The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1935-04-18

- Herodotus. the
Greek historian, whom everyone still
regards as most accurate observer
and recorder Of what he saw, reported
that In Persia: "The citizen who has
leprosy or the white sickness may not
come into a town or consort with other
persIans They say that he Is so af-
tlicted because he has slnned In some
way against the sum- i
But things weren't so much better
| In Europe or the other countries IN
western Europe. Doctors did their
| best, according to the knowledge they |
| had. But one must remember that our |
knowledge of anaesthesias and germs |
and antiseptlcs and disinfectants have
all come since 1916 when ether was
/ first used.
Before the days of ether. the operat-
ing rooms were filled with the groans
and shricks Of the unfortunate victims.
Often the noise and suffering were so
great that students would faint.
The only way patients could forget
their pain was In sleep--lf they could
sleep. Shakespeare says In Cymbellne:
HE that sleeps feels not the tooth
ache
Speaking of toothache, 1t was the
BARRIERS who generally extracted teeth.
And In Shakespeare's day the BARRIERS
had d custom of having musical lnstru-
tv, ttnI uin
its from that custom that we derive
the term barber shop chords and
then they would tie the teeth they had
drawn TO the end OF the lutte strings.
Bnt one OF the most famous physicians
Iii medical history. Aglcenna, whose
Canon was text beck In medical
schools as late as the Fifteenth CEN
fury. ''loosened teeth by means of the
fat of tree toads In preference to pull
Ing them"
The BARRIERS were the surgeons 1ust
: about everywhere. Indeed the sur
geun was an apprentice to the barber
shops. In England In 1910, union
of barber surgeons and guild surgeons
!, known as the Companyfef BARRIERS and
Surgeons was founded. practcing
surgeon didn't begin TO have the social
! standing OF a physician proper. His
| business was to do hIood-lettlng and TO
' open assesses and to dress wounds
I He wasn't allowed to prescribe Internal
y medicine.
d In Holland the barber surgeons used
]. to remove glands or sebaceous cysts
y from various portions Of the head and
: neck. "He has a stone. In the head,
meaning "he Is crack Drained" was a
common saying In Holland In the Six
Il teenth and Seventeenth centuries. so
!, cutting the stones from ones head
v was supposed to be curative for mental
q deficiency.
d People everywhere believed IN
n charms. In many places people dared
not be bled without consulting the
i stars. Those who couldn't afford as
"a troogers consulted alInanacs printed
n for that purpose. In England the mere
10 touch OF the soveregn's hand was q
ID cure for scrofula. Kings EVIL was an
70 other name for this aifliction Perhaps
,r a circumstance that helped maintain
the royal touch rs cure was the fnc
that ii was always accompanied by IN.
70 gift of a gold piece to the patient from
70 the sovereign. Charles II In ~ years
"a touched more than $4,000 for King!
ID EVIL. Queen Anne was the last u
r. practice the royal touch. Samue
as Johnson, the great photographer, wa
touched by Anne
But there were some queer remeule
y In this country, TOO. In Governo
- Winthrops day. well-known womal
=. henler had two favorte recipes 70
- curing 5itfttaiee In site .ssie sitesaaf
y. tumerIc and saffron; the other consist
- ed OF 20 head lice mixed with nutme
a. and sugar and powder Of tumerlc. An
an many believed that jaundice could b
cured by the patient looking Mt yellos
objects.
ty, Hydrophobia was one OF the grea
on, scourges of the Eighteenth and earl
lat Nineteenth centuries. Here Is rem
i'd edy which the legislature OF the stat
icy OF New York bought from Mr.. crou
lat for the sum of $1,000. 1t consisted {
on ounce Of the jaw bone of do
md burned and pulverlzed or pounded
IS" a fine dust. the false tongue Of
of newly foaled colt which was dried an
oc- pulverlzed, and finally one scrupe {
yerdegrs which was raised on tt
surface of old copper after lying In o.
an earth the copper Of George an
yar George II being the unrest Ind 'es
These ingredients we're mixed 'ogethe
20. and an adult was given teaspoonf
al, of 1t daily.
sion Still the physicians of these by-gor
no dimes were no fools. They had lot
knowledge Of human nature.
IN For instance George Cheyne, Engli
physician born In 1871, said. IT
great nicely and exactness about eve
ans minute circumstance that may lmps
ate ones health Is to die for fear OF dying
That holds true I'd this day.
g. Western Newspaper Union