2014-08-23

18th Century Healthcare

The late 1700s was a weird time for healthcare. True medical knowledge was scarce, while superstition and home remedies were rampant. Here are some alleged "treatments" folks performed to cure what ailed them.

Have a nasty stye on your eye? Just stroke the eyelid with the tail of a black cat and the swelling should go down after about an hour!

Cut yourself while shaving? Kill a moth fluttering around your candle and apply the insect to the bleed. The bleeding will stop instantly!

Have skin covered in blots and blemishes? A mix of onion juice and vinegar takes them all away!

Have a toothache? Try pouring some freshly squeezed beet juice up your nose to quickly relieve the pain!

Still have a toothache? Have the tooth removed then jammed back in! This will probably destroy the nerve and cease the pain.

Have a cough and a fever? Get some powdered rhubarb root, mix it with some ginger, brandy, and water, drink the mixture, and within a few days all symptoms will dissipate! ORDER NOW and the rhubarb powder can even help cure other ailments, including but not limited to: gout, styes, ear aches, jaundice, nearsightedness, and much, much more!

If none of these treatments help, there's always bloodletting! Bring balance to the humours by physically removing the bad blood.

Sources:
"Jane Austen's England" - Roy and Lesley Adkins
"Culpeper's Complete Herbal" - Nicholas Culpeper