Forgotten Cures: Croup

Croup * My grandmother was a practical nurse in the early 1900s in Indian Territory. When my mother was a new mother, her mother-in-law taught her many of the skills and remedies she had learned from assisting doctors. One of them was for a baby with croup. A silver teaspoon was filled with whiskey, set on fire, then the remainder was cooled and given to the crying baby. [Nina Hall * Onion juice & Sugar: After we became adults we were all home for Christmas and my niece was a baby and had the croup. Mommy mixed up a teaspoon of sugar and onion juice and gave to the baby and it did help the croup. Diane McGee * Rendered Skunk Oil for croup. A cold wet washcloth on the throat would have made more sense. That stuff was terrible sickening. Wilma * Horehound Candy was used to help stop cough when we had Croup, and it helped sooth the throat so we didn't cough so much. Dorothy * My mother & aunt used to hold me while putting a pan with vicks in it & heating it on the stove while holding a big sheet over all 3 of us cured the croup [RD * For croup, my grandma used to make "skunk grease." Ever heard of it or know how it was made?? Thanks. JA * I am not in any type of medical profession, and I usually do not have enough time to answer questions, but "skunk grease" piqued my interest, and since I had a free second, I Googled it and found the following article: It is from te Free Lance Srar Newspaper. It tells how well it cures, as well as a vague way of how to make it. The person sent it to the CDC to get a positive reply on it so he could patent it. The article begins this way: "Health problems? A good dose of skunk grease will work wonders. OLD PEOPLE had the perfect remedy for diseases like whooping cough and the croup: Skunk grease. When your chest got tight, skunk grease would loosen it up. That's what my grandmother always said. Just take some of this potent remedy and rub it on. Pretty soon you'll be healthy again." Click here for the article: http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2001/102001/10142001/417838 It is an interesting to read -- Phew!