Pain in the 50's

We can all agree that pain comes in two varieties: good and bad. Good pain comes from an expertly-administered spanking; it's ouchy but enjoyable. Then there's bad pain, the kind that comes from within your body and needs to be addressed.

I often have leg pain at night, and no matter how much I adjust my position, it just won't go away. That brought to mind the pain in my ankles that I had as a child in the 50s. It was called "growing pains" and my grandmother's remedy was a poultice of antiphlogistine.

It was thick like peanut butter, but smelled medicinal. It came in a can, which my grandmother set in a pan of boiling water and heated until it was hot. Then she spread the stuff, not on bread, but on a strip of cotton fabric which she wrapped around my ankle. The poultice was then covered with a towel pinned into place, and I kept it on all night. In the morning I would unwrap my foot, throw away the used cloth, and scrub away the sticky goo. It always worked to take the pain away, at least for a while.

We didn't have aspirin in those days, although I suppose it was available. In our household, the analgesic of choice was called 222. These were tablets that contained ASA, caffeine and codeine - quite a mixture! That was for the adults; the child's version was 217. There was also an extra-strength 282 if needed. (These drugs are no longer manufactured or sold in Canada.)

How times have changed.