What’s in your medicine cabinet?

[Bibbyman]

We didn't have a medicine cabinet that I can remember when I was a kid.  Somewhere in a cupboard drawer was a few items that served many uses.  One major item was Watkin's Salve.  It was used on everything from bee stings, cuts, stained joints, burns, etc.  When we didn't have that,  we had Vaseline.  But it was a poor substitute. 

For colds and congestion of all types, Vick's Vapor Rub was the product of choice.  I hated that stuff.  Many a winter night Mom rubbed that junk on my chest and throat.  If I complained too loud,  I'd get some on my upper lip and nose too.

We had Band-Aids from time to time but I remember more often just having a rag tied around the wound.  When nothing else was available,  we just let the dowg lick it.

'Corse now we have many more items in our medicine cabinet.  In fact,   a couple of cabinets full of "stuff" – mostly stuff that we don't use and not "stuff" we need.  Like the other day I was looking for some topical antibacterial cream and large band aids to doctor a boil on my back.  None were to be found.  Yet the cabinet was full of cold aids, antacids, allergy relief tablets, pain relievers of many types, ear drops, etc.

One thing hasn't changed.  Mary has chronic sinus problems and she swears by Vick's Vapor Rub.  I go to bed about 100 nights out of the year next to her all "doctored up".  Did I already say I hate the stuff?  As she doctors the girls,  she often "Vick's" them up too.  They protest and make faces just like I did.  I feel a little sorry for them but then I have a little mean streak that thinks it's funny.

[SwampDonkey]

I have a cupboard section for medicine in my wash room. There are Rawleigh salves that have been around since time began I think. There is camphor oil, Isopropal rubbing alcohol (only used to remove ink off laminated photos), antibacterial, band aids, epsom salts (I don't know if I ever used it), respirators, and pain relievers. I gotta throw about 80 % of it in the trash. :D

We had camphor rubbing oil, Rawleigh camphor salve or Vicks for colds, was never any good that I could see. Just a greasy stink'n mess. For sinus the best treatment I ever had was with laying on the side of the bed with my head over the side, took the head ache away or reduced it and a Tylenol sinus tablet. And I would take an expectorant for chest congestion. Ibuprofen for muscle or sciatic nerve aches (had two attacks). Even a large first aid kit out in the closet.

I rarely get sick, don't hang around in crowds to catch stuff.  ;D

[faronskid]

The best thing I have found for my sinuses isn't a medicine at all.  It is a little water pitcher called a nedi pot.  You mix salt water in it and put the spout in your nose and tilt your head sideways over a sink. The water flows into your nostril and fills your sinus cavities with salt water flushing everything out and it comes out the other nostril.  It is really not as bad as it sounds. It always relieves my sinus headaches.  I'm sure it would work quite well for cleaning out sawdust too.

[Dave Shepard]

Growing up we didn't have much in the medicine cabinet either, still don't, as a matter of fact. Don't recall ever having band-aids, that's for sure.

Growing up we had a friend of the family that came around every week to visit for a bit after playing pitch at the town hall. He was a Watkins dealer. He had been doing it so long, people just called him "Watkins". At our house, he was known as Harry. Neither was his real name. :D We used to have a tin of salve around somewhere, but haven't seen it lately.


Dave

[beenthere]

Did ya ever hear of loading it with ball bearings just before a party....then listen for who opens the medicine cabinet door to peek?    ;D ;D ;D

[sawguy21]

Oh, you bad man :D :D :D. Mostly band aids here, shop cloths and duct tape for the more serious stuff.

[Bibbyman]

Growing up we had a friend of the family that came around every week to visit for a bit after playing pitch at the town hall. He was a Watkins dealer.


Dave

I remember our Watkin's dealer coming around about once a month.  Mom also bought cooking stuff from him like vanilla and food coloring and maybe few other items. 

One thing for sure I remember is some hair tonic she bought to "train" my hair.  The stuff made your hair an instant crash helmet once it dried.  You could be caught up and a class four tornado and a week later they find your body in Illinois but your hair would still be in place!  I think they later removed something from it and it became Super Glue.

[John Bartley]

Our medicine cabinet has some 99% rubbing alcohol, a small bottle of pain killing tablets, some bandages, a bit of Ozonol salve, a tub of Zincofax (Zinc ointment for diaper rash) (sp?)  and .... nothing else. I watched so many people get into the routine of disguising what their bodies were trying to tell them that I decided many years ago that it wasn't for me. Now I'm no hero who can stand tons of pain, but I believe that there are better, "less chemical" ways of dealing with illnesses and pain. When I hurt, I try to reason "why?" and then stop doing that thing. I don't get sick ... I dress well, I eat well (not a lot, but good food), I stay clean (shower every day) and I try to get at least 7-8 hours of bed time (not always sleep) each day.

I rarely need the medicine chest ... and I sympathise very much with those who have bad fortune and do need it.

cheers eh?

PS : the Zincofax is what I use to help cuts heal - it's the best ointment for cuts that I have ever seen.

[Bill Johnson]

Well, ours has aspirin, bandaids, watkins salve, watkins medicated ointment, buckley's cough medicine (the commericals are dead on for this one  :D :D) and thankfully not too much else.

[thecfarm]

We had the Raleigh dealer stop in to our house when I was growing up.No Bag Balm yet?We have a couple bags of cough drops.Don't want to be clearing my throat on Sunday morning in church.Cough syrup to keep me from coughing all night and keeping the wife awake.Band aids are there too.

[slipshod]

Want to hear something crazy? Vick's works better if you put it on your feet. Rub the stuff into your feet, put on a pair of cotton socks and go to bed. Don't know why but it works. We keep shale oil black salve in our medicine cabinet, draws out them splinters that you can not find. Not much else I use epsom salts in a tub of bath water once in a while if the bride nags me.

[ohsoloco]

I keep most of the "medicine" like ibuprophen, cold medicine, etc. in the kitchen, probably cuz my mom used to keep it there.  In the medicine cabinet in the bathroom I always keep band aids, neosporin, peroxide, tweezers, vaseline, and rubbing alcohol.  One thing about the rubbing alcohol....I heard the 70% stuff is more effective at sanitizing because it doesn't evaporate as quickly as the 90-some % stuff  :P  I like to keep gauze pads and medical tape in the house for big cuts as well.

A few weeks ago I sliced my finger open when I was outside.  I put a band aid on it, an then put on work gloves, but when I was splitting firewood the band aid came off, and some dirt got into the slice.  Not wanting to dig it out, I went and put some peroxide on it.  It fizzed up as soon as it hit the cut, and I could see the dirt coming up with the bubbles and getting washed away    I always put peroxide on cuts before the antibiotic ointment and band aid.

[blueox]

Faronskid

I agree with the Netti Pot. I saw this on Oprah a few weeks ago. I went out a baught one for my daughter. She has suffered with a "snotty" nose her whole life. We have figured it to be food allergies and have taken lots of different foods out of her diet thru out her life. We even let a darn doctor take her adnoids out....it never made a difference to her stuffed up nose...and thick mucous.

At 15 years old, she used a netti pot for the first time. We all stood in the bathroom watching in awe as her sinus's were completely drained thru her other nostril....when she was done, I asked her to breathe...it was the best sound!! I haven't heard her breathe like that for 15 years. She told me it was the first time she could remember ever having that sensation of breathing clearly!

THE NETTI POT IS A LIFE SAVER!! She uses it almost daily. As a matter of fact, all her friends want to use it when they come over!!