Can Onions Cure Ear-Ache?

What common condition can be treated with cow dung? How do crushed oystershells ease heartburn? Can eels cure deafness? And how do you stop a stubborn case of the hiccups? If someone was struck down by illness or injury in the late eighteenth century, the chances are that they would have referred to William Buchan's "Domestic Medicine" – with the result that they might have found themselves drinking a broth made from sheep brain or administering drops of urine in their ears. The book's author, a Scottish physician, published his self-help manual in 1769 specifically for the benefit of people who were unable readily to access or afford medical assistance. Copies could be found in coffee-houses, in apothecary shops and private households, and in 1789 Fletcher Christian and his fellow mutineers took the sensible precaution of grabbing the copy from HMS Bounty before they fled to Pitcairn Island. Much of Dr Buchan's advice on how to live a healthy life and avoid disease is still sound and relevant today, such as eating a varied and healthy diet, breathing plenty of fresh air, and taking exercise. Many of his prescriptions are amusing when viewed in retrospect, such as his fondness for powdered Spanish fly and genital trusses. Other recommendations – bleeding a woman experiencing a difficult childbirth or administering mercury to treat numerous ailments – were downright dangerous. This edited selection of entries from one of the first medical self-help manuals gives a fascinating insight into popular treatments of the eighteenth century, derived both from folklore and the emerging medical science of the day.


Can Onions Cure Ear-ache? Interesting, amusing and downright dangerous factoids...

Anger: People of delicate and weak nerves frequently lose their lives by violent fits of anger.
Burns: For a slight burn, hold the part near the fire then rub it with salt or lay on wound a compress dipped in wine or brandy. Severe burns should be treated with a mixture of beaten egg combined with olive oil.
Clothing: Tight bandages about the neck, as stocks, cravats, necklaces, are extremely dangerous.
Constipation: Too much exercise on horseback causes constipation.
Consumption (TB): Most liable to this disease are young persons between the age of fifteen and thirty, of a slender frame, with a long neck, high shoulders, and flat breasts.
Cooked food: Jumbling together different ingredients to make a rich sauce or soup is poison. It were well for mankind, if cookery, as an art, were entirely prohibited. Plain roasting or boiling is all that the stomach requires.
Deafness: To cure deafness, put a small slice of bacon fat, or drop the gall of eel mixed with wine, into the ears. Failing that, a few drops of one's own urine in the ears should do the trick.
Dog Bite: To treat a bite from a mad dog, dress wound with a pickle of vinegar and salt, then, twice daily, rub mercury into the affected part. To complete the treatment, take cold baths for six weeks.
Exercise: Exercise is not less necessary than food for the preservation of health.
Gonorrhoea: Bathe the genitals in warm milk and water and frequently inject the urethra with sweet oil or linseed tea. Then, cover the parts with a soft poultice of milk and linseed flour, softened with butter or sweet oil. Make a truss for the scrotum so that it supports the testicles. Failing this, rub mercury on the inner thighs and wear flannel drawers.
Headache: Bleed the patient via the jugular vein several times a day, and apply leeches to the temples. In extreme cases, blister the whole head.
Incontinence: A piece of sponge or a bottle made of the India rubber should be worn to alleviate any leakages.
Piles: A poultice of bread and milk, or of leeks fried in butter, applied to the affected parts cures piles. Alternatively, attach leeches to them for instant relief.
The Studious: Intense thinking is so destructive to health, that few instances can be produced of studious persons who are strong and healthy. The posture of reading or writing cannot fail to hurt the lungs. Intense thinking unhinges the whole human frame. Recommended cures are cold baths, malt liquor, good cider and wine.
Teething: In obstinate cases of teething, a fingernail or the edge of a six-penny piece worn thin can be used to open the gums.
Toothache: A toothache can be caused by obstructed perspiration or sitting near an open window with an uncovered head. The pain can be alleviated by applying leeches to the gums and sitting with feet in warm water.
Warm bath: Bathing in warm water is harmful to one's health.
Whooping cough: Take a spoonful of millipedes or woodlice, infused in an English pint of small white wine, three or four times a day.