Quiz for the day.

[davywavy]

The Mediaeval Magician/Doctor called Paracelcus once invented a medicine he called the "Weapon Salve". This worked on the principles of sympathetic magic - if a person were harmed by a weapon or similar object, then the weapon would be coated in the salve and bandaged and treated. The power of sympathetic magic would cause the healing opwer of the salve to tranfer itself to the would inflicted, facilitating recovery. If the weapon that inflicted the wound could not be identified or recovered, then another weapon would be touched to the wound and treated accordingly.

Interestingly, injured patients treated in this way would often recover far more quickly - and stand a better chance of recovery from their wounds - than those simply treated in the ordinary fashion. Why was this?

A drink for the first full correct answer.

Comments

[robinbloke.livejournal.com]

Psycology. You think you're getting better and therefore you do. Positive Mental Attitude helps a lot with these sorts of things.

[sherbetsaucers.livejournal.com]

Your basically talking about a placabo.

[robinbloke.livejournal.com]

Yep.

Re:

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Possibly, but not what I'm looking for. There's a physical medical reason for this.

[robinbloke.livejournal.com]

Voodoo.

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Well now you're just being silly. No pint for you, penguin-boy...

[robinbloke.livejournal.com]

Well I don't actually drink pints, well not the pints they serve in pubs anyway. A 50/50 pint of vodka and OJ isn't something thats normally sold...

Me? Silly? I resemble that remark.

http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/satchmo13/paracelcus.html

Re:

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

All very well, but even though you used google, that site soesn't have the answer on it...

[riksowden.livejournal.com]

I had a similar problem trying to find this on google...

[sherbetsaucers.livejournal.com]

Because the ordinary fasion was something stupid, like drilling a hole in the head, or cutting something off.

[raggedyman.livejournal.com]

because the 'ordinary' fashion of the day was exceptionaly distructive and caused more injury / chance of fatality than the wound itself?

[sherbetsaucers.livejournal.com]

I said it first. :p

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

I'm looking for a full answer here...

[sherbetsaucers.livejournal.com]

He gave a full answer... because the oridginal cure was dangerous. You didn't ask us to definr the oridginal cure! Now pay up!

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

That's *not* a full correct answer.
If that's your idea of one, it's a wonder you ever passed any exams ;p

[raggedyman.livejournal.com]

you want a full answer - we want full details. Considering the amount of medical treatments that were around at that time, dependent on location, exact time period, belief etc etc its a bit unfair to ask what the ordinary course of treatment was when there was so much variety.
It could have been: cover in cow dung, hit with nettles, coat in tar, cut off with hatchet, soak in any number of herbs, piss on it, clean with maggots, wrap in silk, coat in wool, cover with wood chips, fill up with beef, stuff with incense, leave open whilst praying etc etc

not moaning as such, just pointing out a slight problem with your reques

[sherbetsaucers.livejournal.com]

You bloody moaner!

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

You don't think I'm giving away a pint on an *easy* question do you?

[raggedyman.livejournal.com]

i think your being a smug git and tormenting us with the fading chance of sweet sweet life giving booze ;-p

[onyxtears.livejournal.com]

Magic!

No not magic it's luck.

No no wait "The Force".

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

"We asked 100 people how this worked...how many said "magic"?"

BZZZZT!

"I'm sorry, no mini cooper for you."

[onyxtears.livejournal.com]

I assume you actually know the answer rather than asking someone to help you with it?

M

Re:

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

That's right. I happened upon this last night and thought "Now that's interesting!"

I may have been wrong, however :)

[sherbetsaucers.livejournal.com]

You were.

[jonnyargles.livejournal.com]

Funnily enough, they didn't learn this again until the 1600's with Ambroise Pare. He was treating wounds with boiling pitch, and then one day they ran out of oil, so he used vegetable oil instead. Being more sympathetic with the body's natural alignment, these wounds healed faster, and with less chance of infection.

Still hurt like buggery when they put it on, though.

Re:

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

You're on the right lines...come on, come on...

[borusa.livejournal.com]

Possibilities...

1) Magnetism. Seems to be a popular idea, personally, think it's rubbish.

2) While they were waving poultices (including "The Hair of a thief" I believe) around the sword, they followed the more traditional remedies of keeping the wound clean and bandaging it.

3) If they heated the weapons before doing the touching, they'd cauterize nicely..

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

If you combine your answer 2, and andy davies theory, you're almost there.

[raggedyman.livejournal.com]

they cleaned up the wound which was more effective than their traditional methord of cramming it full of highly dangerous crap?

Re:

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

oooh, you're so close I bet you can taste it...

*Just being cruel now*

[robinbloke.livejournal.com]

They washed the wound and the weapon in order to clean them, then they both got married and lived happily ever after.

Or... aliens, it was aliens!

Well...

[lanfykins.livejournal.com]

Given that the instructions for the wound were to 'let it alone and keep it clean', and given that at the time other physicians were still using Galen's theories (which got basic anatomy wrong) and attributing illness to the planets... and who was it who treated wounds with boiling pitch?

...anyway, I'm not entirely sure what it is you're looking for, really.

In fact...

[lanfykins.livejournal.com]

Paracelsus demanded that the application of cow dung, feathers and other obnoxious concoctions to wounds be given up in favor of keeping the wounds clean, stating, 'If you prevent infection, Nature will heal the wound all by herself.'

I'm impressed.

You know, I can't help but wonder if the 'sympathetic magic' shit was just there to satisfy other physicians' need to meddle...

Re: In fact...

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

That's good, very good indeed.

The sympathetic magic bit had a purpose though, but you're so close that I may as well post the answer.

[raggedyman.livejournal.com]

Re 3): i was thinking that but couldnt work out why they would do it. sympathetic magic works on things being as similar as possible, not many people go into battle with heated swords and if they do they dont stay hot for long. now it might be part of the healing process but the impression i got was that both they did the healing to the sword after it touched the wound.

Could it be something that was on the sword already having a healing effect? did the oils on it used as an anti rusting agent or actual metals within the sword have benefical properties