In June 1828 the Lancet published a pair of short case histories that contemporary readers must have found rather confusing. Printed on the same page, they both dealt with cases in which a strangulated hernia had been treated with a tobacco enema (yes, really: an infusion of tobacco administered via the anus). In the first … Continue reading Mr Trought’s tobacco enema
Category: Unusual treatments
The eye magnet
Today’s story first appeared in the Observationes, a collection of case reports by the German surgeon Wilhelm Fabry (1560-1634). Fabry, also known as Fabricius Hildanus, is sometimes referred to as the ‘father of German surgery’ and was a methodical and scientific operator whose careful descriptions of his work exerted a powerful influence on later generations … Continue reading The eye magnet
The pigeon’s rump cure
Eclampsia is a serious condition affecting women before, during or after childbirth. The name means literally ‘bursting forth’, an apt description for the seizures that characterise the condition, which arrive suddenly and dramatically. The cause of eclampsia has never been identified, although it is always preceded by pre-eclampsia – a combination of symptoms including high … Continue reading The pigeon’s rump cure
The most eccentric physician who ever lived
Dr Messenger Monsey was one of the best-known physicians in eighteenth-century London, although probably not one of the most capable. He began his career as an obscure country doctor in Suffolk, but his fortunes changed after he was summoned to the bedside of an influential aristocrat, the Earl of Godolphin, who had suffered a ‘fit … Continue reading The most eccentric physician who ever lived
Normal for Norfolk
If you lived in rural Norfolk in the nineteenth century and wanted to get rid of a wart on your hand, there were several options open to you. You might, for instance, steal a piece of beef (it must be stolen, otherwise the cure would not work) and bury it; as the beef decayed, your … Continue reading Normal for Norfolk
The champagne cure
Pyaemia is a form of septicaemia (blood poisoning) in which a bacterial infection spreads from an abscess and becomes systemic. The disease is characterised by abscesses all over the body, and in the days before antibiotics it was generally fatal. The only hope was to open the abscesses with the scalpel and drain them, removing … Continue reading The champagne cure
A leech on the eyeball
Bloodletting is an inescapable theme of a medical blog set largely in the nineteenth century. Although venesection (opening a vein) was frequently used, for minor complaints the weapon of choice was the leech, which could extract a small amount of blood relatively painlessly. Doctors varied the numbers of leeches applied according to the severity of … Continue reading A leech on the eyeball
The tapeworm trap
In September 1856 a physician called J. Gotham wrote to an American journal, the Medical and Surgical Reporter, with news of an exciting new breakthrough: a tapeworm trap. As it is my desire to keep you advised of all the improvements in medical and surgical practice which this prolific age is ushering into being, it … Continue reading The tapeworm trap
The turpentine vapour bath
The year is 1874, and American medics are deeply concerned about the activities of quacks and unlicensed doctors who are damaging the reputation of the profession. One particularly worrying case is reported by The Medical and Surgical Reporter: The following account is sent us by a correspondent in Baltimore. It is needless to say that … Continue reading The turpentine vapour bath
Bled dry
Most visitors to this blog will probably be aware that for centuries bloodletting played a central role in Western medicine. This is partly the result of the extraordinarily long-lasting influence of the Greek physician Galen, whose humoral theory underpinned medical practice until the Renaissance. Strangely, bleeding remained commonplace until much later, persisting well into the … Continue reading Bled dry