Would vinegar and brown paper be of any use in the event of a small boy (call him Jack) sustaining a head wound?

• VINEGAR and brown paper could well be used to treat a head wound (other more suitable substances being unavailable). Copious amounts of vinegar would cleanse the wound and most bacteria would not survive in the concentrated acid solution, thus reducing the risks of infection. Brown paper would then be used as a non-adherent dressing. But Jack might prefer a good clean with plain old tap water, and a socially acceptable plaster.

  Rosemary Morton, Consultant, Accident & Emergency, Manchester Royal Infirmary.

• I DON'T know about broken heads, but in my childhood on Tyneside in the early thirties, vinegar and brown paper, with a sprinkling of pepper, was comforting for a toothache or similar pain. Applied to the cheek it produced instant warmth. Chilli paste from the chemist, rubbed on the skin, had a similar but fiercer effect.

  Marjorie Snape, Durham.

• The nursery rhyme "Jack and Jill" is entirely euphemistic. The phrase referring to Jack breaking his crown was a euphenism for catching syphilis, the treatment for which consisted of wrapping the head of the the penis in vinegar and brown paper. Sweet dreams kids.

  Simon Dibley, Brighton