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becoming madame, France, French, french culture, french style, health, healthy living, Life in Paris, Paris, paris life, shopping
I had a cold over the holidays and my mother-in-law acted as my nurse. Thank heavens she did!
Rather than handing over a medicine cabinet full of pills and medications, she gave me gold and silver and copper. To swallow! I’m not kidding.
Once more my fascination was peeked when I looked at her over my swollen red nose and watering eyes as she described her family remedy for the seasonal cold. She told me that nowadays too many people take antibiotics and medications, a fact I was already exposed to from my days living in North America. “Modern people”, in her opinion, “today’s generation” as she calls us, don’t know how to care for ourselves without the help of man-made chemicals. She made it her business to educate me on the rich knowledge of herbal and homeopathic remedies that she sees disappearing as younger generations accept Pharmaceutical companies’ benevolent promises. She said her family has been curing and caring for themselves in the following ways for centuries (!) and she believes it’s quite a shame that all this practical knowledge is being lost or overlooked. She wanted me to know her methods so that her grandchildren will be properly care for. 🙂
I hope I don’t let her down! Here’s a good start.
Very old French family remedies for common illnesses: (These are available to buy ready-made at French pharmacies.)
Sore throat: Olbus – inhaler made of eucalyptus oil; lozenges of mint and eucalyptus. Hot water toddy of lemon, honey, white vinegar (for adults a dash of rum or Cognac).
- Dissoluble Vitamin C in a glass of water.
- Chicken broth made by boiling a whole chicken down for a few hours, add a few chopped carrots, an onion, a chopped up leek leaf, a few celery sticks, and a little salt. When the chicken starts to come off the bones, drain broth into bowl, serve to your sick one. (You can then add more water to the chicken and veggies and make a fabulous chicken soup/stew, add a few potatoes and don’t forget to strain to remove the bones.)
- Five large glasses of water a day.
- And stay in bed. Until I moved to France, if I had a cold I would take an aspirin and cough and sniffle and sneeze my way through the week. The French confine themselves to bed for a day or two, cover themselves with blankets and sweat it out.
Diarrhea/upset stomach: Coal (Whaaat? I know. I had the same reaction. But it works wonders; it also turns your teeth temporarily black, so brush after use.) In France, the name of the products is Cardox or Formocarbine. The newer products are made so that you don’t have the black teeth problem. (There is something to say for modern advances!) 🙂
Constipation: glycerin suppositories
Migraines: Cobalt tablets, peppermint oil rubbed on temples or affected area.
Here’s the kicker – Anti-fatigue regime:
At each change of season or when you are feeling particularly fatigued or stressed, take a 1 month treatment of gold, silver and copper. In the old days when my mother-in-law was young her nurse-maid would make up a batch of this remedy. Nowadays you can buy it at the Pharmacy as Oilgosol.
The regime is simple: For example, eight drops of the gold, silver, copper mixture in a glass of water each Sunday. Eight drops of manganese and cobalt on Mondays and Thursdays, and eight drops of magnesium on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Continue for a month.
On a more general note, the French seem to have many more dissoluble tablets as remedies than North Americans. Vitamin C, as mentioned above, as well as Efferalgan, a type of Ibuprofen, which works on fever, headache and chills are both typically available in dissoluble form.
I was taken aback when I first heard talk of these “heavy-metals” used as remedies and health boosters. But then I took a look at my 97 year-old grandmother-in-law and the picture of her 104 year- old husband and I paused. Perhaps they have a point. Perhaps all our new medical science overlooks, at times, the simplest remedies which have proved themselves for centuries.
A quick look on Google, and you’ll find quite a bit of scientific research that supports the idea that gold has medicinal uses.
Nevertheless, please don’t try these remedies without your doctor’s or a medical professionals’ advice. I am not a doctor and can only give anecdotal evidence of their effectiveness. But I remain intrigued, definitely intrigued.
If you have any family remedies in your family, I’d love to hear about them!
bluebirdsunshine said:
Fascinating post. I love the French pharmacies. I always pick up a load of dissoluble 1000mg aspirin when I’m there. One of those before bed when I’ve had one glass too many of red wine always helps the hangover the next day.
Have you found the metals help you at all?
Becoming Madame said:
I started the regime of Oilgosol last week and even though it continues for a month I’m already feeling more energetic! The problem with this sort of thing is that you never know if it’s your mind (placebo effect) or if it really makes a difference. My mother in law and her 97 year old mother swear by it, though. I suppose the proof is in the pudding, so to speak. Thanks for dropping by!
Kimby said:
This was a fascinating glimpse into your family remedies. I agree — a common sense approach is better than reaching for the next new “wonder drug.”
veronique savoye said:
Bonjour. I am a new Follower and have enjoyed this post. Being French, I grew up in a family who always had a well-stocked “armoire a pharmacie” in the bathroom (the French are notorious hypocondriacs 😉 Even though my parents do not believe in homeopathy and other natural ways of self medicating, many people in the rest of my family do. My sister in law is currently studying to become an acupuncturist, and she uses mostly uses homeopathic remedies when her children are sick. My approach to the common cold: A couple of Efferalgan dissoluble tablets a day (glad you mentioned those.) Stay in bed and sweat it out. The French way I guess. All my French visitors are asked to help re-stock my Efferalgan inventory when they fly over. The stuff is amazing (especially the Vitamin C version.) Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)
Becoming Madame said:
Thanks so much for stopping by! So great to have someone who is in the exact reverse situation! I second you on the Efferalgan! The stuff is a miracle. All my best for 2012!!
promenadeplantings said:
Fascinating!
istmena said:
This is a great list of remedies, love it!
T Hollis said:
Brilliant woman! Listen to her! And stay in bed rather than going out and infecting the rest of the world with your cold. :0)
Amy said:
How interesting! I actually used hot toddies to cure my recent cold for the first time, and I was well again much sooner than usual. I have never heard about using gold, silver, copper, coal, etc. though. How luxurious!
denisetinparis said:
Bonjour Madame!
Thank you for stopping by my blog a while back. I intend to follow yours as it is full of informative and honest observations from all facets of life. Love it!! Keep it up.
crumpetkitchen said:
My grandmother, originally from Salon-de-Provence, swore by the hot toddy, although as she ended her days in Ireland her version was lemon, honey, and whisky – with or without the hot water! Since alcohol plays havoc with my congested head, I leave it out – but yes, this combination of hot water, lemon and honey, plus a dose of aspirin or ibuprofen on the side, is effectively the same thing as those over-the-counter cold remedies. And a whole lot better tasting!
Thanks for dropping by on the soup recipe. I’ve just come out of a weekend hiding out with the flu – hot lemon and honey to hand, making soups from market vegetables… just the thing!
Bonne continuation !
Becoming Madame said:
I love to hear other people’s stories about how life used to be, back when made so much more for ourselves and bought so much less. Thanks for sharing!! Take care.
Peggy Tee said:
Growing up in Asia, we would swallow tiny little coal tablets for an upset stomach, and headaches would be cured with LOTS of water, and gentle temple massage with nutmeg oil (also used for stomach cramps). We also used eucalyptus oil (or Vicks) to clear blocked noses. Much prefer more natural remedies to taking medicines – I usually only take antibiotics if infection has set in. While my partner was living in Rome, he also encountered the homeopathic medicines that Europeans tend to favour and which we prefer.
Peggy Tee said:
PS – love your chicken soup recipe. I throw in some whole garlic cloves (just fish them out before serving) as well, in the belief that garlic is good for the immune system. You can’t taste it, promise!
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