In this post we review the rise and popularity of lobotomies as an intervention to cure mental illness and eradicate undesired behaviors.

https://open.substack.com/pub/curingcrime/p/mad-doctors-ice-picks-lobotomized-children-the-lessons-behind-dullys-tragedy-684b0f356d17?r=2bk4r1&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

In doing a lot of historical research for certain times and places for my work, such as Edwardian-era Britain or 1920s United States, in many documents and diary entries I've come across it seemed relatively normal or even common for adults to get jaundice. In the current era in the developed world, though, this seems relatively unusual- infant jaundice remains very common, but not for adults. Why was this the case? Was it dietary/lifestyle related?

Found this record in absolutely terrible condition and have been trying to figure out what it says the cause of death was for this individual in 1962 was. Can anybody figure it out? I think I see “haemorrhage” but that’s all I got 🤕

I hope this is okay to ask here. I'm working on a story, a historical, where I need a child to NOT get somewhere quickly. But she needs to be reasonable mobile later in the story and needs to not have too major of an injury, where she wouldn't be too immobile (such as a broken leg). So, I'm thinking about taring a seven-year-old's ACL. The setting is late Victorian England, but she's a poor rural kid.

Anybody know? My google-fu has failed me, it keeps giving me things about modern braces. Also, what would the longterm affects be? I've had her using a rigged up leather knee brace and a crutch and later a cane. Reading has suggested that (since I need her moderately mobile later) that it wasn't an incomplete tare?

Thanks in advance.

I'm looking to learn more about the history of mental health crisises and how people took their perception from a personal failing of the patient to a real medical condition deserving sympathy.

I am still researching the material for a screenplay I posted another inquiry about a couple of weeks ago that is set in Los Angeles in 1958. In the story, a young 13 year old girl has asthma and treats it with an emergency Medihaler inhaler. How many puffs would be in the inhaler?

Thank you for any assistance you could provide.

I am researching the material for a screenplay set in Los Angeles in 1958. In the story, an actress in her mid 30s is injured on a film set and is left mostly or partially immobile. It is very difficult for her to walk. Would she wear a leg brace? What sort of apparatus would she use? She could often be confined to a wheelchair, but I would like her to be able to attempt to walk with a great deal of difficulty. A visual representation highlighting her injury is definitely a bonus.  That’s why I’d like to use a leg brace or something similar. Any ideas for a medical apparatus in the mid-1950s?

I know this isn't the perfect subreddit for this question, but it's the most fitting one I can find. I'm looking for any information I can get regarding this WW2 German burn bandage branded Brandkompreffe

These bandages came from my German Grandfather's WW2 issue medical kit. What's interesting is that even despite roughly 80 years worth of degradation they still work incredibly well - a little too well - so well that it has me questioning what the hell is in these things.

The burn they were recently applied to was very severe and very large. As soon as the bandage was applied there was an abrupt reduction in pain which remained even after the bandage was removed. The burn did not blister at all. One day later the burn does not hurt at all even when touched.

These bandages are genuinely incredible. I'm nearly positive that no product like this exists today and I'm wondering why that is. What is the likelihood of this product containing some type of banned/potentially harmful substance?

Hello r/historyofmedicine,

I'm working on a historical novel set in 1880s Le Havre, France, and I need some expert opinions on the plausibility of one of my plot points. I've written an "expert conclusion" by a fictional doctor who misdiagnoses a case of yellow fever as death cap mushroom poisoning. I'm wondering about the historical accuracy of this scenario.

Here are some key points from the "expert conclusion":

1. The doctor examines a deceased sailor with symptoms including jaundice, liver damage, gastrointestinal bleeding, kidney damage, and fever prior to death.
2. He concludes it's a case of Amanita phalloides (death cap mushroom) poisoning.
3. The doctor notes similar symptoms in three other recent deaths and suggests they're connected.
4. This takes place in Normandy, where yellow fever would have been highly uncommon.

My questions:

1. Given the state of medical knowledge in the 1880s, especially in a port city like Le Havre, is it plausible that a doctor could misdiagnose yellow fever as mushroom poisoning?
2. Is death cap a good candidate for this misdiagnose?
3. Would a doctor in 1880s France be familiar with the symptoms of death cap mushroom poisoning? Was this a well-known threat at the time?
4. How familiar would French doctors of this era be with yellow fever? From what i found, it was not discovered yet, that it is transmitted by mosquitoes. Would its rarity in Normandy make misdiagnosis more likely?
5. Are there any glaring anachronisms or errors in the medical knowledge or procedures I've depicted?

I'd be grateful for any insights that could help me improve the historical accuracy of this scene. If anyone's interested, here is a fictional "expert conclusion" that I wrote for the book https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ihHnpB9ncbmKjnpf_wN9uIwOqH2Mgv2uMR4Z9x5vTJw/edit?usp=sharing for more detailed feedback.

Thank you in advance for your expertise!

Praxeda Fronczak was a Red Cross Nurse from Buffalo who went to Poland after World War One during the Polish-Soviet War (1919-1921) to help combat a typhus epidemic, teach nursing, and evacuate and treat refugees. She did amazing work in Poland and kept an extensive diary and scrapbook of her time there.

https://library.buffalo.edu/news/2023/12/21/praxeda-fronczak-a-red-cross-nurse-in-poland-1919-1921/

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/973910e6aa854000bb62895199933b1

I know the steth was invented by Laennec, but curious as to who first used the phrase lub-dub to describe the sound of the heart

Hello, I'm looking to see if there are any books or papers that deal with the history of case studies especially things wrestling with the positive medical benefits but potential ethically concerns. This is a really broad topic so any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Hi team! Anyone read any good books (or chapters in books) about how anxiety has been treated as a symptom or diagnosis across time? Podcast tips also welcome!

On February 16, 1806 Meriwether Lewis applied Dr. Rush's pills to George Gibson. The pills were a compounded mix of calomel (a purgative) and jalap (another purgative). What was the purpose for that?

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https://preview.redd.it/99helwjgie0d1.png?width=310&format=png&auto=webp&s=7a82079a36fc546ccc861ddcc089fc45492c4572

https://preview.redd.it/4ksftc0gie0d1.png?width=310&format=png&auto=webp&s=ee53c6037602faf2d30af2518714bc088b9252e3

I'm reading a play called 'The Welkin' set in mid 1700's and a midwife references 'Culpeper's remedy'. It then describes that remedy as 'In the. On the bed. When you. You know. With your hand and the. Ointment and the. Rubbing.'

I've tried to research what they believed to be going on and why it has that name, but can only find stuff on Culpeper's herbal medicines. Does anyone here know?