MEDICAL MATTERS

[Stanley]

This was a useful topic on the old site.

I was prompted to revive it by a recent experience. Some of you may remember we had an interesting discussion about the long term use of common pain-killers like Ibuprofen during which I related the story of my long-term use of them as a prophylactic against back pain and my discovery that when I stopped taking them many unexplained pains faded away, they were being caused by the pain killers.
Some of you might have picked up on the fact that after a lot of coughing during the Xmas 6 week cold I disturbed my lower back triggering off the old friend, Sciatica, because the nerves in my lower back had been disturbed. In order to gain respite so I could have my walks I went to the Ibuprofen bottle. 3 months later the pains in my legs started to worsen and got severe enough to make my life a misery as far as walking was concerned. I decided yesterday to ditch the Ibuprofen and drink a lot of water to encourage my system to flush it out of my system. I'm happy to report that there has been an instant improvement and my legs are far better. I'm not out of the wood yet, my old knees will never be perfect, too many miles and heavy lifting have taken their toll but I can walk across the room to the sink without pain, that's good enough for me! It will take a while to completely flush the anti-inflammatories out of my system and probably four weeks for the muscles that were affected to return to normal. It seems quite obvious to me that my system doesn't like Ibuprofen.
By the way, my daughter Margaret read the old topic, took notice and had a similar improvement to me after stopping taking the pain killers, they can get to be a habit....

[Nolic]

Comrade, see my post in Continuity topic from yesterday. Nolic

[Stanley]

I did Comrade and it makes sense. I am happy to report that improvement continues apace. Either the Ibuprofen theory is correct or I was due for a miracle anyway. There is hope for the old fart yet!
By the way, I was asked the other day why you and I refer to each other as Comrade. For the benefit of newer members it doesn't necessarily mean we are rabid left wingers. It referes to membership of the Old Farts and Lurchers club we founded on the old site..... Do a search for OFAL.)

[Tizer]

Ibuprofen is always referred to as an anti-inflammatory (`non-steroidal anti-inflammatory', or NSAID) but this is misleading - it is also an inflammatory agent. Inflammation in the body is controlled by a balance of natural chemicals which can be manipulated by anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and aspirin. But a drug that suppresses inflammation in one type of body tissue can promote it in another tissue. This is why ibuprofen can irritate the stomach - it inflames the stomach wall - at the same time as it might reduce inflammation in a different part of the body. Perhaps it triggers inflammation in your leg joints or muscles?

[Stanley]

Thanks Tiz. Helpful. There is no doubt that in my case it was doing the latter! There is light at the end of the tunnel.....

[Moh]

I don't like taking pills.

[Stanley]

A good policy Moh! The reason I never went to the doctor was that I would almost certainly have been offered further pills. I'm happy to report that improvement is amazing and I'm back on two walks a day. It will take a while for the muscles to repair themselves but things are 100% better.

[Stanley]

When I was a lad.... This was the time of year when Mother decided our blood needed cleaning and we were dosed with either sulphur tablets or 'brimstone and treacle'. Thanks to the Ministry of Food we had cod liver oil and concentrated orange juice from the Clinic which we visited frequently. Despite the war we were better nourished than kids nowadays. A sad reflection on modern life.
Any one remember Easton's Syrup? A horrible tasting 'tonic' that Mother swore by. By the way, I really do believe that she believed she would die if she didn't have her Beecham's Pill every day!

[Nolic]

My torture was Liquifruta a bitter liquorice tonic. I could never understand why I didn't get that sweet malt stuff that my mates mums gave them. Nolic

[Tripps]

I think you were conned Nolic. It was a cough mixture, not a tonic, and the bad taste was garlic. My grandad used to take it. Horrible stuff. I'm surprised to see that it is still available today.

[Stanley]

The nice stuff was Cod Liver Oil and Malt. I liked that! Scott's Emulsion was another CLO based tonic. My father's stand-by was Cecil Wood's Influenza Powders made at Hazel Grove near Stockport. Lots of quinine in them and they were gritty and bitter. Honey. Lemon and Glycerine for a sore throat was all right.

[Tripps]

Cecil Woods powders! here we go again things you forgot you had forgotten. Always featured in the bathroom cabinet.

[EileenDavid]

I'm glad I am not the only one who was given some awful remedies I remember liquidfruta (I thought that was for constipation along with syrup's of figs). What about Fenning's fever cure the most repulsive thing ever. Any one mentioned anything to my mam and we would be used for experimentation.

The nice things were Fenning's cooling powder's,I quite liked them as well as for a cough something and raspberry vinegar. Mam also made another concoction of honey, lemon and excuse spelling ickupickupana wine? She was then told egg flip was a good tonic had one teaspoon after that when the bottle came out we all retreated to bed to avoid it perhaps that was the tonic early to bed.
I also remember having sulpher tablets I took them after seemed to keep mosquito's at bay but don't quote me.

If anyone suffers from midget or mosquito problems Avon cosmetic's do a spray skin oil called SSS(Skin So Soft) not a mosquito repelent but appears to work.

Eileen

[Stanley]

Fennings powders for teething.... Cecil Wood's powders... there was a town in Norway where the local apothecary made a very popular cold cure. It contained I think Ephedrine and years later they connected a high incidence of liver or kidney failure to the cure. Ipececuana Eileen, a very old remedy. A favourite remedy for Whooping Cough in Barlick was to take the child to the top of the retorts at the gas works to get a blast of the complex gases hanging about up there. Could have been efficient, lots of ammonia and phenols in the air. Another remedy was a bottle of water from Lister Well on the moor.

[EileenDavid]

Thanks for that Stanley about the Ipececuana wine all I know it tasted dreadful. One of my brothers had whooping cough and mam used to wrap him up I believe and follow the tarmac waggon. She later invested in a wrights coal tar lamp that burned in the bedroom to ease breathing only thing was all our clothes also smelt of it. Eileen

[Stanley]

A good sniff at the open lid of the tar boiler when streets were being paved was another 'cure'. Horrible urban myths about babies being dropped in but I have never seen an authenticated case. The Wright's Coal Tar figures, phenols one of the common elements in all the cures.

[Wendyf]

Back in 1910 two small children were drowned at Lothersdale lime kilns following a huge cloudburst. They both had whooping cough, and their parents had walked with them from Laneshawbridge in the hope that the fumes from the lime kilns would cure them.

[Stanley]

Nice one Wendy, straight into the index.....

[Wendyf]

The full story is available on the EDLHS website with the title Extraordinary Floods in Earby

[Nolic]

Thanks Windy. Nolic

[Stanley]

Thanks Wendy, straight into the research file! Same scenario repeated in July 1932 in Barlick of course. We are protected from upstream flooding by being near the watershed but this is no protection from flash floods caused by extraordinary events on the moor. The old water authorities used to refer to these as 50 year or 100 year events and by any reckoning we are sure to have a repeat some time.

[EileenDavid]

I thought of another old product Fennings (sure mam had shares) Little Lung Healers. They were astonishing for shifting coughs. Eileen

[Tardis]

Hooray, an official report has stated that the NHS does not do "chronic"

It calls for wholesale reassessment of the whole infrastructure and management to recognise these failings and actually make change to benefit the patient

[Stanley]

Eileen, my mother swore by lung healers! Can anyone remember the advert; "Parkinson's Pink Pills for Pale and Poorly People!".

[Stanley]

The White Liniment is getting a hammering at the moment. My dad swore by Sloan's Liniment, savage stuff and you never rubbed it in! Vets used similar concoctions for 'blistering' animal's legs to promote blood circulation and healing. Many farmers used cattle medicines on themselves. I remember my old Gaffer Lionel Gleed giving me some Day's Red Drink in hot milk when I had flu while working for him in Warwickshire. I can remember feeling terrible afterwards but it seemed to help. I later found that one of the main ingredients was Strychnine! (LINK)