As much as I love my mother, I would have beaten her away with a stick if she approached me with a "mess of onions" in a sock! Yuck! I thought the Vicks Vapo-rub on my chest under a cotton cloth and stuffed up my nose was bad enough.
I remembered another old remedy: "Green drops" for a toothache. It was this VERY strong clove-smelling ointment that you bought at the pharmacy. You put it on the aching tooth and somehow the pain went away.
My next entry is an off colored post and I apologize in advance if I'm about to offend you. If you're easily offended perhaps you should close your eyes and skip it.
Fair Warning