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were closed and the shades drawn
tight so that no daylight could
come in, nor for that matter, a bit
of fresh air. They were afraid the
measles would catch cold and that
light would make the eyes sore. To
be even more certain, they hung
over the bed a great sheet. As
though that were not enough suf
fering for the little one, the
healthy children were put into the
same bed so they might all get
over with it at one time. This was
perhaps after all a practical or
even logical solution for the par
ents, but for the children it was
purgatory. There were some who
covered the children with a red
blanket, a magic remedy which
they thought would rid them of
the disease. Incidentally, in the
Middle Ages even physicians be
lieved in the magic of red as a
remedy against measles. One of
the greatest Arabian doctors who
lived at that time always cured
measles with a red cloth.
Mother certainly never held a
surgeon’s scalpel in her hand, but
she was able to heal such diseases
as pertain to surgery. When one
cut oneself with a sharp knife and
the blood flowed freely, mother
quickly searched the house for a
cobweb which might be hanging in
some dark corner of the wall or
ceiling, applied it to the wound,
bound it with a little white rag,
and that was that. The blood
ceased to flow as if by magic.
Blood poisoning was unknown, al
though the dust and dirt of the
cobweb should have, by all the
rules of medicine, brought that
very thing about. Why it never
did is still a mystery to me.
For a large and deep sore or
chronic wound which festered and
did not want to heal, mother ap
plied powdered alum. The alum
burned out the proud flesh in such
a way that the sore healed quickly.
Infections, blisters, abscesses^u-
runcles, and even carbuncles were
common among the children. They
ocaurred most frequently upon
their feet because the children
went barefoot in the summer and
cut their feet on glass or other
sharp objects. All these plagues
mother healed with her own rem- '
edy — honey dough; that is soft
white dough mixed with honey
and smeared with oil. This had
several virtues in that it was soft
and warm and served to cover the
tender spot, keeping the cold air
from it. It helped soften the skin
and the abscess opened more
easily. For larger abscesses or
swellings mother used linseed
flour, heated and tied in little bags,
or else made it into a paste and
spread it on linen. They also used
hot flour or hot salt in little bags.
When the abscesses opened, they
were squeezed out, washed with
warm water, and bound with a
white rag.
Our villagers, it seemed, suffer
ed from frequent headaches. The
remedy for these headaches was
to slice a potato. The slices were
then applied to the forehead and
bound with a rag. If this did not
help, hot or cold compresses were
applied or a bladder filled with
ice or snow which, in the winter,
could be found in front of the
door. In the summer ice was a
luxury, which was used only in
the case of a very dangerous ill
ness.
For pains in the side or back,
mustard plasters were applied. For
pains in the chest, alcohol, warm
vinegar, and even kerosene were
used. For stomach aches and fever
they used a famous remedy which
has such a nasty taste, i.e. castor
oil. Just because it had such an
awful taste it was considered the
remedy par excellence, and also
because it was so hard to take and
children were in mortal terror of
having it administered to them it
was not often unlike the pleasant
even chocolate coated remedies
used today, and thereby saved
themselves considerable trouble
in the future.
It is difficult to say whether
mother had sufficient medical
knowledge to diagnose diseases.
From my own Experience, I know
that in cases of measles and scarlet
fever they almost instinctively di
agnosed the case correctly. In the
case of more complex diseases,
they would only guess.
Leeches and cupping, both dry
and wet, and the opening of veins
were common remedies. Leeches
were a very popular remedy in
mother’s remedy codex. Why — it
is difficult to tell. The leeches
were kept at the apothecary’s in
sterilized glass jars and waited
for their time to come. Once I
myself had the experience of
leeches sucking at me, and to this
day I cannot think of it without
disgust. I also remember leeches
bqing applied to my brother’s
neck when he was suffering fram
a sore throat! They sucked so long
till they swelled up and fell to the
ground. Although everyone re
garded them with loathing, they
were held in high esteem and
everyone believed in their effi
ciency. They were purported to
suck up the bad blood. They were
also used in the Middle Ages, and
only lately have they been in dis
favor.
Dry and wet cupping were used
in many kinds of illnesses, especi
ally those of the chest. The assist
ant doctor’s wife usually perform
ed this task because the assistant
considered it beneath his dignity
to do so. Sometimes mother her
self applied them.
Let us not hold mother’s rem
edies in contempt. They stood high
above the so-called “scientific”
codex of the Middle Ages and the
even later years, when all kinds
of abominations and the ugliest
things in the world were used as
remedies. The wonder is only that
the patients in the Middle Ages
swallowed these abominations and
kept on living and sometimes even
recovered. Alongside these, moth
er’s remedies were truly progres
sive.
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