I have always been vaguely alarmed by the idea of giving paracetamol to infants (what about their livers?) probably because I was brought up by a mother who was very cautious about pills. Not in any extreme form – if they were prescribed we took them, & we had all our inoculations, unlike my best friend whose mother was vehemently against vaccination
Anyway, I was born before the NHS & all minor ailments were treated with traditional remedies – arrowroot for tummy upsets for example
There were various remedies for coughs & colds, depending on a fairly close analysis of the symptoms – head or chest, thick or runny
Raspberry vinegar was the remedy for tickly coughs & sore throats. I always longed to know if this was the same as the substance of that name which enjoyed a brief vogue as an essential ingredient of all fashionable cooking, available at all good diner parties
Link
The Invalid's Own Book: A Collection of Recipes from Various Books by Mary Anne Boode Cust - 1853 - Cookery for the sick
