Did you know that a child can be cured of the whooping cough by passing it under the belly of a donkey? Or that weak eyes can be cured by the application of chicken dung - or alternatively by large draughts of beer taken in the morning? The history of medicine in Britain is filled with the most bizarre and gruesome cures for many common ailments. Many of them - though enthusiastically supported by the doctors of the time - were often useless, and sometimes lethal! Of the hundreds of cures promoted for warding off the dreaded plague, none were effective. Strange and alarming though many of the cures may seem, some of them did in fact work - and provide the basis of much of the medicine we take for-granted nowadays. The use of herbs by medieval monks was remarkably effective, and still is today. Nigel Cawthorne has once again trawled through the eccentric byways of our history to produce this highly entertaining and informative book. It will fascinate anyone who has ever wondered whether doctors really know what they are talking about...
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