Don't misunderstand me, I love modern medicine. I love dental, optical, general, and specialized medicine. I adore the chemical solutions to some of my more memorable migraines. I’ve found however that a home off the beaten path sometimes leads to minor injuries (we won’t count that ax incident) that need a small, quick fix. Enter grandma’s old folk remedies!
Consider that there is a fireplace, stove, and oven which has generated a few minor burns, then there are blackberry bushes which have backward thorns - you have to move into the plant before it will release you (and then you’re in the middle of the plant… Hmmm, that worked well!), then the insect bites! Arrrgh! The insect bites!
The generally well-known first aid medicines work for about 5 minutes after they were applied but then I was in agony again. I began to reconsider the old-style poultice idea that grandpa swore by. I started with the old soap and sugar drawing salve (recipe here: http://www.homeherbals.com/soap--sugar-poultice.html). Despite having such a wonderful recipe (being the modern, non-homesteading type) I went online and bought the commercial equivalent.
The spikes on the blackberry brambles never stood a chance against my favorite (commercial) baking soda-powered product…
Of course now there’s the bug bites… 15 years living here and all I have come up with is to wear mosquito repellent and stay away from bugs.
