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What's good to kill off warts? Something I can get my hands on.

 

Don Tomasso,

 

Though not an ancient remedy and also somewhat odd, I offer this: Duct Tape Therapy

 

The Department of Homeland Defense would approve.

 

Don Giovanni:

 

My Bride made that suggestion, but I thought that it was another cunning plot against me to make me look sillier than I already do. Got 3 of the rotters on my hand. Asked quack if I just couldn't pick them off. Went into apoplexy! Have to apologize to Bride - if she still is talking to me after my not too civil rescript.

 

:ph34r:

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Fresh garlic or onion rubbed on the afflicted member. Or lemon rind likewise.These are the ancient folk remedies -and they do work by , " digesting" the offending item.Fresh onion contains the powerful enzyme quercetin and has anti tumor properties-as usal full marks to folk medicine:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercetin

 

Thuja is the medication you should purchase as a tincture : I quote from Culpepper:-

 

The name Thuja is a latinized form of a Greek word meaning 'to fumigate,' or thuo ('to sacrifice'), for the fragrant wood was burnt by the ancients with sacrifices. The tree was described as 'arbor vita ' by Clusius, who saw it in the royal garden of Fontainebleau after its importation from Canada. It was introduced into Britain about 1566.

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Here we see the Midwife with a modern replica of a Roman find from the late 1st C AD. I would mention that to the rear you can make out that an amputation has taken place ( :ph34r: ), note that the recumbent patient is minus his lower right leg.

http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?&a...=si&img=925

 

The Doctor and the Midwife had different social prestige and roles, the Doctor was expensive to hire and might , especially with a good bedside manner ( and probably the role of psychologist thrown in) have a prestigious practice and a substantial income.he might well be Greek or Egyptian . The man shown here is as a camp physician to a Legion hospital, under canvas.

The midwife might have a lesser status but was nevertheless a person of standing and reverence if accomplished in aiding Birthing.To train as a a midwife meant assisting an experienced woman for some time, there was a tendency not to accept payment but be the recipient of gifts. The re-enactor midwife ( who is a Midwife!) had several carved gifts from men of the Legion for tending sundry wounds in the absence of the Medicus -she explained that this was the favoured system at that time , and that as a person grew in experience they would publicly display gifts from grateful clients to show their skill. The gifts might of course become ones of considerable substance, the decorating of a house for exampl , as a woman achieved skill and fame.

Obstetric practice would probably depend on social class, as would life expectancy of the Mother and Child.

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Very interesting! I didn't know a midwife would be present in the legion, as I thought that most legions, while having officers' wives along with them, didn't want much to do with women as part of thier "staff" so I guess I'd (falsly) assumed that the medicus or a physician would attend to the job of midwife as it concerned the officers' wives (and perhaps the wives of other soldiers as well :wacko:)

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They weren't officially allowed to have wives, but the massive number of hairpins and such found around the bases and encampments and various other evidence seems to point out that they did (unofficially) :romansoldier:

 

Very true - with one minor adjustment - they co-habitated with the local women. :D

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Very interesting! I didn't know a midwife would be present in the legion, as I thought that most legions, while having officers' wives along with them, didn't want much to do with women as part of thier "staff" so I guess I'd (falsly) assumed that the medicus or a physician would attend to the job of midwife as it concerned the officers' wives (and perhaps the wives of other soldiers as well :unsure:)

I think the thing to bear in mind is, that the re-enactment is a compromise in terms of perceived accuracy and modern understanding. I would envisage a Midwife of some quality being available in the Colonia, this person being in attendance for the wives of the higher ranking citizens and soldiery , the client may have travelled to the Midwife or vice versa ( this is another question that I need to ask) . I would also imagine that practical neccesity needed "wise women" available for the delivery of those born "in castrum" to co habiting couples. So treat the image as a composite, though I think we are seeing a "top end" practice here.As we know the "in castrum" designation is widespread , we also see retired men setting up home right next to Forts, (Vindolanda is a good example), so some "domestic arrangements" must have flourished.

 

 

:romansoldier:

I have an Email invite out to the LEG II AVG , especially the Midwife and Medicus (for my own interests) , but to all the soldiery and civilian re-enactors to peruse our Forum and offer comment and criticism. If I have made any gross errors regarding the medical professions , hopefully they will speak out. :D

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  • 1 month later...

This is probably a bit off topic, but how did the whole concept of germicides develop in Ancient Rome? I assume it was due to simple trial and error, but nothing is never that simple.

Edited by WotWotius
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This is probably a bit off topic, but how did the whole concept of germicides develop in Ancient Rome? I assume it was due to simple trial and error, but nothing is never that simple.

 

Firstly ill shift this across to the "medicine " thread where it will be more at home.

 

Secondly : a rather generalised answer, but I think appropriate : I dont think that Rome as a "medical" episode can be taken out of the evolving context of ethnobotanical medicines , so as the Romans did in all areas they synthesised and made practical application of existing known plant medicines. The initial mainstream practical impetus would be from collected Greek and some Egyptian sources , but (I personally feel that ) Celtiberian and Gallic folk medicines would be assimilated as well. I think we must assume that combat and obstetric experience are the basis of practical action , but, the Romans had no "germ theory" as regards transmission of toxins/bacilliae-however all the practical effort put into general "good practice" indicates that treatment of infection was taken very seriously. Acetum as a wound cleanser is still superior to carbolic acid , honey is still a wound dressing, Olive oil is strongly bactericidal , and along with garlic is a good basis for clearing deep seated candida infections caused by antibiotic overuse.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Germ theory rears its very ugly head right here:

 

http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...si&img=1407

 

from the er, fascinating, display at the Roman Bath Museum in York.

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Sanity rating :drunk:

 

:P im glad you think im sane.

Do you think you could recommend a source on traditional or 'alternative' remedies such as the ones you have described, either an Internet site or book (cheapish). I find that Googling it turns up unrelated or brief sites.

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and Rue!

 

Here is Pliny (The Elder) again:

 

"The ancients held rue in peculiar esteem; for I find that honied wine flavoured with rue was distributed to the people, in his consulship, by Cornelius Cethegus"

 

He then cites eighty four remedies for its use, I think this is the one ive alluded to previously though

 

"It is good more particularly in cases of poisoning by wolf's bane and mistletoe, as well as by fungi, whether administered in the drink or the food.The most efficacious, however, of all, is the root of wild rue, taken with wine; this too, it is said, is more beneficial still, if drunk in the open air".

 

An excellent bitter as a herb, now neglected.

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