“If you drink a glass of warm water mixed with mustard you will vomit… this drink’s combination is an emetic ”

Neil is a personal chef in Los Angeles, California. He grew up in New York and moved out to California for college. After graduating, Neil remained in the city managing restaurants and then settled into a career as a personal chef. He lives in Hollywood with his dog Jane. Neil explained to be that he had to use this emetic on his dog when she accidentally consumed some aspirin. Neil learned this remedy from his mother who taught it to him before he moved across the country for college in case of an emergency. Neil had researched the emetic before giving it to Jane and learned that is was not harmful to big dogs if given in little doses. Jane recovered well from the incident.

Folk Medicine is a universal thing because everyone gets sick with the same illnesses and tries to find their own relief. Though certain parts of the world may grow a certain plant that is unavailable elsewhere and so their remedy is isolated, the idea that people search for remedies is a frequent thing. There are manufactured and purchasable emetics but the use of a homemade remedy may be less intrusive and toxic. By transferring and sharing folk medicine through horizontal mode of communication, people can learn a lot about other cultures and other culture’s remedies. The notion of folk medicine is sustainable because of the acquisition of new information is beneficial for everyone.