Early European Folk Lore & Medicine
Warning
These
primitave European Folk medical practices listed below are strictly for
amusment,
they are not a recommended medical treatment and could be extremely dangerous
if not fatal
Whopping cough:
Mice skinned and roasted or fried were a favored remedy in the British Isles for the
treatment of whopping cough. The mouse had to be feed to the patient while he sat on a
donkey backward with his face toward the tail.
A broth for epilepsy:
Commonly used throughout Europe for the treatment of epilepsy was a broth consisting of lion's hair chopped up with milk, three drops of sow's milk, fresh blood of a decapitated criminal, cut of the nose of a mole mixing nine drops of the moles blood with sugar, this broth was mixed in a dead mans skull and then given to the patient to drink.
Insanity:
The cure for insanity throughout England and Ireland was to dig a hole three foot around and six foot deep. The patient was then buried standing up with only their head above ground. They were left in this position by themselves for three days and nights.
Another treatment for the insane was to beat them until they could no longer cry out. They were thought of as being demon possessed and this was considered beating the devil out of them.
Hemorrhoids
1500's-1700's Cold hip baths, warm poultices and bread mixed with buttermilk was the peasants cure for hemorrhoids. Metal made into a ring and worn on the finger was believed to stop hemorrhoid pain.
Headaches:A common headache cure in Greenland was to place a strap around a person's head as they lay on the floor, a stick was placed in the strap and the person's head was raised as high as the neck would allow. The operator would raise the head of the patient and then suddenly drop their head with a hard thump to the floor. This was done repeatedly to the beat of music.Other European folk remedies for headaches was to bind a rope around the head that was used to hang a criminal. Another treatment was the dried and powered moss taken from a dead man's skull and used as a snuff.
Cancer:An 18th century treatment for cancer was crayfish stewed in asse's milk, the flesh of gray lizards and suckling puppies boiled in wine.
Among the Pennsylvania Dutch a mixture made from melted lead and sulfuric acid
was used as a cancer treatment.
Colic: Living eels placed upon the stomach of a patient was thought to cure colic. Another treatment for colic during the middle ages was to wear iron rings. Rings of iron, steel, copper or gold plate were also worn for rheumatic pain.
Rickets: Swaddling infants was a common practice throughout Europe as a treatment for rickets. Another common practice for the treatment of rickets was to pass a child through the cleft of an ash sapling at sunrise. The tree was then plastered with mud or clay and left to heal. If the tree healed it was believed the child would also.
Jaundice: Nine lice on a piece of bread and butter was a prevalent practice in England and Germany for the treatment of jaundice. Baked earth worms reduced to a powder and made into a philter was also a popular treatment for jaundice
Eye Afflictions: Laplanders made use of a louse in the eye to cure eye infections. A louse was placed under the eye lid as the eye began to water it was thought that the louse was eating the infection away.
Ear Ache: Among the Pennsylvania Dutch tobacco smoke was blown into the ear of a patient to cure an ear ache. Another method was drops of liquid from a heated green piece of wood, the liquid was dripped into the ear.
Coughs and Colds: A treatment for colds and coughs from early Americas deep south was to hang a hat on the bed post and proceed to drink whisky until you see two hats and you will be speedily relieved.
Cuts and Wounds: A very dangerous practice for treating cuts was to use cobwebs to stop the flow of blood. Sometimes this resulted in the patient dying from Tetanus
Among many of the folk remedies which was thought to possess magical cures for a number of illnesses, the early Europeans often used human.or animal's blood and body parts in various healing rituals and concoctions. All too often these remedies did just the opposite and caused the spread of disease and death.
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