GRANNY CURE-ALLS
Old remedies making strong comeback
By SHARON KERR

Only a century ago when Jasper really began growing, country folk did not run to a hospital, doctor or pharmacy for every injury and ailment.

For one thing, by the time you hitched the mule, loaded the patient in a wagon and bounced them down dirt roads, they were much the worse for wear. Medical care of any description was scarce, and probably Granny knew almost as much as the local druggist, who might double as town undertaker.

Old home remedies are enjoying new respect, as historians and biologists scramble to interview people who still remember what Granny used.

The biologists are bioprospecting, searching for medically significant substances. The bark of the yew tree, whose seeds are poisonous, has yielded a potent cancer-fighting drug, for instance.

But while simple country cures for an earache or better skin care don't offer much promise for pharmaceutical profits, they frequently seem to work. According to many postings on the internet, they work as well as expensive drugs, and with fewer harmful side effects.

Computers offer people a chance to explore alternatives. Most websites caution readers that these "treatments" are not sanctioned by the medical establishment and are "used at your own risk." They are not intended to replace medical advice for serious conditions.

Two top Google "home remedies" sites in January included:

Healthrevelations.com, a site maintained by a medical doctor with a free download on "good old fashioned country cures from your kitchen pantry."

Indianchild.com, an index of treatments and dietary recommendations for many common ailments, like adding garlic to your diet to reduce blood pressure and cholesterol.

At the Piney Woods Gem and Mineral Society meeting recently, several people were happy to share old-timey treatments they remembered.

Mary Lollar said she was "a little bit of a girl" when she stepped barefoot on a tin lid. "I sliced my foot up real good and there was lots and lots of blood," she said. The old folks poured coal oil out of a lamp to stop the bleeding, wrapped it up in cloth and told her to stay off it a couple of days. She said she healed just fine.

Jonetta Nash said to cure a boil you plaster a piece of salt pork on it to bring it to a head, but John Nash opted for a doctor's visit instead.

Ruth Howell recalled that whenever the kids had an earache, her mother-in-law would grate up an onion and squeeze off some juice. She'd put the liquid in a spoon and warm it over a candle to body temperature, and then pour it in the child's ear.

Howell also said the cure for ulcers in the mouth is to drink buttermilk.

James Lollar said his family back in Mississippi would make a tea of sassafras leaves, let it cool, and soak a rag to make a compress to cure a stye (a boil at the edge of the eyelashes).

Vance Beaver, a native American raised in Oklahoma, still trades remedies at powwows and knows many herbal treatments. One of his favorites is the bark of the toothache tree.

Aralia spinosa is actually more shrub than tree, usually growing three to four feet tall at the edge of the woods. It is also known as devil's walking stick, Hercules' club or prickly ash. Placing a sliver of bark between the cheek and the gum will produce numbness.

"I was traveling the Indian National highway once and overhead two women talking. They were going from Tulsa to Shreveport, so it would be awhile before the one with a toothache could see a dentist.

"My friend had a couple of pieces of bark in her purse and offered it to the lady. As soon as she put it next her gum, right away she said 'oh, I feel it already' and she was so grateful."

Beaver also recommends sweetened tea made from sassafras leaves to drink for general health and just because it tastes good.

He says you can also take the roots of the sassafras and grind it and soak it to make a soothing liquid. "Dig the roots in winter when the sap is down because it will be stronger. We use it for sore throats, especially at powwows when the singers' throats get dry," he said.

Patty Lenderman, managing editor of the Lakecaster, has plenty of experience with mosquitoes and ticks. She recommends taping a piece of raw onion to bites, or rubbing the inside of a banana peel across them.

Dozens of books and websites recommend vinegar for all kinds of things, but one of the easiest sites to navigate is versatilevinegar.org.

White vinegar is a natural disinfectant for cleaning, cider vinegar by the spoonful improves skin tone, or when added to hot tea and honey soothes a sore throat. Vinegar is reputed to be relief for sunburn or jellyfish stings, a cure for dandruff and toenail fungus, a real head-to-toe wonder drug for pennies per use.

The common thread in most home remedies is that they are inexpensive and they really can't hurt you unless used to excess. The one possible danger lies in postponing seeking medical treatment for things home remedies can't help.

It would also be wise to inform your doctor of any home treatments, because some foods will interact with prescriptions or mask symptoms the doctor uses as diagnostic tools.