Every Man His Own Doctor

I am by nature a curious person. I want to know what and why. Having someone tell me the grass is green is not enough, I want to know why. I have an insatiable desire for the most obscure knowledge, but there are times when it has paid off.

I have been doing research on living life in the 1800’s for over a year. I have learned a great many things about our forebearers, and all of it has been quite interesting. It gives me quite a sense of what it was actually like to live in the time when our house was built.

Being an herbalist, I am quite curious and interested in the “medical world”. I am always interested in knowing how and why a procedure is done, and since I have been studying about life in the 1800’s, knowing how “medicine” was practiced fits right in. I have been researching early medicine off and on for months. Most of it was searching the internet. There are many site out there with all sorts of information. I perused for hours and found one I really liked, and it has tons of information. If you too are interested in Early American Medicine you can read all sorts of interesting articles. They even have some pictures of early medicine and guide books. Now mind you, these books were not for a doctor. They were written and printed for home use. They did not go to a doctor for the problems we go for today. They treated themselves and their families at home. The majority of children were born at home, and there had to be someone either in the home or nearby that had mid-wife experience. They had to be able to take care of the child, and post partum mother.
Most all households used herbs and herbal remedies. Even the “well to do” would try using a home remedy before calling the doctor. Doctors were expensive then too.
Every Man His Own Doctor is a fabulous way to learn all about Early American Medicine.
I am going back and learn some more.