Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-11-23
FANCY MAKES CURES
RECOVERY FROM DISEASE By IN
FLUENCE OF IMAGINATION.
Distilled Water for Self Hypnotized
Patients-Spina1 Paralysis
Remedied in a Minute.

From the London Express.
The number of cases In which fancy
has been the only drug really used is over
whelming. 1t is not by any means only
the prescription of the Quack. for many
physicians of the highest repute use 1t IN
another guise. The late Sir William Gull
for instance, one Of the greatest physicians
of the nineteenth century, and one Of those
In attendance on the king when, as Prince
of Wales. hts. majesty had typhoid fever
used frequently to give his patients nothing
but burnt sugar and water, and with thai
very simple remedy he made some remark
able cures, for he knew the value Of
fancy in the cure of disease.
Pure distilled water, acting on the
fancy" once cured disease when every
other means of cure had failed The case
is recorded in the Lancet and is that OF q
woman of fifty-eight who had pains every
where. and was supposed to have a disease
of every organ At last she was assured
there was one remedy which would cure
by an experienced nurse, and at certain
hours to be scrupulously adhered to.
tablespoonful of pure distilled water was
given to her at intervals of five hours regu-
larly as the clock struck. Within three
weeks every one of her pains had van
ished.
A Contracted Outlet.
There are many instances recorded by
physicians where not even distilled water
was required to effect a signal cure. Into
the t-patient department of one of the
large London hospitals a girl in the last
stage of emaciation was one day led by her
mother. The elder woman explained that
her daughter was suffering from con-
y; olv
swallowing.
The doctor looked at the girl Il can
cure that contraction in half an hour" he
said. So firmly did he impress the value
of what he was doing on the girls MIND
that within that time she was sent into one
of the wards for a good square meal, and
she enjoyed large plateful of boiled NUT
ton, potatoes and turnips, followed by an
equally generous helping of pudding.
To think that woman should lie on hel
back suffering apparently from incurable
paralysis of the spine for. two years, and
that preparations should be made for get
ting her into a home for incurables while
she was within a couple of hours of a per-
feet cure merely through the influence OF
her fancy" seems to the economist ter
rible waste of time and to the sympathetic
cruel phase of nature. Yet such a case Is
recorded, and when certain remedies which
acted only on the fancy of the woman
about and went home by omnibus entirely
cured
One would hardly think that severe rheu-
matism could be cured by the splitting of a
kettle of boiling water acting on the
fancy" Yet DR.. Buckley records such a
case. doctor was summoned to see a
lady suffering in this way. He thought
that vapor bath would do her good. He
got a tea kettle and filled it with water
Then he attached a piece of pipe to the
which under he'd
put a spirit lamp under the kettle and pro-
ceeded to boil the water.
Unfortuna tely he had filled the kettle zoe
full. and instead of the steam only reach
ing the patient, the water boiled over into
the tube. and a few drops touched the pa
TENTS leg. You have scalded me. she
cried and she jumped out of bed. :. To hel
amazement. her rheumatism was cured.
Hereditary Headache.
A remarkable example of how fancy
can cure a disease produced by exactly
that same cause was recorded by ply
stefan at Zurich. A patient went to him
ope day and told him that two years be-
fore he had had pneumonia. which had left
him with a headache from which he hat
never been free for a single day. He ex
planned that the physician who had at
tended him had told him that HE woult
always have headache. as he had inherit
ed 1t from his father. 33.sS
IT can cure that headache of yours sale
the physician. He gave the man remedy
and impressed on him the fact that his
headache would be cured in short time
and would remain cured. When the ply
stefan saw the man four months later hi
learned that he had never since had
headache.
Some time ago a doctor had a charming
girl as patient She suffered acute agon!
from nervous dyspepsia. Every remedy
known to science was given to her, but she
remained as i'll at the end Of all the dosing
as she had been before. She was engaged
to be married to man whom she lovet
very dearly.
You will not be able to get married
said the doctor. unless you are cured, ant
this medicine which am going to give yol
is the thing which l believe will cure you
Her fancy was impressed with the fact
She took the medicine-was it little dis
TILED water?-and in very little while sh'
was perfectly cured
One would scarcely suppose that such
thing as warts could be cured by the effec
of fancy" Yet a famous physician II
Havre proved the value of the remedy II
such a case. A boy whose hand was Gov
cred with these ugly growths had the par
well washed with blue water. IF this doe
not cure the warts" said the doctor il
effect. II shall have to use yellow water
and that will burn you terribly.
The boy went home, his fancy deepl.
moved by the suffering which would result
treatment In a week all the warts bu
two or three had vanished.
Striking as all these cases are, there ar
others to which reference was made a tn
annual meeting of the British Medical AS
ISOLATION. Certain women apparently suf
fering from internal tumors were put unde
chloroform. taken into the operating room
and an incision made. but nothing was re
moved. In other words. the remainder o
| the operation was not proceeded with. Ye
| these patients were all cured.
Even more striking was that of a woman
who, having been put under the infuenc
| of chloroform and taken in the room. wa
| removed without anything at all beini
| done to her She believed she had beer
| operated upon, and she got perfectly well
| as vivid an example as could well be ad
| duced of the way in which fancy cal
| cure
Suit Against j. Samuel McCue.