Golden Box Book Publishing Asthma Relief with Grandmas Remedies | Page 6

Introduction
My grandmother was born in 1892, and she suffered with asthma all
her life. She, of course, didn’t have the luxuries afforded us by
modern medicine, but she managed her symptoms fairly well. She
never used disinfectants other than certain herbs in her home. I often
saw her drinking herbal teas. She told me the Hungarian folk names
for these herbs, one of which was “hairy dog milk,” and I remember
the other one as “cow tail weed.” I recognized these herbs later when
I studied Herbal Medicine. The Latin names for them were pill-
bearing spurge and mullein. People didn’t refer to herbs by their
Latin names when I was a kid, and I have no idea why they named
the pill-bearing spurge hairy dog milk.
Grandma often took me on trips to the fields, meadows, and into the
woods or along the riverside to collect herbs. Now I regret that I did
not continue learning from her, after I was twelve or so. Back then—
just like any teenager—I thought I was smarter and the “old
medicine” was just that, old.
As a small child I had no idea that grandma was the town’s so-called
healer, as were her mother and grandmother before her. The spare
room of her house was filled with herbs hanging to dry from hooks,
and the cabinets were filled with bottles and jars containing oils,
salves, and tinctures. People came to see her frequently. They told
her about the symptoms they were experiencing, and she looked at
their wounds or rashes, or she asked questions, and then she handed
them some remedy with instructions. It was all natural. Even then, I
knew she was a good person who helped people.
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