Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1901-02-28
Odd Cures for Diseases.

Odd Cures for Diseases.
Freezing baking, Illuminating, torturing,
frightening and bfusing are among the &C
cepted ways of curing certain diseases, &C
cordlng to an article in the New York World
For instance, the baking cure When one
has well developed rheumatism he is placed
in species of stove and the crystals Of uric
acid arc literally melted out of his body.
Another odd cure for rheumatism is burial
in damp, warm clay. The first rheumatic
burial took place at Menominee, Mich. The
treatment was not success, however, and
this form of cure has been given up.
The freezing cure: This was first intro
duced by Swiss doctor, Paul Burdeyront.
He placed his patients in sheets immersed In
icewater, packing the patient all about with
crushed ice This treatment is today used In
typhoid fever cases.
Or the patient is plunged in an ice water
bath. The treatment saves many lives.
Raging fever above 1867 Fair. has been
brought down by these means to normal
90 2 SIN less than 10 minutes
Neither of these modes of treatment actu-
ally freezes one. A physician of Paris, NJ.
Figeau, however, introduced In 1890 an am
monla-vapor method which really froze the
patient. The body was placed in chamber
into which certain chemicals were introduced
Ammonia gas, by sudden evaporation, then
produced intense cold and the blood in the
body lost most of its heat.
NJ. Figeau's method did not meet with
success. Some of his patients succumbed to
the drastic measure and the practice was
abandoned.
DR.. Kline, of Fl. Dodge, Ia has devised a
method of treating cancer by sunlight. In
fact his experiments have extended to other
forms of disease.
BY means of large rejecting mirror he
drives the actinic or chemical rays of the sun
thu ough the body. DR.. Kline even found it
possible to take photographs through the
human body. but, of course, this had little to
do with the curative properties of the method,
a sort of gentle broiling.
Somewhat on the same order as the Kline
method are baths given in electric light. The
patient is placed in room in which are
hundreds of electric bulbs. The sides of the
walls the ceilings and even the floors are
covered by lights.
The patient is stripped and when the cleo.
tricity Is turned on he finds himself in sea
;phf in ph ha huf an
eyes are protected from the strong etfulgence
After ones body has bathed for half an
hour in electric light it is said to tingle all
over. The blood rushes more freely through
the veins and the circulation is improved if
it were previously out Of order.
For various forms of hysteria the ''shock-
ing" system has been introduced. The
phrase is misleading. There is nothing NOR.
ally Objectionable in the shocking" system
and it frequently works remarkable cures.
A hystercal patient is brought TO doctor
who believes IN tins cure, and suddenly, on
the first appearance of hysterical symptoms,
the patient is startled, either by sudden
apparition ofsome sort or by loud, startling
noise
This surprise" method has cured many
persons not only of bysteria, but OF deafness
and suffering. Epleptics who were sup
posed to be chemically afflicted have been
permanently cured in one treatment. This
practice was first introduced by DR.. Boeiauo
a Milanese practitioner. who lived early in
the nineteenth century
1t was discontinued owing 10 heart failure
of some of his patients as a result Of sudden
surprise, but in recent years in Berlin the
method has been revived
Before the patient is shocked careful ex-
animation of the heart is made to ascertain
If he be free from LESSONS of any sort. If the
heart be weak the patient is treated in the
ordinary way.
In shocking" patient into health many
strange devices are resorted to. For instance
one doctor had hidden trap opening over a
large tank Of water. The hysterical patient
was suddenly dropped into this tank without
warning. Many cures were effected by this
means, which is comparatively mild; other
doctors have had weapons fired off over the
patients head, and rights have been given
IN various ways, according to the ingenuity
of the practitioner and the susceptibility of
the patient.
Most persons are familiar with the massage
given by what is known as the Swiss move
ment A series of mechanical rubbers are
connected with machinery. The arms of
these rubbers are placed on eccentric wheels
which impart an odd movement to each arm.
The body being placed in sort of frame the
Swiss rubbing pads are placed on the back,
shoulders or any other part TO be massaged.
When the machine is set in motion the pa
tient is rubbed In a peculiar way which no
human hand or arm could accomplish. The
Swiss movement is especially valuable to
those who have impaired digestion.
In morphine and other narcotic poisoning
the patient is beaten severely with wet tow
els. The object is to keep him awake. Should
he pass into sleep after being once revived he
is almost certain to die.
For this reason man almost dying from
morphine is stripped and put IN room
where he is kept awake by being beaten.
When he shows any signs of going to sleep,
even under the wet towel treatment, loud
noises are made, tubs are dropped behind
him, pistols are fired off and everything is
done to startle him into consciousness