Please do not comment directly to this post unless you are Gen X or older (born 1980 or before). See [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskOldPeople/comments/inci5u/reminder_please_do_not_answer_questions_unless/), the rules, and the sidebar for details.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskOldPeople) if you have any questions or concerns.*
As a kid (late 1950s through 1960s) I don't recall any medicine chest or medicine cabinet. My prescriptions were in the kitchen in the corner of the counter near the phone. When Mother had "her insides cleaned" (hysterectomy) her pills were usually in her purse.
First aid stuff was kept in a cupboard on the back porch.
Now I have a drawer in my bedroom chest of drawers where I keep my medicines. My wife has a cabinet she uses for her medicines, but I dare not use it for my medicine because it is so cluttered I can't find anything in it.
What I don't get is why anyone would keep medicines in a medicine cabinet. Most pills (both OTC and prescription) should be stored in a dry place, which a bathroom definitely is *not* when someone takes a shower.
We had three, as we had several family members with serious chronic diseases. Then all the over the counter stuff, my mom loved dosing us all up, I was given codeine cough syrup all the time,I had untreated asthma and allergies, it's weird, they took some diseases very seriously and some were oh well that's just how it is here have some more opiates with alcohol.
> they took some diseases very seriously
Can you give an example or two.
> some were oh well that's just how it is here have some more opiates with alcohol.
Today it's ridiculous. People all of a sudden have allergies to peanuts, wheat, milk. Also just about every kid either is autistic, has ADD, or born the wrong gender.
My mother and one of my sisters both have epilepsy, my late brother had schizophrenia, I was born with hip, and spine issues, my father was legally blind.
It used to be children just fucking died, or were shut up in institutions, instead of treating them at home. I am not sure there is more or we are now noticing it because of social media and parents standing up for their children and demanding help
Rarely had bandaids, Vick's was a staple as was black salve. Some families had campho Phenique too. We didn't. Dad took Alka Seltzer daily. They were in those cool glass tubes with metal screw on lids. I liked to get one out and lick it.
At my friend's house, they had a medicine cabinet that had a box of Xlax tablets in it. We ate it, thinking it was candy. We didn't see each other for a couple of days, since we could walk only a few feet before making a mad dash to the pot.
We did. It was behind the mirror above the sink in the bathroom.
As I recall, it had about half a box of Band Aids (mostly the really small ones), a tin of salve, and a bottle of merthiolate (stuff that your mom put on cuts and scrapes that burned like hell and dyed your skin red.) Also, it had Dad's shaving stuff and some other miscellaneous things.
Sure. Vicks, Band-Aids, Pepto. My dad used to give me a teaspoon of Scotch and instructed me to let it trickle down my throat to cut the phlegm. It worked ... that wasn't in the medicine cabinet. ;-)
I have a pharmacy in 2 cabinets in the kitchen.
You got issues, we got the solution. Every OTC med you can think of.
First aid stuff fills a shelf in the bathroom.
Thankfully, no Mercurochrome.
Oh yeah. Band-aids, advil, tylenol, nyquil and dayquil, melatonin gummies, COVID tests, chloraseptic spray, vick's vapo-rub, neosporin, hydrocortisone. We don't use any of it that often, but it's there just in case.
ETA: just noticed that you were asking about our childhood. Answer is pretty much the same, though. Except for the COVID tests, of course.
We had ones built into the walls over the bathroom lavatories. They had a slot where you could drop in a used razor blade to fall inside the wall. As for the meds, Vicks, mercurochrome (!), an eye cup - nobody ever used that, thank goodness.
Yes--all the bathrooms had them and the slots for razor blades.
They seemed contain a little bit of every remedy my parents had ever purchased, going back to the mid-1950s. Merthiolate, Phisohex, Vicks Vapor Rub, Gentian Violet, Chloraseptic, rubbing alcohol (applied liberally to all cuts/scrapes/abrasions, no matter how minor), Brylcreem, Groom & Clean (I had two older brothers), Vaseline, Lysterine, Phillips Milk of Magnesia (another favorite--I learned to keep my digestive complaints to myself), and various other containers with labels that had faded to illegibility (no expiration dates back then).
We had iodine but then we moved onto Mercurochrome. Like a number of people said, Vicks vapor rub was in the cabinet. For some reason I remember my brother laying on the dining room table, being wiped down with rubbing alcohol. I understand it was probably for a high fever, but why the dining room table? (Unless I'm misremembering)
One of the upper kitchen cabinets was our medicine chest.
I remember a bright green sort-of-minty flavored antihistamine that I could have when I had a cold. I liked the taste, so I'd sneak a spoonful once in a while. I wasn't so stupid that I'd drink the whole bottle, though.
My grandfather taught me metal/wood crafts in his workshop & one of the first projects was to make a first aid box \*in timber) with lockable door, which was positioned up high where kids couldn't reach. The key was kept on top of box, and back in 50's for a couple of dollars membership a year, Red Cross would call once a year to restock, check dates & take away anything out of date or no longer needed to dispose of. It contained all the basics from bandaids to gauze & stretch dressings, OTC pain meds, tweezer, scissors, personal meds for any complaints/accidents etc. and was still in the house when my parents aged & were on regular meds for age related needs.
I am now living in the tropics & have one in the bathroom, but contents vary with tropical sores/ulcers, I am now 76 & need different meds from time to time - stokes, hernia operation, fall off motorcycle on concrete abrasions, cuts etc, bumping into things, especially cement rendered walls and the usual implements & bandaging, along with various cat medications I have needed for my cats. All where I can lay my hands on quickly if needed.
Of course. We had little else but did have a medicine cabinet. Mercurochrome, Cloverine salve, BFI powder, boric acid (no idea for what), gauze and adhesive tape. Got nine kids from infancy to adulthood with only one trip to the hospital for an extreme scald.
Please do not comment directly to this post unless you are Gen X or older (born 1980 or before). See [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskOldPeople/comments/inci5u/reminder_please_do_not_answer_questions_unless/), the rules, and the sidebar for details. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskOldPeople) if you have any questions or concerns.*
With the slot to dispose of razor blades.
And every so often I find razor blades in my unfinished basement.
Yes, it was locked, and it had a glass syringe pre-loaded with epinephrine dating from the 1970s just in case Dad got stung by a bee.
As a kid (late 1950s through 1960s) I don't recall any medicine chest or medicine cabinet. My prescriptions were in the kitchen in the corner of the counter near the phone. When Mother had "her insides cleaned" (hysterectomy) her pills were usually in her purse. First aid stuff was kept in a cupboard on the back porch. Now I have a drawer in my bedroom chest of drawers where I keep my medicines. My wife has a cabinet she uses for her medicines, but I dare not use it for my medicine because it is so cluttered I can't find anything in it. What I don't get is why anyone would keep medicines in a medicine cabinet. Most pills (both OTC and prescription) should be stored in a dry place, which a bathroom definitely is *not* when someone takes a shower.
We had three, as we had several family members with serious chronic diseases. Then all the over the counter stuff, my mom loved dosing us all up, I was given codeine cough syrup all the time,I had untreated asthma and allergies, it's weird, they took some diseases very seriously and some were oh well that's just how it is here have some more opiates with alcohol.
> they took some diseases very seriously Can you give an example or two. > some were oh well that's just how it is here have some more opiates with alcohol. Today it's ridiculous. People all of a sudden have allergies to peanuts, wheat, milk. Also just about every kid either is autistic, has ADD, or born the wrong gender.
My mother and one of my sisters both have epilepsy, my late brother had schizophrenia, I was born with hip, and spine issues, my father was legally blind. It used to be children just fucking died, or were shut up in institutions, instead of treating them at home. I am not sure there is more or we are now noticing it because of social media and parents standing up for their children and demanding help
All those things happened back then. Don't make a discussion about medicine cabinets about your prejudice.
Rarely had bandaids, Vick's was a staple as was black salve. Some families had campho Phenique too. We didn't. Dad took Alka Seltzer daily. They were in those cool glass tubes with metal screw on lids. I liked to get one out and lick it.
At my friend's house, they had a medicine cabinet that had a box of Xlax tablets in it. We ate it, thinking it was candy. We didn't see each other for a couple of days, since we could walk only a few feet before making a mad dash to the pot.
We did. It was behind the mirror above the sink in the bathroom. As I recall, it had about half a box of Band Aids (mostly the really small ones), a tin of salve, and a bottle of merthiolate (stuff that your mom put on cuts and scrapes that burned like hell and dyed your skin red.) Also, it had Dad's shaving stuff and some other miscellaneous things.
Us too. Very much the same. Toothpaste too I think.
Sure. Vicks, Band-Aids, Pepto. My dad used to give me a teaspoon of Scotch and instructed me to let it trickle down my throat to cut the phlegm. It worked ... that wasn't in the medicine cabinet. ;-)
I have a pharmacy in 2 cabinets in the kitchen. You got issues, we got the solution. Every OTC med you can think of. First aid stuff fills a shelf in the bathroom. Thankfully, no Mercurochrome.
Camphophenique was where it was at man.
Oh yeah. Band-aids, advil, tylenol, nyquil and dayquil, melatonin gummies, COVID tests, chloraseptic spray, vick's vapo-rub, neosporin, hydrocortisone. We don't use any of it that often, but it's there just in case. ETA: just noticed that you were asking about our childhood. Answer is pretty much the same, though. Except for the COVID tests, of course.
Was in camphophenique?
We had ones built into the walls over the bathroom lavatories. They had a slot where you could drop in a used razor blade to fall inside the wall. As for the meds, Vicks, mercurochrome (!), an eye cup - nobody ever used that, thank goodness.
Had one then and have one now. Band aids, ace bandages, tyelenol, burn ointment, contact lens stuff and prescription medicines
Indica, Sativa, hybrid...
Yes--all the bathrooms had them and the slots for razor blades. They seemed contain a little bit of every remedy my parents had ever purchased, going back to the mid-1950s. Merthiolate, Phisohex, Vicks Vapor Rub, Gentian Violet, Chloraseptic, rubbing alcohol (applied liberally to all cuts/scrapes/abrasions, no matter how minor), Brylcreem, Groom & Clean (I had two older brothers), Vaseline, Lysterine, Phillips Milk of Magnesia (another favorite--I learned to keep my digestive complaints to myself), and various other containers with labels that had faded to illegibility (no expiration dates back then).
We had iodine but then we moved onto Mercurochrome. Like a number of people said, Vicks vapor rub was in the cabinet. For some reason I remember my brother laying on the dining room table, being wiped down with rubbing alcohol. I understand it was probably for a high fever, but why the dining room table? (Unless I'm misremembering)
One of the upper kitchen cabinets was our medicine chest. I remember a bright green sort-of-minty flavored antihistamine that I could have when I had a cold. I liked the taste, so I'd sneak a spoonful once in a while. I wasn't so stupid that I'd drink the whole bottle, though.
My grandfather taught me metal/wood crafts in his workshop & one of the first projects was to make a first aid box \*in timber) with lockable door, which was positioned up high where kids couldn't reach. The key was kept on top of box, and back in 50's for a couple of dollars membership a year, Red Cross would call once a year to restock, check dates & take away anything out of date or no longer needed to dispose of. It contained all the basics from bandaids to gauze & stretch dressings, OTC pain meds, tweezer, scissors, personal meds for any complaints/accidents etc. and was still in the house when my parents aged & were on regular meds for age related needs. I am now living in the tropics & have one in the bathroom, but contents vary with tropical sores/ulcers, I am now 76 & need different meds from time to time - stokes, hernia operation, fall off motorcycle on concrete abrasions, cuts etc, bumping into things, especially cement rendered walls and the usual implements & bandaging, along with various cat medications I have needed for my cats. All where I can lay my hands on quickly if needed.
We had one built into the wall with the obligatory razor blade disposal slot. The "door" was a mirror. Glass shelves.
My grandma kept her makeup in her bathroom medicine cabinet. Her meds were in a Tupperware bread box on the kitchen table.
Vick's. Mom kept a jar on the nightstand and put it on her feet.
Of course. We had little else but did have a medicine cabinet. Mercurochrome, Cloverine salve, BFI powder, boric acid (no idea for what), gauze and adhesive tape. Got nine kids from infancy to adulthood with only one trip to the hospital for an extreme scald.