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I’m visiting my parents, so naturally if I feel ill I must turn to the apothecary products that have lurked in their cupboard since I graduated high school. Growing up, there was no ailment that could not be remedied by a swift and hearty administration of Vicks VapoRub and a shot of Pepto-Bismol. Surely, within days of being home, I felt ill; I suspected the very ferric water was not being completely reformed by the stealthy Brita, so it was in the spirit of nostalgia and also, to a degree, desperation, that I called upon the curative powers of the Bis. It was not as comforting as I remembered, so I began to wonder how on earth people might have attempted to improve upon the base, chalky taste (i.e. Bismuth subsalicylate) that renders Pepto-Bismol the over-the-counter equivalent of a milquetoast. Of course, as we’ve covered before, we all know about the wonderful world of Pepto-Bismol ice cream, but I was hoping that wasn’t the end of the line…
So I found a PB cocktail recipe…
After Hours
Ingredients
1 oz Pepto-Bismol
2 oz Creme de Menthe
I also found several sites that recommended trying a Pepto-Bismol facial to “help seal the fate of cold sores.”
Has anyone else committed variations on a theme of Bismol? If not, did your parents raise you with any go-to remedies (a la Vicks & PB), strange or otherwise?
Comments (22)
Comment
As a young parent, I found that the quickest way to cure the pains of diaper rash was to coat the affected area with Mallox. Within hours the rash was gone.
posted by Jeff on 6-29-2007 at 3:18 pm
Half a teaspoon of baking soda mixed in with a cup of water is the best stomach remedy ever.
posted by jenny on 6-29-2007 at 3:24 pm
i agree with the baking soda and water. plus, if you do end up vomiting, you have neutralized some of the stomach acid thereby making the experience slightly less yucky.
posted by mri on 6-29-2007 at 5:24 pm
baking soda and chamomile tea. the taste, horrible. it will cure headaches, nausea, upset stomach…
posted by al on 6-29-2007 at 5:24 pm
Maalox gargle for cankersores.
As for pepto, not sure if anything could improve it. The chalkiness from the bismuth and the sort-of-wintergreen from the salicylate can’t be masked by ANYTHING.
posted by lleachie on 6-29-2007 at 5:35 pm
You know what? I kinda like the taste of Pepto…
As for familial remidies, my favorite comes from my great-grandmother. When I feel like I have a cold or sore throat coming one, I hole up at home and drink hot totties all evening. Hot tea, honey, lemon, and a splash of whiskey. Down a couple and then go sleep 10-12 hours. Works like a charm, and tastes much better than NyQuil.
posted by Tina on 6-29-2007 at 8:25 pm
Does anyone remember Paragoric? This was Grandma’s favorite remedy for everything from nausea to diarrhea. It never worked, especially not for nausea. The taste alone was enough to make us vomit. My understanding, however, was that this was the cure-all “back in the day”. At least, according to Grandma.
posted by Niki on 6-29-2007 at 11:23 pm
I remember Paragoric. I think my mom used to mix it with Coke, and it was still nasty. Of course, I grew up in Georgia, so Coca-Cola syrup was used as a remedy quite often, too.
I did hate those Pepto-Bismol pills, though. Pink triangular things. The icky chalk taste would remain in your mouth for hours, which was NOT pleasant when you’re not feeling well to begin with. It did work most of the time, though.
posted by Sandy on 6-30-2007 at 8:30 am
And if you want to drink something alcoholic that tastes like medicine, Jaegermeister is the way to go. But I digress. You know how when you say the word “tequila” to people and they’ll roll their eyes and begin to tell you this long, sordid tale of something awful that happened because they had imbibed too much tequila? I have that story, except mine’s with Jaeger.
I don’t drink Jaegermeister anymore. But I bet it cures anything!
posted by Sandy on 6-30-2007 at 8:34 am
Jaegermeister tastes like Vick’s Formula 44. When I say that to people who are under the age of 30 they say “Vick’s what?”
posted by Tdave on 7-1-2007 at 5:23 am
When I was little we had an old bottle of Paragoric. It wasn’t sold anymore because it was either banned or limited to “prescription only” because it was basically liquid Opium.
posted by Tdave on 7-1-2007 at 5:45 am
Jaegermeister… that brings back some memories of waking up with no memory, it was actually invented as a cure all type medicine, from wiki:
The company was founded in 1878 by Wilhelm Mast. In 1934, the recipe for the herbal liquor was developed, and the product was introduced to the German market in 1935. The original purpose of this concoction was medicinal; being used to cure everything from an incessant cough to digestive problems. In Germany, it is still widely recognized as a digestif and is kept in many German households for such purposes, sometimes being irreverently called Leberkleber, or “liver-glue.”
‘Hmm, let granny get you some of her good ol’ liver glue’
posted by soops on 7-1-2007 at 2:15 pm
My great-grandmother, who passed away three month’s shy of her 100th birthday with all her facilaties intact, used to administer coal oil (or failing availability, turpentine) and honey in equal amounts, usually a teaspoon of each. This was a remedy for croup, colds, constipation, and I can’t remember what else.
Didn’t kill her nor did it kill me… although I do not currently use it.
BTW: it tasted AWFUL!!
Never saw Pepto in our house when I was a kid, although I occasionally use it for disorders best not discussed in a public forum.
Vicks salve is WONDERFUL! Cures anything…
Doc
posted by Doc on 7-1-2007 at 7:16 pm
My friend swears that by chewing raw garlic you can cure any sore throat or iritated gums. I can’t personally attest to that since I tend to go to the doc for any ailment that lasts more than a few days.
posted by Scott on 7-2-2007 at 7:49 am
A guy I work with learned this while in Poland:
To cure nausia, fill a shot glass with vodka, sprinkle with black pepper until it approximately covers the surface of the liquid, and slam it down. He claims it works great — even has used it to calm his stomach after food poisoning.
posted by EV on 7-2-2007 at 8:01 am
I believe Tequila has antiviral properties. I once was invited to a going away party for a close friend. Unfortunately I was coming down with a cold. So, originally I was only going to show up for an hour and say my goodbyes and leave. But at the party they had a bottle of good Tequila, the kind you sip not chug down. I had a few… about 6 shots worth and somehow made it home. Woke up the next morning headachey and slow. I had my usual handover remedy, greasy breakfast at Denny’s, plenty of coffee and water, 2 aspirin and crawled back into bed. I woke up in the late afternoon, with no sign of the cold. Weird.
I agree about Jaegermeister = Vick’s Formula 44.
To this day I won’t drink Jaeger, and the taste is just part of it. I once had a really untruthful unfaithful unreliable alcoholic girlfriend. In the end she drank my whole bar dry, leaving me with only a bottle of Jaeger in the refrigerator. If I remember right she stole the bottle from one of her other paramours
posted by israphael on 7-2-2007 at 9:44 am
If you’re looking for a cure to nausea, peppermint can’t be beat. Suck on a peppermint candy, chew a piece of peppermint gum, anything, and your stomach will settle within minutes. My husband came across this remedy after a terrible bout of the stomach flu…
Supposedly it also works for heartburn, acid reflux, IBS, morning sickness, destressing, belching, bloating, relieving cold symptoms, may relieve headaches, and will keep you alert if you’re starting to drag. Have a peppermint candy as an afternoon snack and it will satisfy your need to munch. Peppermint is also packed with antioxidants. We always keep peppermint candies in our home now.
posted by KG on 7-2-2007 at 10:25 am
The donut place done the street from me used to make Pepto-bismol donuts and Nyquil donuts, but this was apparently violating drug laws, so they are no more.
posted by natlynn on 7-2-2007 at 5:38 pm
The donut place done the street from me used to make Pepto-bismol donuts and Nyquil donuts, but this was apparently violating drug laws, so they are no more.
posted by natlynn on 7-2-2007 at 5:38 pm
My favorite home remedy? Whoppers for hiccups. Yup.
And I truly can’t imagine eating a Nyquil donut. When I was 12(?) I was sick and my parents gave me liquid Nyquil. It was right back out within five seconds… all over the carpet. My mom stood in the doorway laughing at me. I take the capsule things now.
posted by Pointy-Hatted Geek on 7-2-2007 at 6:47 pm
I was dragged to a party last night, with a really bad sore throat. Long story short, after one shot of Jagermeister, my sore throat was gone. It lasted about 2 hours, but worked better than any spray, lozenge or gargling on salt water. Another thing that may seem weird is cayenne pepper and warm water. It made my mouth burn a little but my sore throat was a lot better.
posted by Terence on 1-13-2008 at 11:40 am
I am happy to hear someone else has heard of the pepper/vodka remedy. I have chronic acid reflux and learned of this remedy in Poland from family. It is, I can verify the best remedy. It acts instantly but the vodka needs to be quite thick with pepper. 1/3 or so shot of vodka with 1 teaspoon or so black pepper seems to be quite enough. I am, however, looking for any knowledge of lasting effects of prolonged use. And any understanding of how this remedy works??? Anyway it’s a better remedy than pepto, tums, alka seltzer, prilosec, nexium, licorice tea, fennel seed, papaya, mint and whatever else I’ve tried over the years. And it even out performs the Zantac that I have become dependent on.
Oh and on the cayenne pepper front, put as much as you can stand in a glass of hot water with a bit of lemon and some sweetener, all to taste, to ward off colds in winter. That works too. This remedy comes from ayurveda.
posted by Mnewyork on 2-19-2008 at 10:14 pm