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My step-dad’s father grew up in Whitechapel in the East End. He ended up with a scar round his neck from childhood til the day he died …thanks to a traditional cure. And this is how it happened…

Swollen glands were traditionally treated (his family were immigrants from Estonia or Latvia, I forget which) by heating salt in a frying pan, putting it in a sock and wrapping the sock round the neck. This was done to Harry P (his father) when his glands were up but unfortunately the salt was too hot. The mother (his grand-mother) did not pay heed to Harry’s complaining, thinking it was pain from the glands, and Harry ended up burnt, with the sock stuck to his skin. When he went back to school his mother was taken to the authorities , in fact the police as I heard it, for having injured her son.

The moral of the story is: if you’ve got swollen glands, think yourself lucky, it could be worse! ;-)