention of
    Put a lump of asafetida in a small muslin bag. Put a string on the bag and tie it around your neck so that the bag rests against chest.
    E LIZABETH E NDLER
Dysentery
    Boil plantain leaves (
not
the roots) and drink the tea often. This will cure dysentery.
    Also, a tea made from dried strawberry or blackberry leaves will stop dysentery.
    A MY T RAMMELL
    Drink strong, sweetened tea; then eat five ounces of any good solid cheese with bread. Everyone knows that cheese is binding.
    D IANE F ORBES
    Daddy used soot off the back of the chimney for dysentery (just as for diarrhea). Put it in a glass of water and stir it up good. Then let it set until the soot settles, and then just drink the water.
    F LORA Y OUNGBLOOD
Earache
    Blow smoke from rabbit tobacco in the ear.
    A MY T RAMMELL
    Take the good meat out of a walnut. Put it into a rag and beat it up. Then dip this into warm water. Afterwards, squeeze the excess water and walnut oil into the ear.
    W ILMA B EASLEY
    Boil pennyroyal. Pour the tea into a pitcher and put a cloth over the pitcher. Put your ear on the cloth.
    V ON W ATTS
    Put one block of camphor gum into a half pint to a pint of whiskey. Let it dissolve and add more camphor gum and let the mixture set idle. Rub it into the ear thoroughly. Use a lot. It will draw the poison out.
    C LELAND O WENS
    Use warm Vicks salve. Put it on a cotton ball and place that in the ear.
    G ENELIA S INGLETON
    Put a drop or two of warm castor oil in the ear.
    A NONYMOUS
Eye Trouble
    Take a medicine dropper and drop warm salty water right in the corner of the eye. Hold your eye wide open and just let that salty water drain down through it. It burned a little bit. That’s good for something in your eye, or the sore eye or a scratched place on the eye.
    F LORA Y OUNGBLOOD
Fever
    Teas made from boneset, or from the roots of butterfly weed, or from wild horsemint, or from feverweed are all good for colds, flu, and fevers.
    A MY T RAMMELL
    Boil half a cup of wall ink vine leaves to a quart of water. Give two teaspoons three times a day.
    L AURA P ATTON
    A tea made of rabbit tobacco will break a fever.
    A MANDA T URPIN
    Pull up poor john (feverweed), making sure to get roots. Put roots, leaves and all in pan with water and boil. Strain. Add sugar to taste and drink.
    D OROTHY B ECK
    Take several bulbs of garlic and wrap them in a cloth. Take a hammer and just beat them up. Tie the cloth around both wrists right where the pulse is. The fever will come down in maybe thirty-five or forty minutes. Back when the kids was all little I did things like that.
    F LORA Y OUNGBLOOD
Fingernail—Puncture
    Dampen a wool rag with turpentine. Heat the rag and tie around the puncture.
    A NONYMOUS
Fingernail—Smashed
    If we got our fingernail smashed or cracked, or you know, torn in any way, we would take a little elm tree bark. We’d peel off the inside of the bark and bind it to the fingernail.
    F LORA Y OUNGBLOOD
    Put wet chewing tobacco on it.
    A NONYMOUS
Fretful Child
    For a baby that’s squalling, take some ’sang root [ginseng] and put it in a saucer. Pour a little hot water on it and give the baby two teaspoons of that. In a few minutes it is all over.
    H ARV R EID
    Take a level teaspoonful of sugar and a drop of turpentine according to the age. If it is a little bitty baby, use about one drop of turpentine. Make that up in a little bit of water and give to him. It’ll just quieten down. I’ve done that many, many, many of a time.
    F LORA Y OUNGBLOOD
Frostbite
    Just go to the spring and get