Bardzo zdrowy! (Very healthy!)
I don't get sick too often (knock on wood), but it is nice to know that you can run to the drugstore or supermarket and pick up medicine for a sore throat, cold, upset stomach, etc. We did not have this luxury in Poland, for a few reasons.
1. Europe in general has very few OTC medicines that are on the shelves. Usually, you have to ask the pharmacist. Adding the language barrier on to feeling miserable makes things much worse, because there is a good chance that you won't know the word for your particular malady. Example: we needed some medicine for diarrhea, but the only term we knew was the very crude one that Eric learned from his soldiers in Afghanistan. I think I said "always on the toilet" to get my point across.
2. Folk remedies are still quite popular. When I needed some drops for my swimmers ear, I struggled to explain the condition to the pharmacist. (Oddly, outer ear infections weren't covered in our Polish class.) She gave me some drops that were 90% canola oil and 10% camphor. But...it worked!
The story of the elixir also illustrates the power of folk remedies. Eric went to our local bakery/convenience store to buy some honey for a sore throat. The cashier, who knew us very well, asked him, "are you buying the honey because you are sick?" After Eric responds, she walks over to a shelf to get something she "recommends."
The bottle says: "ELIKSER CZARNEGO BZU"
(Here is small Polish-language observation: this is an elixir of something, but the "bzu" is unsearchable in the dictionary because it is so different from the root form of the word. It turned out to be Elderberry Elixir. I hope that cleared it up for you, because I had never heard of an elderberry.)
She explains that it can be mixed with tea or plain hot water and that it is "very healthy." Did it help? Maybe. Certainly didn't hurt, plus it was tasty!
So I'm open to the folk remedies now, but having a pharmacy where you can understand the labels and communicate effectively is a beautiful thing.
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