J4F: Creepy Photo Tour of Medical Past
February 10th, 2014; Posted by: WeBleed staff
(Pictured at left) A bottle of Dr. Kilmer’s Female Remedy – hmmm, what part of being a gal do you think they were trying to “remedy”?
From the folks over at Ebaum’s World comes this photo tour of our creepy medical history and some of the downright strange things that used be accepted as medicine or medically appropriate.
Here is just a sample of some of the pictures included.
What doctors wore during the plague.
From wikipedia.org–> The garments were invented by Charles de L’Orme in 1619; they were first used in Paris, but later spread to be used throughout Europe. The protective suit consisted of a heavy fabric overcoat that was waxed, a mask with glass eye openings and a cone nose shaped like a beak to hold scented substances and straw.
Some of the scented materials were ambergris, balm-mint leaves, camphor, cloves, laudanum, myrrh, rose petals, storax. This was thought to protect the doctor from miasmatic bad air.The straw provided a filter for the “bad air”. A wooden cane pointer was used to help examine the patient without having to touch them, it was also used as a means of repenting sins, many believed that the plague was a punishment and would ask to be whipped to repent their sins.
Neurological exam with electrical device, circa 1884.
Blood Transfusion Kit – London, 1970s
To see the entire tour from Ebaum’s World, click here.
Image credit: Ebaum’s World – A Creepy Medical Tour Of the Past
