Blinky the Shark wrote:
> I feel like shit. I may have about ten minutes, here, before I have to go
> back to bed. Can't sleep, but don't have the energy to do anything else,
> either -- not even read. (And that just kills me.) So I've been flashing
> back to little home remedies from growing up in the 1950s...
>
> I think sometimes Mom would give me small amounts of what I remember as a
> weak solution of sugar in water. Ever heard of that?
>
> Burnt Toast: I distinctly remember Mom burning a slice of toast and
> scraping the ashes into a glass of water. I guess this was to settle a
> stomach (the charcoal or whateveer) -- probably more from acid upset than
> from feeling urpy.
>
> Liquid Jell-O. I guess that was a variant on sugar water; it's not like
> there was sugar-free Jell-0 in 1953.
>
>
Sorry you're feeling poorly; is it some kind of flu? I had a bout of
that at Christmas and spent Christmas Day in bed with a fever of 102 --
such fun!

When we were little, for nausea, Mom used to give us flat gingerale, and
if that stayed put, a half orange to suck on. The flat gingerale may
very well be an analogue of your mom's sugar water remedy. For chest
colds, Vicks Vaporub on the back and chest.