Old linseed & flax remedies

Some fascinating remedies from our collection

Linseed has had a great reputation for soothing the throat and chest for hundreds of years.  There is no smoke without fire, there is good reason linseed has been used as a component in cough remedies ancient and modern.

Linseed is useful in many forms. It is especially popular as a remedy for persistent coughs, catarrh and asthma. It has many more interesting uses as a remedy.

1. Kay’s Compound Essence of Linseed, Aniseed, Senega, Squill, &c.

• “The finest remedy for Coughs, Colds and Chest Complaints, Bronchitis, Influenza, Consumption, &c. The Old English Remedy. Equally effective for Horses and Cattle”

From the Sydney Mail, 1902

2. Linseed cough remedy bottles

Several companies made and promoted linseed combined with other natural plant extracts to make the best cough remedies of their day.

• Chadwicks of Leeds. Balsam of linseed & honey
• Kay Brothers of Stockport. Linseed compound
• C. Dutton & Son’s, wholesale druggists of Bolton. Chest & lung mixture, Syrup of linseed and liquorice.

3. Linseed, liquorice & chlorodyne lozenges

• From Smith Rendon of Borough, London SE1.  Chlorodyne was a patent medicine of the UK from 19th century.  It was a formulation of laudanum, (alcoholic opium extract) cannabis and chloroform. Added to cough medicine it would help suppress coughs.

4.  Flaxseed (Linseed) Meal

• “Pure, fresh unexpressed, containing all the natural oil…useful for poultices for relieving pain and congestion, or to hasten suppuration”.  See also the Budwig diet and the use of linseed oil (Eldi oil) for compresses to relieve pain, and the Royal Army Medical Corps nicknamed the Linseed Lancers because of the linseed poultices they used to treat casualties in WW1.