The bizarre 'safe cures' of 19th Century that 'work like magic'

Johnnny

Frontiersman
Jun 8, 2007
9,388
124
63
Third rock from the Sun
bloodletting for whatever ails ya:










I understand people actually still believe in this stuff.

We tend to think them as suicidal and we get them help :)
 

WLDB

Senate Member
Jun 24, 2011
6,182
0
36
Ottawa
It amazes me that blood letting lasted as long as it did. It must have killed just as many people as the thing they were trying to cure. Then again some cancer treatments are like that today.

Best cure for a hangover - a drink.
 

gopher

Hall of Fame Member
Jun 26, 2005
21,513
65
48
Minnesota: Gopher State
It amazes me that blood letting lasted as long as it did. It must have killed just as many people as the thing they were trying to cure. Then again some cancer treatments are like that today.

Best cure for a hangover - a drink.


No sireeeee!

Still the best cure for hangover is this:









My dad's hero the Great Casey Stengel used to know who went out drinking when the NY Yankees were out on the road: those who ordered full breakfasts stayed in their hotel rooms. Those who went out drinking and got plastered ordered coffee-tomato juice. He would inspect the expense sheets for these costs. When he confronted the players, he forced those who violated his rules to fess up and pay a fine.

Of course, in his day he was known for taking a few swigs of the hard stuff but that's another story.
 

Bar Sinister

Executive Branch Member
Jan 17, 2010
8,252
19
38
Edmonton
What is really alarming about the quack medicine cures of the 19th Century and earlier is the number of people that still use a few of them. Remember airhead actress Gwyneth Paltrow who advocated the use of the 16th Century practice of cupping as a health aid? For those not familiar with this completely useless medical procedure here is a link.
Edmonton Acucare - Services - Cupping Therapy
 

gopher

Hall of Fame Member
Jun 26, 2005
21,513
65
48
Minnesota: Gopher State






Some people still believe this junk works for real.

I remember an old phrenology shop on Chambers Street in down town Manhattan where I used to work. Passed by it very often but never went inside to see for myself.
 

Chev

Electoral Member
Feb 10, 2009
374
2
18
Alberta
When ‘we’ were kids (over 45 years ago), my sister fell against a wood burning stove at our lake cabin and our grandma ‘shredded’ raw potatoes and applied like a poultice. Sister has no scars. Around that timeline, a cousin tripped and fell onto the fire pit. Once again, our grandma ‘shredded’ raw potatoes and applied like a poultice. Same, no scars, you’d never know either of them were ever burned.
Another thing I know, again, when we were kids, my brother was stung by a bee. (wasp, whatever), our grandma put mud on the spot, took the sting/pain/stinger away. Many, many years later, 2 of my sons were stung by bees. (wasps, whatever) at different places/times and I put mud on the spot. Same results.
My brother used to always swear that the pop’ Coke’ for toothaches worked. He said he would swab Coke directly on the tooth and the pain would disappear.
It amazes me that blood letting lasted as long as it did. It must have killed just as many people as the thing they were trying to cure. Then again some cancer treatments are like that today.

Best cure for a hangover - a drink.
How does that saying go? Something about "the hair of the dog that bit ya"....

What is really alarming about the quack medicine cures of the 19th Century and earlier is the number of people that still use a few of them. Remember airhead actress Gwyneth Paltrow who advocated the use of the 16th Century practice of cupping as a health aid? For those not familiar with this completely useless medical procedure here is a link.
Edmonton Acucare - Services - Cupping Therapy

Bar Sinister, your Comments about the ‘quack’ medicine cures of the 19th Century and earlier, so many of my grandmother’s and great grandmother’s remedies/cures worked. At that time, in the place they lived, many of my familys' friends were Indians and the Medicine Men/Women were very intelligent. My grandmother and great grandmother learned from the Medicine Men/Women.
I don’t remember your comment re: airhead actress Gwyneth Paltrow, although Cupping Therapy sounds a lot like Acupressure..
 
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Bar Sinister

Executive Branch Member
Jan 17, 2010
8,252
19
38
Edmonton
Bar Sinister, your Comments about the ‘quack’ medicine cures of the 19th Century and earlier, so many of my grandmother’s and great grandmother’s remedies/cures worked. At that time, in the place they lived, many of my familys' friends were Indians and the Medicine Men/Women were very intelligent. My grandmother and great grandmother learned from the Medicine Men/Women.

I don’t remember your comment re: airhead actress Gwyneth Paltrow, although Cupping Therapy sounds a lot like Acupressure..

Actually having blood sucked through your skin is really nothing but quack medicine. Cupping isn't therapy; it is simply quack medicine. As for acupressure, there is very little evidence that it works either.

The problem with these sorts of home-brewed cures is that they frequently do more harm than good and a great deal of traditional medicine is much more about ritual than any practical cure.
 

darkbeaver

the universe is electric
Jan 26, 2006
41,035
201
63
RR1 Distopia 666 Discordia
Actually having blood sucked through your skin is really nothing but quack medicine. Cupping isn't therapy; it is simply quack medicine. As for acupressure, there is very little evidence that it works either.

The problem with these sorts of home-brewed cures is that they frequently do more harm than good and a great deal of traditional medicine is much more about ritual than any practical cure.

A study done a couple of years ago examined todays pharmacopia and found an efficacy rate of less than twenty-five percent. The quackery continues unabated, in fact it's quite likely far more efficient than yesterdays fraud. Similar findings have been published condemning surgeries as well. Medicine is a human essential like fuel food and shelter. They are always subject to corruption, regardless of the epoch.

Cannabis compound 'could stop breast cancer from spreading' | Mail Online
Cannabis plant extract 'could stop aggressive breast cancer from spreading'



  • Compound in the plant does not produce psychoactive properties of cannabis
  • Found not only to stop breast cancer cells from acting 'crazy' but also to return to normal cells
By Claire Bates
PUBLISHED: 12:10 GMT, 20 September 2012 | UPDATED: 13:48 GMT, 20 September 2012



Cannabidiol is a compound found in the cannabis plant, which is non-psychoactive

A compound found in cannabis could halt the spread of many forms of aggressive cancer, scientists say.
Researchers found that the compound, called cannabidiol, had the ability to 'switch off' the gene responsible for metastasis in an aggressive form of breast cancer. Importantly, this substance does not produce the psychoactive properties of the cannabis plant.

The team from the California Pacific Medical Center, in San Francisco, first spotted its potential five years ago, after it stopped the proliferation of human breast cancer cells in the lab.
Last year they published a study that found a similar effect in mice. Now they say they are on the verge of publishing further animal study results that expand these results further.
Speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle, study co-leader Dr Sean McAllister, said: 'The preclinical trial data is very strong, and there's no toxicity. There's really a lot or research to move ahead with and to get people excited.'
While he, along with colleague Dr Pierre Desprez acknowledge that they are some way off from turning their finding into a pill, they are already developing human trial models. They hope to eventually test the drug in combination with current chemotherapies.


More...



Professor Desprez had previously found that a protein called ID-1 seemed to play a role in causing breast cancer to spread. Meanwhile Dr McAllister had discovered the cannabidiol had anti-cancer potential.


Dr Desprez (left) and Dr Sean McAllister say their early trial results are very promising

The pair teamed up to see if they could treat a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer called 'triple negative.' This form, which affects 15 per cent of patients, doesn't have three hormone receptors that the most successful therapies target. Cells from this cancer have high levels of ID-1.
 

darkbeaver

the universe is electric
Jan 26, 2006
41,035
201
63
RR1 Distopia 666 Discordia
Cannabis is a whole natural compound LSD is synthetic. Humans have endocanibinoid systems in addition to the other majors like respiritory the skin nervous etc. That's the prime reason we have cultivated it for millenia. If you can count the misspellings in this post you are not stoned enough.

Like I'v said before Les, cannabis prohibition is a major crime against humanity directly benefitting the drug pushers.
 

Bar Sinister

Executive Branch Member
Jan 17, 2010
8,252
19
38
Edmonton
A study done a couple of years ago examined todays pharmacopia and found an efficacy rate of less than twenty-five percent. The quackery continues unabated, in fact it's quite likely far more efficient than yesterdays fraud. Similar findings have been published condemning surgeries as well. Medicine is a human essential like fuel food and shelter. They are always subject to corruption, regardless of the epoch.

Cannabis compound 'could stop breast cancer from spreading' | Mail Online
Cannabis plant extract 'could stop aggressive breast cancer from spreading'



  • Compound in the plant does not produce psychoactive properties of cannabis
  • Found not only to stop breast cancer cells from acting 'crazy' but also to return to normal cells
By Claire Bates
PUBLISHED: 12:10 GMT, 20 September 2012 | UPDATED: 13:48 GMT, 20 September 2012



Cannabidiol is a compound found in the cannabis plant, which is non-psychoactive

A compound found in cannabis could halt the spread of many forms of aggressive cancer, scientists say.
Researchers found that the compound, called cannabidiol, had the ability to 'switch off' the gene responsible for metastasis in an aggressive form of breast cancer. Importantly, this substance does not produce the psychoactive properties of the cannabis plant.

The team from the California Pacific Medical Center, in San Francisco, first spotted its potential five years ago, after it stopped the proliferation of human breast cancer cells in the lab.
Last year they published a study that found a similar effect in mice. Now they say they are on the verge of publishing further animal study results that expand these results further.
Speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle, study co-leader Dr Sean McAllister, said: 'The preclinical trial data is very strong, and there's no toxicity. There's really a lot or research to move ahead with and to get people excited.'
While he, along with colleague Dr Pierre Desprez acknowledge that they are some way off from turning their finding into a pill, they are already developing human trial models. They hope to eventually test the drug in combination with current chemotherapies.


More...



Professor Desprez had previously found that a protein called ID-1 seemed to play a role in causing breast cancer to spread. Meanwhile Dr McAllister had discovered the cannabidiol had anti-cancer potential.


Dr Desprez (left) and Dr Sean McAllister say their early trial results are very promising

The pair teamed up to see if they could treat a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer called 'triple negative.' This form, which affects 15 per cent of patients, doesn't have three hormone receptors that the most successful therapies target. Cells from this cancer have high levels of ID-1.

I am not sure why you posted this in reply to my post. I made no reference to marijuana. You are partially right about the pharmaceutical industry, however. Most of the drugs peddled by big-pharma have nothing to do with cures and a great deal more to do with the profit line.
 

darkbeaver

the universe is electric
Jan 26, 2006
41,035
201
63
RR1 Distopia 666 Discordia
I am not sure why you posted this in reply to my post. I made no reference to marijuana. You are partially right about the pharmaceutical industry, however. Most of the drugs peddled by big-pharma have nothing to do with cures and a great deal more to do with the profit line.

Sorry no disrespect meant but I sometimes have trouble with your accent. I simply thought I would compliment your piece about the fraudsters of old by emphasizing that we have not in any way won the war on quacks . In fact today I would wager that the crimes are even more widely carried on owing to insturments like this self same interweb. It's been nice, todaloo
 

JLM

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 27, 2008
75,301
547
113
Vernon, B.C.
Cocaine for toothache, morphine for your child's cough:

Vintage advertisements show just how far medicine and advertising have come since the introduction of regulation




It's not a drug known for its benefits to health. In fact, if you were caught with this class A substance and claimed it was for 'medicinal purposes' you'd probably be laughed at all the way to the police station.
But, bizarrely, cocaine - and other drugs like morphine - were routinely used in remedies for coughs, colds and toothaches as a cure-all magic ingredient in the Victorian era.
Long before the drugs were criminalised - and prior to the regulation of both medicine and advertising - the substances were frequently touted as effective treatments for illnesses as serious as cancer and liver disease.



more

Victorian adverts for health remedies laden with cocaine, morphine and alcohol | Mail Online

I distinctly remember a large jar of Friars Balsam (God knows how old it was) that I remember taking many snorts of for various maladies, but it never cured one of them. I'm not sure if it's readily prescribed today!