Before medical science established the cause and cure of cysts and warts there was considerable folklore and superstition surrounding them. There were scores of supposed cures, many quite bizarre to our modern eyes. One belief was that if warts and cysts, or wens as the cysts were called, were rubbed by the hand of a [more...]
The King’s Evil was the name given to scrofula, the swelling of the bones and lymphatic glands in the neck. Now recognised to be tuberculosis. From the time of Edward the Confessor, King of England 1003-1066, it was a superstitious belief that the disease could be cured by royal touch. This belief of the curing [more...]
If you are researching your family history, you may be somewhat surprised and perplexed when you come across a parish register, death certificate or coroner’s report which states the cause of death as ‘Visitation of God’ (ex visitacone dei). What does this mean? For centuries, doctors struggled in the darkness over the causes of disease [more...]
Henry V, King of England, victor of the Battle of Agincourt, and hero of a Shakespeare play, would have died at the age of 16 if it were not for the skill of his surgeon in removing an arrow shot in his face during battle. Prince Henry was born in 1386, son of Henry of [more...]
The high cost of medical procedures in the United States creates opportunities for developing countries to carry out these procedures for medical tourists. Philippines senator Richard Gordon believes that his country is well-placed to get a share of a potential $30 to $79 billion dollars spent by 15.75 million Americans who seek medical care in [more...]
Counterfeit medicines are presenting a huge problem for all countries, and in particular developing countries where it undermines their health care systems, causes death and serious illness, and interferes with genuine attempts to deal with disease and epidemics. Counterfeit medicines pass as genuine by false labelling of both branded and generic products, and often their [more...]
You may know that part of the famous nursery rhyme of Jack and Jill which goes, ..to mend his head with vinegar and brown paper. This does indeed refer to the use of vinegar and brown paper in the treatment of wounds, bruises and other injuries. It is a very old remedy which is still [more...]
In the past few decades, antidepressants — medicines designed to lift the mood of people who are seriously depressed — have become almost routinely prescribed. The availability of new medicines that have fewer side effects than the old standbys have been one factor in their popularity, as has been a lessened stigma about seeking prescriptions [more...]