At the turn of the century, many diseases were still a mystery and so were their cures. Children with toothaches were treated with syrups containing morphine; gasoline could kill lice, but stay away from any flames, and migraines were treated with an hydroelectric bath. That is, a warm bath with a low electric current running though it. Risky... An aneurysm cure, it was thought, had to reduce the force of the heart pumping, so bedrest and a starvation diet were recommended.
When Valentine Kissner had a severe nose bleed in Defiance in July 1904, doctors struggled to stop the blood flow. The Defiance Daily Crescent-News reported:
"Nearly Bled to Death.
Valentine Kissner Suffered a Hemorrhage. Left Him Very Weak.
Valentine G. Kissner, living on Water Street and employed at the Christ Diehl brewery, had a hemorrhage Thursday night which almost cost him his life.
For three long hours, Mr. Kissner bled at the nose and it was with much difficulty that the flow of blood was stopped by Dr. J. D. Westrick, after working with him a long time. After it was stopped, the patient was very weak. He could not get out of the house all day yesterday but was able to be on the street this morning.
The cause of the hemorrhage is not known as it was the first Mr. Kissner had ever had. It is thought that too much blood caused the bleeding."
Sound logical? When one bleeds profusely, it meant that the body was just getting rid of that extra blood taking up space in the body.
Luckily, the study of medicine has advanced astronomically since those days.
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