My post about rose-hips jogged lots of memories about the things we were dosed with as children.
Why? I wondered. Were we less healthy back then?
We certainly suffered with more of the childhood illnesses that are now vaccinated against. Before I was 11 I'd had Measles, German Measles, Scarletina and Tonsillitis and Chicken Pox on my 11th birthday.
I must have been quite a biddable chid and never minded the cod liver oil, absolutely Loved the Government concentrated orange juice which Mum would give us with sugar and hot water, and quite liked the Syrup of Figs which was a regular (forgive the pun!), especially for me as I could never answer that question "Have you Been today".
Then if we were a bit "down" it was a dose of Parrishs Food - I didn't mind it, tasted like metal I think. Looking it up it seems that now..........................
"This is a traditional iron feed supplement made to a century old formula for use in poultry and racing pigeons to maintain good health and appetite. Contains readily absorbed iron which is essential for red blood cell formation.
Pigeons!??!!
Found this too........................
Parrish’s food is named after its inventor, Professor Edward Parrish, a pharmacist in Philadelphia who died in 1872. The first published description of the compound seems to have been in Parrish’s own Introduction to Practical Pharmacy, published in 1856,2 which ran into several further editions, later appearing as A Treatise on Pharmacy. The formula for the food was given in the 1859 edition as protosulphate of iron, phosphate of soda, phosphate of lime, phosphoric acid, carbonate of soda, carbonate of potassa, muriatic acid, water of ammonia, powdered cochineal, water, sugar, and orange-flower water. There is no mention of arsenic, and I can find no evidence of its having been an ingredient of any later variants of the product used in the United Kingdom.
Well, Thank Goodness it didn't contain arsenic!
I wonder if this is a British thing, seems like old fashioned patent medicine. Growing up in US my parents gave us nothing: "you'll be fine" and we were.
ReplyDeleteYou had the same childhood diseases that I had, only I didn't get German measles until I was working in the lab in uni.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
It is not a British thing my mother tells of all the concoctions she took and she gave us golden syrup. Which I have no idea what it was or what we took it for.
ReplyDeleteCathy
I remember the chewable orange baby aspirin. My little sister loved them and mom had to hide them. I remember taking Flintstone vitamins and this cough medicine that I loved. I had all the childhood illnesses except for the mumps. My family came down with it, including my parents and I took care of them. I was 10 at the time. I also remember my mom using either iodine or Mercurochrome for skinned knees and boo boos. Hot toddies when I had the flu with metholatum on my chest with a warm diaper pinned to my undershirt.
ReplyDeleteBoy your post conjoured up old memories. Interesting post!
Parrishes chemical food, remember it well, Mum would give it us in warm Vimto. Loved the Vimto but hated that metallic taste.
ReplyDeleteI remember taking Haliborange. I used to enjoy them :)
ReplyDeleteI don't recall Parrish's, however we as children were given Haliborange and Rose Hip Syrup. Also my father grew blackcurrants, and my mother made blackcurrant jelly which my brother and I had every morning in hot water as a home-made vitamin C remedy.
ReplyDeleteMy brother and I also had most of the usual illnesses - measles, whooping cough, chickenpox (with camomile lotion to soothe the itching), however, dodged mumps although I don't know how as my father had it at the same time as we had one of the others, and my mother was run ragged looking after use all. When I had German measles in my last year of primary school I suddenly became very popular as all the mother's with daughters wanted then to catch it long before they might get pregnant and put the baby at risk.
I remember the concentrated orange and we might have had rose hip syrup but Mum always maintained that we ate a good varied diet (which we did - Dad grew loads of fruit and veg and we had good appetites) and didn't need any other supplements. The occasional plaster after a wash dealt with the worst grazes although generally it was left 'for the fresh air'.
ReplyDeleteThe worst thing I remember was continual bouts of tonsillitis for a while until my brother and I had them out at the same time and were side by side in the hospital which was a comfort.
xx
My brother got dosed with extract of malt (which i loved but wasn't allowed). We had haliborsnge tablets too. Closest thing we got to sweets at home. Flouride tablets were also on the dosing regime. 60s and 70s when the new culture was that a pill was the answer to everything.
ReplyDeleteI had measles, that was all when I was young, but as an adult I had mumps and when our son was about 6 mths old, the girls brought back chickenpox from school and all bar Keith had that. Not Nice. I can remember the Haliborange capsules being handed out in senior school for the "delicate ones" at milk time. I think our medicine cabinet (e.g. a shelf somewhere) had only plasters, Andrews' Liver Salts (I used it to make "lemonade"!) and Beecham's Powders which at one time my mum became almost addicted to and had one daily to "perk her up". Oh, and she had Yeastvite when she was "going through the change". Oh and for sore throats mum would get blackcurrant pastilles in a tin, which I treated as sweeties!
ReplyDeleteThe only time I've had Rosehip Syrup was on the couple of occasions I made it (too much faffing about to do it annually).
You are right about difficulty in obtaining proper Rose Hip Syrup. I am still looking ...
ReplyDeleteDo not remember Parrishs but I recall a daily (tiny) "Junior Haliborange" which I enjoyed as a child. Always wanted more than one 🙂
Yes-I was a cod liver oil and orange juice child! I think we were given these to help supplement a post war diet which didn’t always have enough fruit. Later in the 50s and early 60s we had rose hip syrup which probably was very bad for my teeth. Catriona
ReplyDeleteBorn 1949 so raised in the 50s I recall
ReplyDeleteMilk of Magnesia, syrup of Figs, Cod Liver oil, govt. issue concentrated orange juice, rose hip syrup and Liquid paraffin - whatever that actually was! but the one i hated and absolutely refused to take was Virol.
Being a reasonably well off family, we well able to afford meat or fish . Mum was an excellent cook and Dad grew plenty of fresh veg and the garden also supplied apples, pears and other soft fruit. Why on earth did we need all that other stuff
I never was able to catch mumps, much to my mother’s disappointment. I lived in an expat community and the practice was to hold mumps, measles or chicken pox parties! The idea at the time was it was best for your kids to catch as much as they could so they would have immunity as adults. Absolute insanity.
ReplyDeleteNever had any of these concoctions as a child - we kept fit and well on good homemade food and lots of running around. Remember the rosehip, elderberry, sloe and blackberry syrup I made last month. Well, it is absolutely delicious diluted with hot water (kettle just off the boil) and a thimble of Silent Pool gin for an evening toddy. For my birthday later this month I may try it with English sparkling wine on top - like a Kir royale. No hairs or itchy bits at all thanks to double muslin straining and a final sieve through a coffee filter. Apparently our local chemist sells rosehip syrup. Next time I’m in there I will look and see where it’s made and how many additives it has! Sarah in Sussex.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't have any of the things many others were dosed with as my mother was a big funny about things like that, I didn't even drink school milk. I think she went along the lines of we had a healthy diet at home and that was that.
ReplyDeleteI had all the typical childhood diseases as well. Nothing very serious. In a family of 3 children, when one of us brought something home (cold, mumps...) we seem all to fall like soldiers. Our diets were strictly balanced. My mother was serious about food groups. Yet, she disliked cooking. Healthy meals were the norm; yet not always tasty.
ReplyDeleteI remember having the measles, and the chicken pox and mumps. I don't remember being 'dosed' by anything as a child. We had our vaccinations and were considered to be immune to most anything. I had tonsillitis twice as a child, but when it came time to check tonsils to see who had bad tonisils, the four of us were lined up and my brother and my sister were the unfortunates. Still have my tonsils to this day!
ReplyDeleteI kept wondering why you hadn't mentioned Rosehip syrup
ReplyDeleteI’m the only person I know who likes the taste of cod liver oil. I buy the capsules and bite into them!
ReplyDeleteYou are not alone - I do the same. Lovely stuff
DeleteWe had a huge jar of sticky malt with cod liver oil, which I loved. The babies got the rose hip syrup which I think was expensive? At least I would always get a huge row for stealing a swig from the bottle! I was a greedy child...
ReplyDeleteI remember being very ill with measles as a child. Whenever we were ill my Mum would buy us the original type of Lucozade with the slightly metallic taste. Arilx
ReplyDeleteIt seems "childhood illnesses" are now almost a thing of the past, and yet it concerns me that our children are perhaps being over-protected. They are not pleasant illnesses to have, but they do help to develop children's immune systems. What will they be like as adults if they only have immature immune systems?
ReplyDeleteOn a happier note, I forgot we used to be dosed with Haliborange tablets and a spoonful of malt. We were never given cod liver oil but my father was (daily, which is why he decreed his children wouldn't!). I'm afraid my children were never given anything, as we simply couldn't afford it.
They worry about kids and juices/frizzy drinks now but I am convinced my desire for sugary foods came from drinking blackcurrant juice and rosehip syrup as a baby/toddler in the late fifties and early sixties. Probably where my addiction to black tea came from too:-) My mother had read a teaspoon of black tea from birth each day would strengthen teeth, no fluoride in the water then and my teeth were certainly perfect till my thirties.
ReplyDeleteSo were my family the only children who had goose grease rubbed on our chests in the Winter? I thought it was normal at the time.
DeleteIn The Netherlands rosehip syrup is sold under the name 'Roosvicee', maybe your local discounter, green shop or international shop sells it?
ReplyDeleteMy Mum gave us Slippery Elm Food if we ever said we felt unwell. It was THE most disgusting thing ever and used to make me heave, getting a full mug of a drink that makes you feel sick down you before it went cold was like torture. I think she was trying to stop us from pretending to be ill.
ReplyDeleteI remember getting a bottle of concentrated orange juice from the baby clinic for Simon when he was born and that was in 1981, so Manchester was obviously determined that it's babies would not get scurvy!
We always had the government orange concentrate, a spoonful of malt every night in the winter, loved it. Also codliver oil. Mum would give us disprin (soluable asprin) and I remember beecham powder. Loved Lucozade, only got that when I was in the hospital. We can occasionally get it here in the British shop but it's very expensive. We also got hot Ribenna before bed in the winter.
ReplyDeleteDoes any one else remember Fennings Fever Cure? I was spanked for spitting it down the sink. I THOUGHT IT WAS AWFUL.
ReplyDelete