Preservation of American Hellenic History
Preservation of American Hellenic History
by Jason C. Mavrovitis
There were no antibiotics or sulfa drugs in the 1930's. Pneumonia was a common and frequently fatal disease for the weak, the very young and the very old. Diphtheria, scarlet fever, poliomyelitis, tuberculosis, whooping cough, chicken pox and measles were diseases that threatened early life. Tonsillitis, impetigo, pinkeye, ringworm and even head lice were common afflictions among the poor, immigrant populations. None was easily treated; home remedies were often the only therapies available. Among eastern Europeans, typical treatments for lung congestion and pneumonia were ventoozes, or cupping, and mustard plasters.
Cupping involved application of several inverted glasses on the patient's chest. A burning ball of cotton that had been soaked in alcohol or olive oil was held inside an inverted glass for several seconds. Each glass was quickly applied to the body establishing a seal, so the vacuum formed by the air cooling inside the glass pulled the patient's flesh up into the vessel. The participants believed that disease was sucked out of the chest. In reality the cups did no more than stimulate circulation, which may have been therapeutic. The care and fussing may have had a comforting psychological effect on the patient as well.
Mustard plasters were foul smelling tortures. Women of the family were expert at grinding mustard seeds and mixing the resulting powder with vinegar and hot water to form a horrid paste. This they spread on cotton towels and applied to a congested chest which had been primed with a bath of olive oil to prevent the patient's skin from burning and blistering. Once again heat provided by the hot compress and generated by the irritating poultice probably increased circulation to the area.
Board of Health quarantine signs and warning ribbons were common at the front doors of homes and apartments. If disease spread through a neighborhood, it meant calamity for all.
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