Show interesting features 0 by georfe thomas palmer M D 0 e leq XI superstitions in medicine art of healing comes upon THE the field of from a past which s entirely shrouded in superstition and it Is but natural that these vagaries should have clung to medical practices during all the years of development that early christian history associates the power of healing with religion that it makes the ability to conquer disease a god given power naturally gives to the healing art all the mystery which has invariably bung about religious teachings As numbers signs and symbols have been active powers in religious fanaticism so dr george F shrady eminent american burgeon these signs and symbols have become parts of medicine As strange verses and adages were endowed with truth in religious practice BO these ancient jingles were supposed to be potent in the cure of disease it was the same superstitious characterizing early religion which took a firm hold on early medicine the bible tells us that the devils which we associate with theological transgressions were also the potent factors of disease that the casting out of these demons by means of religious power constituted the cure of physical ailments these demons were cast out by the priest doctors often by means of unpronounceable words of no meaning and diseases of all kinds were overcome by strange gyrations and words on ho part of these magician dictos so it is seen that superstition was the essential of early medical practice that abo priests and doctors were one and that the medical and religious su were identical that disease I 1 was regarded as the presence of the i devils of bin or error here we pause to consider that tho BO called christian scientists bad their disciples years before tho logical school of med and they are today coaxing out devils with alleged superior mental acumen where once the demons were cast out by blind faith while we may upon the old ideas of tho witch doctors or priests we must not overlook the superstition which is yet alpo in medical art in days gone by devils of disease acro scared away by a blan of some order some influential and aristocratic god who dwelt upon the most exclusive boulevard on mount olympea would meet some favored wise man and show him a sign by which a certain malady could be driven away tho wise man would go forth and advertise bis new importation of olympian wisdom would meet the patients mark them with a sacred symbol bow seven times to the botting sun on seven successive days wave bis wand thrice to the east and once to the west and zip the devils would dash out snarling and gnashing their teeth and the patient was cured then the wise man never forgot to tell about it today tho wise man of medicine who has learned from the lato P T burnum that the public likes to be hoodwinked sets his patient before a big static machine and lets the electric current sparkle and bracklo and roar and abo patient goes away well and happy in one case tho devils were turned at largo to enter into tho trees or beasts of the fields in these modern days the devils are electrocuted and in each case the patient Is fleeced and glad of it in our matella we yet have traces of the superstitious practices of our ancestors the public at large and even certain physicians cling tenaciously to euch ancient doctrines although modern science anda learning havo years ago shown atheni to bo utterly irrational thare has always been a belief in the of disgusting substances as curative agenia the tongues ot serpents stewed in the blood of swano was once regarded BB a most latent preparation the eyes of rab alts and the excrement of mals always contained in the eyes of many people peculiar therapeutic power A tea brewed from the excrement of sheep baa been used in measles even in our own memory while angle or worms reduced to an oil by them in a bottle in the sun I 1 bavo often used or sprains today a poultice made of ground flaxseed slimy disgusting and filthy Is used on bolls although every principle of modern surgical art and every teaching of hygiene Is violated thereby the bu man mind la so impregnated with the idea of the power of disgusting compounds that it clings to this poultice as though it were a treasure it Is slimy enough and enough to satisfy our longing for the loathe come in medicine and abeln the last link of a custom by hundreds of years of usage it will take th argument of many summers to bring it to an end it Is the same belief in the potency of the disgusting which leads to the custom of wearing a back of asafetida or some equally drug about the neck the nauseous odor Is naturally believed to be most valuable and wo can imagine bow it could keep the devils of or any other devils for that matter away from the patient while there can be no doubt about tho curative value of pure water it Is true that a great deal of the power attributed tri buted to many springs Is due largely to imagination the human mind la so constituted that while wo can laugh at the fables of the past they make a certain impression upon us the bible jalcs at the thousands who were cured by dipping themselves into curative water gave origin to the fabled fountains of youth such as de acon searched for in florida these tales taken together impress upon our minds almost unconsciously a belief in the power of many waters and it Is this clement of superstitious belief which adds banen t to spring water and to certain of the mud and baths it was told us in the past that a sick cow could be cured by tying about her neck a string having attached to it a card bearing some wonderful word or inscription of course the card was more efficient it tied on at midnight on a certain day of the week and in some peculiar phase of the moon in the same spirit which prompts one to prefer to see the new moon over ones right shoulder we carry bucke yea or horse chestnuts in our pockets to prevent rheumatism while others rely very frequently upon a hair ball taken from a cows stomach there la a great element of super in the cause of disease and nearly ail those conditions which have been in any way obscure in origin have been attributed to superstitious sources most of the congenital diseases are attributed to some prenatal impression upon the mother A child was recently born with a double cataract and the mother a most intelligent woman firmly believes that itis due to the fact that she was frightened by a wall eyed dog somo almo before the childs birth the mother of a child born with a rose colored spot on the side of his face recalls the fact that she ate too many strawberries on a certain occasion some time before the child was borna to say that all prenatal impressions are ineffective may be a trifle broad but it Is certainly true that tho idea of physical defects arising from mental influences upon the mother cannot be taken seriously yet there are hundreds of people who will explain the defects and markings of a child by some event which happened prior to tho childs birth reason may struggle against superstitious notions but it Is seldom able to overcome them I 1 have often seen parents pierce the cars of both male and female children and insert earrings or threads to overcome sore eyes the threads being pulled backward and forward to set up irritation whenever the soreness of the eyes grew worse it you will acquaint yourself with the ideas and beliefs of your fellow dr mott drilling a rabbits cranium people if you will get their honest convictions as to the supernatural in the cause and cure of disease you will be astounded not only at the many and varied notions but by tho high grade of intelligence of the people holding such beliefs superstition may bo the child of ignorance but abo has been adopted by many learned parents copyright by lewis D sampson |