Maria Loewen's Home Remedies
My grandmother’s small ledger-style book contained both recipes and home remedies. Due to fading, some home remedies appear incomplete. The reader will have to make his/her own conclusions on what ingredients may be missing. Regardless, these remedies reflect the reality of life in Russia for my grandparents, and those of many others who did not have easy access to the health care that we take for granted today.
Maria (Eitzen) Loewen
The following home remedies are a direct translation of the remedies as my grandmother had entered them in the book.
1. Gallstones
Morning and Evening take a full teaspoon of purified almond extract and white oak Tea and drink
2. Poisoning
If one eats or drinks poisoned food, immediately give the casualty sweet milk to drink and after 5 or 10 minutes vomiting which is easily accomplished
Done with a spoon of baking soda with water and repeat this process according to need
Of such a person who even became green, would have choked, but in this way was saved, although he already had cramps.
3. Ulcers
Who does not know the healing removing and pain relieving power of the fig.
Many have already found it to be the nicest for ulcers of the stomach and intestine. The
patient should particularly take figs so that they work as a healing poultice, removing and relieving pain, even with cancer.
4. External glands … treated with a fig poultice.
2 Kings 20:7 (Then Isaiah said, “Take a cake of …)
5. Burns.
4 full spoons sweet milk with one spoon table salt, stir until completely mixed, then drink as if from a wine glass, will work wonders.
For burns turpentine oil is a safe medium.
6. Combatting blood poisoning.
First, 20 drops for an adult,
children half; after 4 hours, 65 drops and continuing.
after 4 hours, 10 drops. If the danger
after 4 hours has not completely passed give another 10 drops.
7. Turpentine oil is also good for consumptive people, the patient should start with 10 drops and stay with 15.
8. Bee Stings; Burn Wounds – It might be said that few know that our common nettle is an excellent remedy for bee stings and burn wounds. One prepares a tincture from nettle by carefully crushing mainly plants that are not too young nor too old, to 96 percent purity.
Pour over wine spirit and for about 3-4 weeks let it stand in a warm place and frequently shake. Then the plain liquid is poured off or filtered through blotter paper and the —?
9. Burns – one stirs up a mush of raw egg white, flaxseed oil and sour cream, put this as close as possible to the painful areas, add another soft wet rag also well placed and finish with a dry cloth.
A boy of 12 years had scarlet fever and according to all opinion became well. After 6 weeks he got dropsy. (edema) His whole body swelled. A shirt, … ?
10. Pain killers
Likely dissolving agent – pour six to eight drops into the affected ear and stuff it with fleece.
Anyone who has suffered from cold, draft or rheumatic condition to their hearing has poured on one day into one ear 7 or 8 drops, the alternate day the other (ear) just as many,
Each time stuff the opening.
After several days he can rinse the inner ear with lukewarm water: after that check for success.
11. Tuberculosis – When because of a hard cough and loss of weight, a patient often suspects the onset of tuberculosis, even so, sometimes the frequent consumption of Rye flour soup can soothe and heal ailments.
To make good Rye flour soup proceed as follows.
Three pounds of good Rye flour are beaten between a double napkin, then beaten in a pot with water and cooked for six hours. The water that boils away will, of course, need to be replenished. After it cools, the cooked flour forms a gel like paleness around a core (blob?); the first is removed and the remainder is ground to powder, from this you can expect a full tablespoon and a bowl of soup.
Neither salt nor butter, nor other ingredients are necessary in that the Rye soup is tasty and is gladly consumed.
12. Chest pain (children)
A really excellent agent for those with chest pain, coughing and mainly for young children, who are taking heavy medication, is Ribwort Plantain juice, not exclusively purchased in a pharmacy, but can also be prepared by oneself. For that, one picks quite a lot of Ribwort Plantain, which grows in every meadow and is widely known. Wash it… wash, dry with a towel and chop it using a curved chopping knife to make it very fine. Then we press the juice out through a cloth, take half a quart of juice, just as much good honey and cook the whole thing a half hour. Still warm we fill jars with the extract and give the patient a few full tablespoons daily. This Juice lasts a whole year.
13. Worms
Take a spoonful of honey in a quart of water, boil it and drink it. The worms suck in this water and later, if one drinks a cup of Vermouth which poisons them then they die and are expelled.
14. Teeth with unhealthy gums
Rinse with alum water.
15. Chilblains on hands and feet can be treated quite effectively by bathing in hot water, then Vinegar, 2 tablespoons per liter is given, the duration for such a hand or foot bathing, preferably every evening, for 10 minutes
16. Cut Wounds
Egg white as a remedy, there is no faster healing agent, than a coating of raw egg whites.
17. Inflammation and Dysentery
Egg white is a very effective agent against colon inflammation and dysentery. With or without sugar, beaten and then taken, it works by enfolding the inflammation of the intestines and 2-3 egg whites in the morning are enough for the day.
18. Hot water Remedies.
Headaches are often immediately eliminated by applying hot water to the neck and the feet. Likewise, what works almost instantly is a cloth dipped in hot water but not quite wrung out, laid on in the morning, helpful for occurring colic. Nothing gets rid quicker of a lung congestion, a throat inflammation or Rheumatism as hot water compresses. Also for tooth aches or neuralgia hot water compresses bring relief.
19. Stomach Remedy
Gentian root mixed with brandy is the best stomach remedy, pour 20-30 drops of the same along with 6 8 tablespoons water into a glass.
20. Tumors
Long time highly inflamed tumors should be gently rubbed with Almond oil, it relieves the stabbing pain and cools the burning heat. The so-called valiant other countrymen (gentry?) who sometimes do themselves harm by sitting, lying, riding, etc. and other wounds, when rubbed lightly with sweet almond oil are excellently treated. If you don’t have almond oil use salad oil.
21. Hot almond oil as a good healing remedy.
As a revealing of the trachea in the morning, it opens it and goes on to restore the appetite and digestion; for inflammation especially for the dreaded pneumonia, it cools it. Such patients should take three to four times daily a coffee spoonful of almond oil. Used without pouring, this oil is excellent for various ear problems, for ringing in the ears, white ears, painful ears as a result of hardened ear wax.