Lest we forget…
I had the great fortune to pick up an original edition of “Diseases and Remedies – 1898″ on a recent second hand book shopping spree in Dunedin, New Zealand.
I love looking back through the old texts to revisit conditions we no longer see or infrequently treat. But my interest is not solely in the diseases we have virtually eradicated through vaccination programs and the advancement of modern medical treatment, but also as a reflection on those conditions that still trouble the modern day physician.
There is a lot we can still learn from the pharmaceutical and lifestyle interventions advocated in the old texts.
Firstly we can reflect upon older remedies which were in frequent use, but have been lost in the mists of time. Such pharmacopoeia may have potential benefit in modern day medicine if the active ingredient for success can be defined, processed and evaluated.
After all, we are still reliant on the pharmacological derivative of the foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) more than 200 years after William Withering brought it back to the worlds attention. Records indicate that the foxglove had been used for various purposes for many centuries but by 1745 had fallen into disrepute through injudicious use. Following the re-evaluation of digitalis in the treatment of dropsy (pulmonary oedema) modern medicine has done little more than to change the derivative plant type to Digitalis lanata
…in spite of opinion, prejudice, or error, Time will fix the real value upon this discovery, and determine whether I have imposed upon myself and others, or contributed to the benefit of science and mankind. - William Withering 1785
Secondly, it can be both disheartening and uplifting to read of the same generic plants/chemicals being advised for treatment 100+ years on…such as in the treatment of angina pectoris
Thirdly, we must never rest on our laurels…”we can never be certain…of anything“.
As our knowledge and understanding grows…we are able to define, then re-define the pathophysiological processes underpinning medical disease allowing us to further refine treatment remedies, preventative protocols and lifestyle adjustments.
“The Lord Privy Seal is neither a lord, nor a privy, nor a seal” and “‘seborrhoeic’ warts have no relationship to seborrhoea.”
I find some of the older, more literal descriptions, easier to visualise and empathise with. For example “Apoplexy” [unconsciousness or incapacity resulting from a cerebral haemorrhage or stroke]
Finally, “some things change…some stay the same”
About Mike Cadogan
