I have a cold and so this post is about …. Regency Remedies from my 1815 New Family Receipt Book.
General Rules for The Preservation of Health
1. Avoid, as much as possible, living near Church Yards.
check!
2. Valuable concise Rules for preserving health in Winter.
a. Keep the feet from wet.
check!
b. avoid too plentiful meals.
uh oh…
c. drink moderately warm and generous, but not inflaming liquors.
OK, this confuses me a little but I’m going to assume that my morning coffee overdose fits the bill.
d. Go not abroad without breakfast.
Hmm. I have my cereal when I get to work…
e. Shun the night air as you would the Plague.
I am indoors right now!
f. Let your house be kept from damps by warm fires.
I’m counting the AC. Is a fire ever anything but warm? I guess he means a fire big enough to warm the room.
Preventive of autumnal Rheumatisms
For the sake of bright and polished stoves, do not, when the weather is cold, refrain from making fires. There is not a more useful document for health to the inhabitants of this climate, than “Follow your feelings.”
I was baffled by this for some time. I finally realized this means, don’t avoid making fires because you want to keep your stove bright and polished.
I always follow my feelings, so SCORE!
Does anyone one else think the author worked on this and finally said, What the hell else can I say about not getting antumnal rheumatisms? oh fuck it. Follow your feelings!
My feelings right now are, how soon before the cold meds kick in?
So sorry you’re not feeling well. I’ve been fighting something over here too.
Buchan’s DOMESTIC MEDICINE (1785) says “THE patient ought to lie longer than usual a-bed…” If that doesn’t work you could try leeches.
I DID lie longer than usual a-bed. Thank for the leech suggestion. Really.
Hi Carolyn, it’s no fun being sick! When I was having a cold as a child my grandmother would make me tomato soup, she claimed it would help. Tasted great and if gran is looking after you, you’ll soon be feeling better 😉 Any luck yet with the Jane Austen tin?? Or has the search been postponed due to your illness… Hope you will get better soon!! Try some tomato soup, you’ll never know if it will help 🙂
Thanks! I have an alternate prize picked out for you. Not as awesome as the tats, but unfortunately, when I bought them, I bought all the stock they had, which wasn’t much.
You need Welsh magic soup, once the prerogative of the Druids.
Chicken broth, it is, simply pieces of chicken together with a chopped onion and a carrot [and a leek if you wish], all simmered together. The greasier, the more good it will do you.
You can add a squeeze of lemon juice just before you drink this.
I would be all over Welsh magic soup. If only there were a Druid to make it for me.
The lemon juice sounds like a great idea.
I will, however, omit the carrot, as once they are cooked, I despise them. If that diminishes the magic part, then I’ll leave them in but not eat them.
My Creek grandmother made us drink actual willow bark tea. She shaved the bark off the tree and put it in an infuser like tea leaves. It worked!
My Mom swears by chicken noodle soup, Ritz crackers and ginger ale – no matter what the ailment.
For rheumatisms I recommend having a 65 pound basset hound sleep on the aching joint. I don’t know if it is the weight or the heat, but it helps. Don’t worry about falling too deeply asleep. The basset’s snoring will keep you awake.
Wow. How did that tea taste, Louisa? Was it bitter?
See above in re Welsh magic soup. Ritz crackers sounds like a fine addition.
No bassett hound at the, but there is a 50 lb mutt. I think that will work.