In the olden days if you were not well, our ethnic ancestors, not blessed with the abundance of medications that are available today (such as antibiotics, vaccines, aspirin, fancy ointments, salves, lozenges, gargles, etc.), had to rely on "home remedies" for relief. So, they made do with a variety of basic ingredients which were readily available locally, and the preparations were passed on "father-to-son", or more accurately, "mother-to daughter."

Cure for Headache
Spread raw, sliced, and slightly salted potatoes (kednakhentsor/patates) across forehead; wrap damp cloth tightly over same and tie in back.
Note: When the headache had gone, the more economy-minded did not discard the sliced potatoes, but made home-fries with them, and an added dab of olive oil which, along with Angora-sheep-tail rendered fat, was a staple of the Armenian home. So, Bon Appetite !!!

To relieve Toothache
A tablespoon of "Oghi" (similar to Ouzo or Pernod) or Alcohol over painful tooth, held there as long as possible. Resist temptation to swallow as the sore tooth’s throbbing nerve ends need that heavenly nectar more than your alcoholic gullet. Repeat process if necessary.

To quiet a Stomach Ache
Boil Ananoukh (mint), preferably fresh, as you would tea. Drink it hot. A few drops of lemon juice may be added for flavor, if desired , but no sugar. Mint tea is also a good chish maker or diuretic.

Cold Cure
Boil Tumpi (Linden) or okhlamoor leaves and seeds together. Drink it hot. No sugar.

For Sprains and Bruises
Arnica. The curative properties and application of this useful herb is common in Near and Middle-Eastern countries

To overcome Diarrhea
Make Lappa (boiled overcooked rice) and spoon it in along with a few crusts of bread, if desired, but add no butter or other additives to lappa. Eat nothing else for 24 hours, or at least until the runs stop. So, make lappa for 2 or 3 servings. (If runs are a common ailment, have your Genig (wife) make a Khazan-full (large-pot), so you will have it handy at all times).

Relief from Indigestion
Drink plain hot water. A smidgen of Oghi or baking soda and a few drops of lemon juice may be added.

To ease the Pain of Piles
Crush warm Ketten-Tokhoumi (cottonseeds), and apply on sore piles or hemorrhoidal surfaces around anus, and hold them there overnight with rag bandages.

To revive a Fainted Person
Cut Sokh (onion) in half. Rub both halves briskly over and about nostrils, but do leave patient’s eyelids shut for obvious reasons. Discard shredded onion after usage, as it is too messy for cooking. If sokh is not handy, Sekhdor (garlic) will do. Also oghi dropped into the nostrils has a resuscitative effect.

For Constipation
Besides Hentgayoogh (castoroil), use an old-fashioned sheeringa (syringe). To warm-to-hot water, add a dab of olive oil as a lubricant to ease out passage of visceral- intestinal cloggant. Also useful in extreme emergency: Shape or roll a small piece of soap into a half-inch outer diameter cylinder and use it, slightly moistened, as an anal lubricant to ease outflow.
Remember: In the mid-nineteenth century, vaseline was not yet a known commodity. However, if a milder cathartic will do the job, swallow a large spoonful or two of hot prune paste or drink a glass of spinach juice in which this vegetable has been boiled.

Wart removal or disappearance
The curing process for the hard, pesky cutaneous protuberance or WART (godzidz) is said to go back to the pre-Christian era of Armenians. It is a simple and inexpensive process. Even in those dim, dark ages, the wart sufferers waited for the new moon to appear, at which propitious time he went out doors and liberally sprinkled salt on his moon-exposed wart, uttered the prescribed ancient incantation especially composed for this purpose, and repeated the process the following night. However if no cure was effected, he then had to wait for the next new moon to go through the same routine again.

Now then, publication of the above-included remedies need not be construed as endorsement of their respective efficacies. Therefore any present-day pioneering practitioner of the above-suggested preparations "does so at his own risk."

Mnas Parov – as told to me by my grandmother, Mamas Ohanian

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