Karen Hamilton Rager

Safe Counsel: A Complete Guide to Health Care and Home Remedies in the Late 19th Century Karen Hamilton Rager

This enlightening artifact was originally published by Prof. B. G. Jefferis, MD, PhD, and J. L. Nichols, AM, in 1897 as a home medical reference for common people. The intent of the authors was to promote general physical and mental health by dispelling the myths and mysteries of both the human body and the medical sciences. To that end, this text covers a wide scope of health-related topics, including home remedies, the care of the sick, bathing and personal hygiene, puberty and reproduction, women's health issues and increasing longevity. Two appendices comprise a glossary of medical terms and a section pairing antiquated disease names with their new, "modern" definitions. Quaint period illustrations accompany much of the text. Like its companion volume, Safe Counsel: A Complete Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth and Childcare in the Late 19th Century (also published by Heritage Books, Inc.), this book is notable not so much as a reference work but as a reflection of the attitudes of our ancestors and of the times in which they lived. Some readers are sure to chuckle at some of the more peculiar scientific facts or advise offered by the authors, such as cautioning nurses to never wear dark clothing ("studies" had shown that dark cloth was more likely to absorb the "subtle effluvia that emanates from sick persons") or demanding sexual temperance (never just before or after meals and never under the influence of alcohol, to avoid "idiotic" offspring). However, it is the ageless wisdom of simple diet and abundant exercise that is most often suggested by the authors as a formula for well-being. Includes illustrations and an appendix.