Developments in modern medicine fascinate me and I have to confess that it makes putting the Health pages together each week a real pleasure. I recently had the chance to delve into our archives, though, and found that the approach to Health in 1904 was remarkably different.
I wouldn’t advise trying any of the treatments recommended, but they certainly make interesting reading!
A simple and infallible remedy for heartburn is to take half a tumbler of cold water into which has been added half a teaspoonful of carbonate of soda; squeeze the juice of a small piece of lemon, and drink while effervescing.
Every person suspicious of predisposition to pulmonary consumption ought at all times, but especially in cold weather, to wear a quantity of woollen clothing sufficient to prevent any approach to the perception of chilliness.
It is not generally known that castor oil may be most easily taken mingled with orange juice, a little sugar being added if the juice of the orange is not sweet. The difference between this and any other mode of taking this valuable medicine is surprising.
There is, according to a medical correspondent, no simpler way to remove a wart than the external use of castor oil if one has patience enough to wait for the result. It may take three or four or six weeks, at the rate of one application per day, but it will be quite effective ultimately, and what is more, will leave no scar behind. Two applications per day will also effectually remove those excrescences.
It has long been known to doctors that the shape and appearance of the finger-nails form important factors in the diagnosis of disease. Thus long nails usually indicate physical weakness, and a tendency to consumption. Where the nails are long and bluish, they indicate bad circulation. This same type of nail, but shorter, denotes tendency to throat affections. Short, small nails often indicate heart disease; where they are short, flat, and sunken, you may look for nervous disorders. There are, of course, many exceptions to these rules.
