Abby Burnett
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9781628461114
- eISBN:
- 9781626740624
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781628461114.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture
Before the creation of antibiotics and vaccines, pure food and drug laws, and safety standards, there were many unusual ways in which to die. Both the most common causes (tuberculosis, burning to ...
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Before the creation of antibiotics and vaccines, pure food and drug laws, and safety standards, there were many unusual ways in which to die. Both the most common causes (tuberculosis, burning to death) as well ones all but unknown today (rabies, bleeding) are discussed. This chapter examines the training of early Arkansas doctors, and the therapies once believed to prolong life or aid healing, such as visiting spa towns to drink medicinal spring water, the fresh air cure for TB, or the use of such folk superstitions as madstones and Biblical charms. Medicine shows, plant-based home remedies and patent medicines are also discussed.Less
Before the creation of antibiotics and vaccines, pure food and drug laws, and safety standards, there were many unusual ways in which to die. Both the most common causes (tuberculosis, burning to death) as well ones all but unknown today (rabies, bleeding) are discussed. This chapter examines the training of early Arkansas doctors, and the therapies once believed to prolong life or aid healing, such as visiting spa towns to drink medicinal spring water, the fresh air cure for TB, or the use of such folk superstitions as madstones and Biblical charms. Medicine shows, plant-based home remedies and patent medicines are also discussed.
