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Subject: Re: Waiting for the Doctor Author: Rich [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: Monday, May 10, 2010, 12:52: pm In reply to: Becky 's message, "Waiting for the Doctor" on Tuesday, September 29, 2009, 08:04: pm As a first year baby boomer, meaning one of those born in 1946, the doctor encounter had two modes. One was the annual physical for school and summer camp at his office. That was not bad. He checked the vitals, stuck his hands inside my underpants to examine the testicles, checked a urine specimen, and gave me a tetenus shot or polio shot in the arm. I was in good health for those visits. The other mode was the house call. Besides the vitals was the penicillin shot in the buttocks for whatever childhood illness I had at the time. I had them all -- mumps, measles, chicken pox, and the more serious pneumonia. He wrote presciptions for aspirin suppositories, codein cough syrup, child strength nose drops, and a few special items for whatever the illness required. In anticipation of the visit, I got an enema from my mother in the bathroom. After the visit, usually at four hour intervals I got the nose drops, rectal temperature taking, suppository, cough syrup and additional meds. An example of a special medication would be Tigan suppositories for nausea or ear drops for an infection there. The usual colds were almost every month, and the routine at home was the same for those. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

[> [> Subject: Re: Waiting for the Doctor Author: Barb [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: Tuesday, May 11, 2010, 07:28: pm We are from the same era, aren't we? I don't ever thing I got Tigan suppositories, but I do remember the cough syrups of the time. One was supposed to taste like cherry, or at least that is what my mother told me. The other one was clear and called turpin hydrate which had codeine in it and tasted plain awful even if it did stop the cough. An enema in our house was a half bag of warm water that had been made soapy with Ivory. I didn't like them that much but they certainly worked. My mother had a thing about enemas and if I was sick enough to be home from school I was sick enough to get a cleaning out. What a great way to make sure I never played sick to stay home. [ Post a Reply to This Message ]

[> [> [> Subject: Re: Waiting for the Doctor Author: Rich [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: Wednesday, May 12, 2010, 01:08: am It is always nice to meet another boomer. Some more details about my experiences -- My mother did the same thing with the open top B.F. Goodrich red rubber bag. An Ivory soap bar was put in the bag. Then the warm water filled the bag and mixed the soap and made the water filmy. I got about a quart or so, and it always took two trips to the toilet to expel all of it. It was done first thing each day. That made temperature taking and suppository administration easier. It did feel good to be cleaned out. I had a gag reflex that made it hard to take a pill. That is why I got aspirin in suppository form. They were big pellets with the brand name Supprettes. Some other meds looked more like gel capsules and were given rectally. The Tigan ones were brown and long, thin suppositories. I wore red flannel pajamas with a drop seat that closed with eight buttons. My mother used that trap door every time it was a temperature taking or suppository occasion. I was on my tummy for the rectal thermometer and on my left side with my knees pulled up for each suppository. The cough syrup was cherry flavored and it got me snockered as well as stopping the cough. Great stuff. You did not mention getting nose drops but I did. I had to lie on my back on the bed with my head hanging down over the edge. I loved the results, but dreaded the experience of having a half dozen drops put in each nostril. Did you ever get nose drops, and how was it done? Fortunately, I never got the Vicks Vapo Rub or Fletchers Castoria that other kids had. My mother knew they were both pretty worthless. Looking back on it all, the tender, loving care was great, I craved the attention, and now I have a fetish for all of it. [ Post a Reply to This Message ]

[> [> [> [> Subject: Re: Waiting for the Doctor Author: Peter [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: Wednesday, May 12, 2010, 08:07: am I used to get nose drops and hated it when the medication ran down the back of the throat it felt awful and ear drops weren't much better. Vicks vapor rub was a standard of my mothers if we had a cold. I also hated the taste of the wooden spatula they used to hold the tongue down during the examination of the throat. [ Post a Reply to This Message ]

[> [> [> Subject: Re: Waiting for the Doctor Author: Barb [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: Thursday, May 13, 2010, 07:35: am I was never happy about Vicks. My mother would rub it on my chest, put some on my upper lip under my nose, or use it in a vaporizer. It would often trigger my gag reflex and I swore that when I became a mom that I would never use Vicks. We've never had it in the house. On the other hand our enema bag has always gotten its fair share of use. That's a different story. [ Post a Reply to This Message ]

[> [> [> [> Subject: Re: Waiting for the Doctor Author: Connie [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: Tuesday, May 18, 2010, 08:40: pm I hated the smell of Vicks and some was put under my nose "to clear my chest" I was told. Of course I have never used it on myself..ugh!! An enema also seemed to be part of being home sick and to this day I am not sure why that was so or even if it was necessary. Yet enemas were given to my sister and I and mom took them. [ Post a Reply to This Message ]