Cure-Alls

infinite monkey · 11-21-2012, 08:30 AM

In My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Windex cured everything.

Toula Portokalos: [narrating] My dad believed in two things: That Greeks should educate non Greeks about being Greek and every ailment from psoriasis to poison ivy can be cured with Windex.

Gus Portokalos: Put some Windex.

In Chris Rock's family, Robitussin cured everything.

Chris Rock: When I was a kid, I had to be near-death to see a doctor, so my daddy got into the habit of putting Robitussin on everything, and I mean EVERYTHING!
[Impersonating his father and himself]
Chris Rock: Daddy, I got asthama! "Well here, take some Robitussin!" Daddy, I got cancer! "Here, take some Robitussin!" Daddy, I broke my leg! "Here, put some Robitussin on it... that's right, let the Robitussin sink in there."

Chris Rock: Yeah, boy! Let that 'tussin get in there. Let that 'tussin go down to the bone! If you run out of it, put some water in the jar, shake it up, more 'tussin! MORE 'TUSSIN!

Well, medical miracles aside, apparently everyone should know the cure for back pain, for ANY back pain, is a pillow.

Yes folks, sit on a pillow. That's all you got to do. Who knew?

I don't know why the pillow does more than the padding in a chair. But it just does.

I've heard tell it works for hemmorhoids too, but the research is sketchy.

What are YOUR cure-alls?

glatt · 11-21-2012, 08:39 AM

Advil is pretty good for some things.

Lamplighter · 11-21-2012, 08:40 AM

1) Duct tape - if duct tape doesn't fix it, you're not using enough.

2) We raised 3 daughters from birth to adulthood,
plus every visiting grandchild on orange-flavored Triaminic Syrup.

infinite monkey · 11-21-2012, 08:45 AM

Kids have it made with modern medicine. Remember merthiolate? Geez mom, I'd rather my arm just fall off!

glatt · 11-21-2012, 08:55 AM

That stuff was nasty. And it was applied with a glass poking stick. WTF?

Lamplighter · 11-21-2012, 08:57 AM

But Merthiolate burned like the dickens... Mercurichrome didn't

infinite monkey · 11-21-2012, 08:57 AM

And it hurt like a mudder!

Now they have those nice little antibiotic creams. No pain. Kids no longer sit out in the field hoping they don't find you before your arm falls off from gangrene because the cure was worse than the injury!

infinite monkey · 11-21-2012, 08:58 AM

Was it the sodium that made it hurt?

Quote:

Q&A; First Aid or Not?
By C. CLAIBORNE RAY
Published: June 30, 1998

Q. Whatever happened to Mercurochrome and Merthiolate? How do they work?

A. Mercurochrome is a trade name for merbromin, a compound containing mercury and bromine. Merthiolate is a trade name for thimerosal, a compound containing mercury and sodium.

Both these compounds kill some (but not all) disease-causing microbes by denaturing enzymes and other proteins so that the microbes' metabolism is blocked; they do this by breaking up chemical bonds in the proteins.

Both have been widely used as topical antiseptics, applied to the surface of the skin of a living body. Thimerosal is still often used to help rid skin of bacteria before medical procedures. Mercurochrome is not widely used anymore.

Both Mercurochrome and Merthiolate (and iodine preparations, too) sting when applied to broken skin and can interfere with healing. Experts now recommend that first aid kits contain newer antibacterial creams, especially those containing bacitracins, a class of antibacterials first produced by other microorganisms.

http://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/30/sc...id-or-not.html

Spexxvet · 11-21-2012, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by infinite monkey

Kids have it made with modern medicine. Remember merthiolate? Geez mom, I'd rather my arm just fall off!

All we kids would gave around the wound, and when Mom would put the merthiolate on, everybody would blow on it. In hindsight, that probably added more germs than it killed.

orthodoc · 11-21-2012, 09:14 AM

Strangely, I don't remember mercurochrome as part of my mother's armamentarium. Whatever she put on cuts HURT, though, so maybe it was.

Remember cod liver oil? (oh God, that dates me!) You just know that's where Mike Myers got the line, 'Better out than in, I always say!' I'd rather just die of Vit. A deficiency.

My late mil: Put some alcohol (a variation on the Windex; she was only half Greek, so perhaps that explains it)!

My cure-alls: a cup of good, strong coffee (kill or cure). Homemade chicken soup. Sleep.

orthodoc · 11-21-2012, 09:19 AM

Oh, and Heet liniment ... my parents' cure-all for sore backs. When I was about five years old I was fascinated with the soft cotton applicator thingy, and having been warned away from the Heet bottle in no uncertain terms, I waited until my parents were out one afternoon ... and I painted Heet on the screen of our little B&W TV. I just wanted to use that applicator on something - thought the TV would be safe.

The damned liniment etched the screen everywhere it touched - the back and forth lines and the drips that made their way to the bottom of the screen.

We couldn't afford to replace the TV, so for the next number of years we watched it through the scars of my failed experiment. That was worse than any spanking.

Lamplighter · 11-21-2012, 09:21 AM

Quote:

My cure-alls: a cup of good, strong coffee (kill or cure). Homemade chicken soup. Sleep.

Homemade chicken soup was a favorite cure-all joke on tv for years.
Then one day my wife made some for my "incurable cold"... It worked !

infinite monkey · 11-21-2012, 09:27 AM

I love your TV story, ortho. Funny.

But when you were a little kid and sick? Mom putting Vapo-rub on your chest, was the best thing ever. I think it had more to do with mom's love than with the vapo-rub.

And when I was a teenager and getting over the flu, the first thing mom made when she thought I could tolerate food was tea and toast. It was wonderful.

orthodoc · 11-21-2012, 09:30 AM

And flat ginger ale with dry toast for 24-hour flu (aka food poisoning

).
The flat ginger ale was actually a great idea; too bad it tasted awful.

And Vapo-rub, yes, the best! I used it on my kids too and they loved it.

glatt · 11-21-2012, 09:42 AM

That TV story was awesome.

I have a similar memory from my childhood. My grandfather retired from his contracting business, and he had all these extra stickers that he would put on the sides of his trucks and equipment. They were left over, so he gave them to us grandchildren. I knew he put them on his trucks, so I put mine on the side of our family's VW bus.

This did not please my father, and I got a spanking. But he was able to peel the sticker off without damaging the paint.

11-21-2012, 08:30 AM	#1
infinite monkey Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 13,002	Cure-Alls In My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Windex cured everything. Toula Portokalos: [narrating] My dad believed in two things: That Greeks should educate non Greeks about being Greek and every ailment from psoriasis to poison ivy can be cured with Windex. Gus Portokalos: Put some Windex. In Chris Rock's family, Robitussin cured everything. Chris Rock: When I was a kid, I had to be near-death to see a doctor, so my daddy got into the habit of putting Robitussin on everything, and I mean EVERYTHING! [Impersonating his father and himself] Chris Rock: Daddy, I got asthama! "Well here, take some Robitussin!" Daddy, I got cancer! "Here, take some Robitussin!" Daddy, I broke my leg! "Here, put some Robitussin on it... that's right, let the Robitussin sink in there." Chris Rock: Yeah, boy! Let that 'tussin get in there. Let that 'tussin go down to the bone! If you run out of it, put some water in the jar, shake it up, more 'tussin! MORE 'TUSSIN! Well, medical miracles aside, apparently everyone should know the cure for back pain, for ANY back pain, is a pillow. Yes folks, sit on a pillow. That's all you got to do. Who knew? I don't know why the pillow does more than the padding in a chair. But it just does. I've heard tell it works for hemmorhoids too, but the research is sketchy. What are YOUR cure-alls?

11-21-2012, 08:55 AM	#5
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	That stuff was nasty. And it was applied with a glass poking stick. WTF? Attached Images

11-21-2012, 09:14 AM	#10
orthodoc Not Suspicious, Merely Canadian Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 3,774	Strangely, I don't remember mercurochrome as part of my mother's armamentarium. Whatever she put on cuts HURT, though, so maybe it was. Remember cod liver oil? (oh God, that dates me!) You just know that's where Mike Myers got the line, 'Better out than in, I always say!' I'd rather just die of Vit. A deficiency. My late mil: Put some alcohol (a variation on the Windex; she was only half Greek, so perhaps that explains it)! My cure-alls: a cup of good, strong coffee (kill or cure). Homemade chicken soup. Sleep. __________________ The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. - Ghandi

11-21-2012, 09:19 AM	#11
orthodoc Not Suspicious, Merely Canadian Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 3,774	Oh, and Heet liniment ... my parents' cure-all for sore backs. When I was about five years old I was fascinated with the soft cotton applicator thingy, and having been warned away from the Heet bottle in no uncertain terms, I waited until my parents were out one afternoon ... and I painted Heet on the screen of our little B&W TV. I just wanted to use that applicator on something - thought the TV would be safe. The damned liniment etched the screen everywhere it touched - the back and forth lines and the drips that made their way to the bottom of the screen. We couldn't afford to replace the TV, so for the next number of years we watched it through the scars of my failed experiment. That was worse than any spanking. __________________ The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. - Ghandi

11-21-2012, 09:30 AM	#14
orthodoc Not Suspicious, Merely Canadian Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 3,774	And flat ginger ale with dry toast for 24-hour flu (aka food poisoning ). The flat ginger ale was actually a great idea; too bad it tasted awful. And Vapo-rub, yes, the best! I used it on my kids too and they loved it. __________________ The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. - Ghandi

11-21-2012, 08:39 AM	#2
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	Advil is pretty good for some things.

11-21-2012, 08:40 AM	#3
Lamplighter Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Bottom lands of the Missoula floods Posts: 6,402	1) Duct tape - if duct tape doesn't fix it, you're not using enough. 2) We raised 3 daughters from birth to adulthood, plus every visiting grandchild on orange-flavored Triaminic Syrup.

11-21-2012, 08:45 AM	#4
infinite monkey Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 13,002	Kids have it made with modern medicine. Remember merthiolate? Geez mom, I'd rather my arm just fall off!

11-21-2012, 08:57 AM	#6
Lamplighter Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Bottom lands of the Missoula floods Posts: 6,402	But Merthiolate burned like the dickens... Mercurichrome didn't

11-21-2012, 09:27 AM	#13
infinite monkey Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 13,002	I love your TV story, ortho. Funny. But when you were a little kid and sick? Mom putting Vapo-rub on your chest, was the best thing ever. I think it had more to do with mom's love than with the vapo-rub. And when I was a teenager and getting over the flu, the first thing mom made when she thought I could tolerate food was tea and toast. It was wonderful.

11-21-2012, 09:42 AM	#15
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	That TV story was awesome. I have a similar memory from my childhood. My grandfather retired from his contracting business, and he had all these extra stickers that he would put on the sides of his trucks and equipment. They were left over, so he gave them to us grandchildren. I knew he put them on his trucks, so I put mine on the side of our family's VW bus. This did not please my father, and I got a spanking. But he was able to peel the sticker off without damaging the paint.

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