Did your parents or grandparents medicate children with alcohol?

[LauraGB]

I remember my grandmother giving us a little (whiskey, in our family) with warm water and honey when we were sick. Not a lot, of course, but definitely some. She kept a pint in the medicine cabinet. My parents never did this, though, but I did spend a lot of time with my grandmother. I remember living in FL when I was 6yrs old, and the Romanian neighbor did something similar.

 

I assume this would be similar to alcohol based cough medicine? Not that I'm planning to do it :tongue_smilie:, but I'm not feeling well, and a little wine actually sounds like a good idea to me right now and it made me think of it.

[Greta]

My parents called this (or some similar concoction) a "hot toddy". They never gave one to me or my siblings, but they were given them a few times as children themselves. I think the idea is that a little alcohol is relaxing and can help one get to sleep?

[LauraGB]

My parents called this (or some similar concoction) a "hot toddy".

 

Yes! That's what the Romanian lady called it. My grandmother simply called it 'medicine'.

[teamturner]

My husband and I call it a "hot toddy" and make them for ourselves. So whiskey is always kept for medicinal purposes more than anything else at our house. I've used whiskey, honey, and lemon during a bout of whooping cough with the kids but the whiskey was only a splash with everything else on a spoon. And then only at bedtime for a few consecutive nights. My friend's dad, who is a doctor, recommended this for her dc when they also had whooping cough. I felt better using that than the prescribed cough syrup that had a narcotic in it.

[Jean in Newcastle]

There was one very very bad illness I had as a teen. I had a cough so bad that I could hardly breathe or swallow. The teacher I was living with at the time (I was expelled from the dorm at the time - long story I won't go into now) dosed me with Vermouth just to make my throat a bit tolerable. My own parents would have been shocked if they had known - they are rabidly against alcohol.

[Laura Corin]

I wasn't given them as a child though. Mine is whisky, honey and lemon.

 

Laura

[Lolly]

My grandparents did not. My parents did not. I do. It works far better than otc meds.

[aggieamy]

My parents called this (or some similar concoction) a "hot toddy". They never gave one to me or my siblings, but they were given them a few times as children themselves. I think the idea is that a little alcohol is relaxing and can help one get to sleep?

 

I remember having these as a kid and I'm 28. I remember thinking that they tasted so good. Guess it didn't hurt me any because I'm a healthy, normal (except for the homeschooling bit :001_smile:), and well balanced adult. I only drink very rarely now so I guess it didn't make me an addict either.

[Jennifer]

My husband was given hot toddies as a child. I remember my mother rubbing bourbon on my baby sister's gums when she was teething.

Jennifer

[Greta]

I only drink very rarely now so I guess it didn't make me an addict either.

 

:D Nope, didn't make my parents addicts either! I guess the reason that they didn't give them to us was just that there were so many OTC cough syrups available by then. I'm not sure. After reading here how many people like them though, I'll have to remember that the next time someone in this house gets sick!

[LauraGB]

:D Nope, didn't make my parents addicts either! I guess the reason that they didn't give them to us was just that there were so many OTC cough syrups available by then. I'm not sure. After reading here how many people like them though, I'll have to remember that the next time someone in this house gets sick!

 

I think it had a lot to do with society's view of alcohol and children. So many older stories I've read (Wuthering Heights comes immediately to mind) include children with bits of alcohol as almost nonchalante. I'm fairly certain that if I would have told anyone at school mom or dad gave me a shot of whiskey to help me sleep, someone would have been knocking on thier door shortly thereafter.

[Jeannie in NJ]

my mom never bought any medicines when I was a child. My brother and I were either given a spoon of sugar covered in whiskey (gross) or a mustard plaster with onions pinned to our shirt at night (double gross). I have never been able to drink whiskey as to me, it means medicine lol.

[LauraGB]

my mom never bought any medicines when I was a child. My brother and I were either given a spoon of sugar covered in whiskey (gross) or a mustard plaster with onions pinned to our shirt at night (double gross). I have never been able to drink whiskey as to me, it means medicine lol.

 

:lol: And I thought I had it rough with Vicks and a scratchy wool sock safety pinned around my neck!

[Heather in Neverland]

My mom didn't but I remember when my oldest ds was teething and my grandma told me to put whiskey on his gums and I was like "Um, WHAT?"

[LaxMom]

My grandparents did not. My parents did not. I do. It works far better than otc meds.

Ditto, unless you count things like Robitussin, which was alcohol based when I was a kid. I generally give my kids tinctures when they have something I feel I need to treat, and I give them sublingually (under the tongue) so the herbs are absorbed more directly.

 

My husband was given hot toddies as a child. I remember my mother rubbing bourbon on my baby sister's gums when she was teething.

Jennifer

I've used the same on all of my children. The only thing I've found that works better (or lasts longer) is oil of clove, but they prefer the taste of apple brandy.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

I remember being given hot toddies or the pujeen (sp?) when I was a child by my great aunt:) It did me no harm and I fondly remember it as a comfort when I was sick.

[Mommy22alyns]

but I'm not feeling well, and a little wine actually sounds like a good idea to me right now and it made me think of it.

 

 

I find that a little alcohol makes me feel a bit better when I have a cold. I think of Mrs. Slocombe on Are You Being Served? :D

 

 

My grandma offered me a little wine to help me sleep once or twice when I was high school age. :)

[Seeker]

We have always preferred alternative and old fashion remedies, but it was not until last winter that my husband began making himself a hot toddies before bed to rest when he had a really bad cold. I have got to say that he rested well and got over it quickly. I have had one have helped me a time or two since.

 

We have not given any to our daughter yet--she has not had such bad symptoms since then--but I think neither of us would be opposed to do so should she have really bad symptoms and unable to rest.

 

On another note, my mother was born blue at home and the doctor walked away saying she would not live the night. They were a poor family and this was in 1940. My grandfather gave her drops of sherry to warm her and rubbed/massaged her until she was warm, pink, and responsive. Obviously, she lived.

[i.love.lucy]

I used to get really, really bad bouts of croup as a kid and I have so many memories of sitting in the super hot bathroom with steam filling the room and a "hot toddy" made of hot water/apple juice, bourbon, and lemon. I still have a fondness for bourbon.:tongue_smilie:

[HRAAB]

No, I wasn't given any, but hot whiskey, honey and lemon sure feels good when one is ailing.

 

Janet

[Greta Lea]

...to never, ever, EVER do that to my dc and I haven't:) Drives my dad nuts that I won't!LOL

[Greta Lea]

I *hated* them. Blech.

[Cera]

No, but four years ago I had a flight attendant comp me a bottle of whiskey while I was holding my crying 1 year old "in case I needed a little something for her gums."

[2cents]

My dad who was very against alcohol began drinking 'hot toddy's' when he was in the last stages of colon cancer. It seemed to make things a little more bearable for him.

[KayT]

I had to laugh at the title because I am old enough to be one of the parents who did. Our pedi told me how to fix it. I thought my mother would die when she found out!!!

 

It worked quite well for my 2 yr old if I remember right...that was back in late 78 or 79!

[Denisemomof4]

don't know about the grandparents, but my parents did not. I'll never forgive them for it. :D

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

I used to get really, really bad bouts of croup as a kid and I have so many memories of sitting in the super hot bathroom with steam filling the room and a "hot toddy" made of hot water/apple juice, bourbon, and lemon. I still have a fondness for bourbon.:tongue_smilie:

 

My grandfather made "hot toddies" for us when we were sick with a cold or chilled with a fever. I wouldn't have a problem making a hot toddy for any of my kids if they were sick. I've made them for myself because Robitussian makes me vomit! Blech!

 

As an adult, I too love bourbon.

 

:)

K

[ereks mom]

I had a horrible cough, and she knew a man who made moonshine. So she sent my daddy to see the man and buy the moonshine, and then she gave it to me. I don't know what she mixed with it, though. I don't remember the incident at all, but the story has become part of our family's lore.

 

I remember Granny giving me paregoric (camphorated tincture of opium) too, on more than one occasion when I was sick as a young child. At the time (1960s), paregoric could be bought over the counter. I remember that it tasted kind of like licorice, which I did not like.

 

Several years later, when I was a young teen, I remember Granny giving me a big serving spoon full of whiskey mixed with sugar when I had menstrual cramps.

[Sputterduck]

No, but my nana used to give her children benadryl in the car to put them to sleep. :ohmy:

[catalinakel]

yep. my grandparents did. Good Irish catholics. My dad always only just threatened us with a stiff shot of whiskey when we were sick. He was much too fond of the stuff to use it as medicine for children!

[LauraGB]

yep. my grandparents did. Good Irish catholics.

 

Oh my goodness, Yes! That's what mine were, too. I wonder if everyone else is who has posted is of near European decent - meaning, of the last 2 or 3 generations.

[5knights3maidens]

I used to put a little alcohol on my oldest children's teeth/gums when they were coming in. Actually, I got that from my mom so I guess she must have done that with me.

[katilac]

Yes, pretty often. If my dad was in charge, it was Mercurochrome if you were bleeding, hot toddies for everything else, lol! Hot toddies consisted of whisky, hot water, and sugar.

 

Mercury and alcohol every time we were sick or injured, it's a miracle we survived :tongue_smilie:

[MeanestMomInMidwest]

You betcha - it was called Nyquil!

[Mommyof4ks]

We were given whisky with honey and lemon a couple of times for a sore throat, but I can't handle the 'wind being sucked out of me' feeling. It is similar to nyquil though (which I can't take either lol) unless they have reformulated that too so it does not work :glare:.

 

Alcohol kills germs, so it seems like a decent solution to me, but I don't think dh would go for it. The way I see it it has to be better than some of the meds out there that only sort of work with lots of side effects, but he was raised very differently.

[Corraleno]

When my son was born, my MIL told me that she used to mix a shot of vodka with the formula in DH's baby bottle "so he would sleep through the night and [FIL] wouldn't have to get up and feed him." Like she was doing my FIL a favor! :blink:

 

Jackie

[Denisemomof4]

When my son was born, my MIL told me that she used to mix a shot of vodka with the formula in DH's baby bottle "so he would sleep through the night and [FIL] wouldn't have to get up and feed him." Like she was doing my FIL a favor! :blink:

 

Jackie

 

:eek::crying::ohmy::svengo:

[mom2a&z]

If I was sick and couldn't stop coughing, my parents would give me a teaspoon of whiskey (usually Wild Turkey) with a marshmallow "chaser".

 

Nasty stuff but it worked.

 

With my dc I just use regular cough syrup, which they think is nasty stuff.

[HerdingCats]

I remember my mom having Paragoric by prescription and we would get a dose of that for almost anything. I am pretty sure our pediatrician prescribed this. I can still recall that it tasted like straight scotch! (Not that I knew that at the time!) It was also an added ingredient in a diarrhea medicine that we used to have to take from time to time. I remember asking a pharmacist where I could get some once after I had my own children, and was told it was a narcotic! Wow, was I surprised! This may explain a lot about my siblings and me :lol:

[Mabelen]

Yes, pretty often. If my dad was in charge, it was Mercurochrome if you were bleeding, hot toddies for everything else, lol! Hot toddies consisted of whisky, hot water, and sugar.

 

Mercury and alcohol every time we were sick or injured, it's a miracle we survived :tongue_smilie:

 

That was us too, with the Mercurochrome. We didn't get too many hot toddies but there was this sweet table wine that we were given almost on a daily basis because it was supposed to give children a hearty appetite, it was even advertised on TV for this purpose too!

[sunshine]

I remember my Mom giving me a shot glass of red wine, a very sweet red wine I can't remember the name of at night before I went to bed. It is a wonder I am not a raging alcoholic as I got one for YEARS! I don't drink at all now but I was a Party girl in my teens and in college. Motherhood cured me and Christ gave me a reason, but miraculously I was not an alcoholic and just quit when I got saved.

I am discussing trying dark ale with my LOTR fanatic son though. :D

[sunshine]

I remember my mom having Paragoric by prescription and we would get a dose of that for almost anything. I am pretty sure our pediatrician prescribed this. I can still recall that it tasted like straight scotch! (Not that I knew that at the time!) It was also an added ingredient in a diarrhea medicine that we used to have to take from time to time. I remember asking a pharmacist where I could get some once after I had my own children, and was told it was a narcotic! Wow, was I surprised! This may explain a lot about my siblings and me :lol:

 

 

I forgot all about Paragoric!! My Mom said that a lady in her neighborhood used to come around to all the mothers on the street around 11am with a bottle of paragoric (which had morphine in I think) and offer to dose the Kiddies so they could have a Coffe Klutch! My Mom, thankfully refused!! Or I would have been a druggie and a drunk by age 12!! :lol::lol:

[Melissa in Australia]

my mother made us drink cooking sherry when we were sick. I cannot stand drinking alcohol to this day, it just reminds me of vomiting.

[herbalgirl]

My grandparents never did, but my mom did. I am 34. :)

[KidsHappen]

Both my parents and grandparents did this and I am also one of the parents old enough to have done this as well. I have recently had this unofficially recommended to me by licensed medical personnel. Alcohol or narcotics are effective cough medicines because they act on the cough center of the brain and dull the cough reflex. They are more effective than over the counter cough medicines that do not contain alcohol. As a matter of fact, narcotic cough syrups are the strongest narcotic available by prescription (percentage wise) because they don't mix it with tylonol to prevent overdose. Even still there is nothing that is one hundred percent effective in preventing a cough. Hot toddies are also good for sore throats of other forms of mild pain. It is pretty imporatant to get the dosing right in a child and it is illegal in many states.

[babysparkler]

I remember my mother rubbing bourbon on my baby sister's gums when she was teething.

Jennifer

 

My mom did that too.

[TravelingChris]

No alcohol here and my parents were European. They did drink occasionally and my father used to have one beer every night after coming home but they didn't give us any. We had Robitussin for coughs and Mercurochrome for cuts. MY dh is always saying we need to get some Mercurochrome but we use polysporin instead.

[CalicoKat]

OH Man, I wish you'd have written this last night. My cold/cough has kept me awake coughing most of the past two night.....I could have used a hot toddy.

 

My dad tells the story about how his gparents would give him a shot glass of something powerful from the liquor cabinet when his allergies were keeping him awake coughing and sneezing during the summer's at their house. :D He says it was the only time he slept welll during the summer. His folks were against it. But back then gparents ruled.

[Dayle in Guatemala]

Didn't read the other posts, and I don't know if this counts as medicating or not, but, my bio-father would give my 2 little brothers and me rum and coke to knock us out at night so he could drink himself on the weekends he had us. Sad, but, true and it did work. I think I was 5 so that would make my brothers 3 and 1. When I think about that, it makes me sick.

 

My grandma would rub a little whiskey on our gums when we were teething--not a lot just a little rub to the area the tooth was coming in on. From what I hear, that worked great.

[Mabelen]

my mother made us drink cooking sherry when we were sick. I cannot stand drinking alcohol to this day, it just reminds me of vomiting.

 

Haha! I had the same reaction but not to alcohol, to camomile tea. My father would insist us on taking this everytime we had a stomack problem. I drink plenty of other kinds of tea, but to this day, camomile tea equals sickness and I avoid it at all costs!