Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-04-11
COUNTRY HOME
CONDUCTED BY, MRS w. H.FEToN
Medical PROGRESS in 80 Years

Carolina reader of The Semi-W eekly
Journal who wants to know how doc
tors worked with patients when l
was a bit of a girl. My first pain
full recollections of a doctor was
when I had an aching jaw TOOTH
and he said it ought to be extracted
He told me he only wanted to look
at it. He said he didn't intend to
hurt me. l wondered why. he kept
his right hand wrapped in a red
my mouth to allow him to look and
he caught me close in his arms ana
put a pair of 'tWisters" inside my
mouth and twisted that tooth out;
l could have been more reconclled
if he had not deceived me. L Wouldn't
like to say out aloud what though
about him afterWard.
The doctors of the time did the
tooth pulling and they rode horse
back and had little medicine bags
that they threw over the saddle a!4Siie
The country folks called them Pill
bags" Then my mother became Sc
riously i'll. We were, walking on
tip-toe, not to disturb her. When l
saw that tooth-pulling doctor go IN
her room to give her medicine, L
was more afraid of the doctor than
of the disease.
For a number of years blood-let-
ting was a specific when the doctor
was in doubt. He could always bind
up an arm and cut into a vein and
let the blood escape. remember
doctor who thought L would be thus
cured of something, and he bound
up my arm and then he took hunt
for a vein to penetrate with his IAN
Get. He did cut, but no blood came
He simply didn't find vein and my
tender skin, with baby fairness, did
1l19Pp he
took a chance and missed it!
In the springtime the careful
mothers took a spell of doctorlng to
Eeep off sickness. Some made tea
q bitter herbs and gave you cup
before you ate your breakfast. 1t
goes without saying your appetite for
breakfast had been spoiled. Some OF
hem fixed a vessel with tar-the
homemade sort-that farmers made,
and they used tar on wagon wheels
instead of grease. This tar vessel
was covered in water, and the chill
When anybody had a downright
spell, of going to bed and calling
Tor a doctor, then calomel and jalap
was the dose and it made you SICK
enough to remember the prescrlp-
ton. [ never heard of an appendix
until 1 was fifty years old, and l
have often wondered what our prlm-
itive doctors thought about what
we now mean when we discuss ap-
pendicitis.
known mas as ' "crsmp collie" We had
two sorts of pleurisy, head pleu-
risy" and side pleurisy." After so
long a time we had what the crack"
ers called "new-mony fever" When
children took, a puny spell they
were said to be wormy. Then all
the worm remedies were culled over
and it was what you might call a
hot time" when a big family was
taking worm medicine, on the doc
tors distum, that it might be worms
that was ailing them"
There was an oft-told story of
Quack doctor whose specially lay
in curing fits" When he was call
ed to see sick person he said he
always gave them something to give
them fits. Then he could exercise
his skill to, good purpose. Every
bitters. Provided the whisky was
strong enough, the bitters had
good showing as a cure-all, when a
body was only weakly.
The babies always had experience
with catnip tea. Those people that
had troublesome itch took doses OF
sulphur. Itch prevailed to an as
tonishing degree in rude country
places.
When a patient had high fever and
was given a dose of calomel, he was
debarred from drinking water. Peo-
pie who sat up with such fever pa
tients during the long night watches
had lively encounters with the sick,
calling for and craving cold water.
Cold water and fresh air were
among the absolutely forbidden
things for thousands of sick rooms.
In later years, mustard plasters
had an immense run" That was
before hot-water bags came along:
ely" blisters were in frequent use.
Such a thing as a sanitarNm was
not thought about, and the nursing
was done by the neighbors and the
family.
Yet it is astonishing that so many
folks lived to be three score and
ten, and then some. Time and again
the doctor would say "bleed him Cor
herr until he faints." Experienced
old folks kept lancet in the house.
If they could do nothing else in an
extremity, they could open a vein
in the foot. I wonder what will
be the medical progress in the next
so wears!