Charleston Health Quacks

The decade of the 20s was known for being at the height of medical quackery.  This was mostly due to all the new electrical gadgets that had just been invented, along with this new thing called "X-Ray".  Doctors wasted little time convincing the public that every ill could be  cured with Ultra Violet Rays and "Auto Condensation". Needless to say, many of these gadgets were downright dangerous, and probably shortened the persons life who used them on any ongoing basis.  Charleston was no different than any other city when it came to medical quackery.  "Electro-Medical Doctors" should be the first clue that maybe you'd better stay with old Doc Brown

FOOTNOTE:  Under the heading of "A TALK TO MEN" in the ad,  you see a  reference to a  "606 and 914" treatment, also known as the Salvarsan treatment.  This was actually the only useful treatment for syphilis at the time.  It was a dangerous cocktail of arsenic and other ingredients, and when mixed properly could be very effective.  But even then,  it was the Rabies shot of it's day.  The injection could be very painful and sometimes the patient couldnt walk for days.  This procedure would be ended when Penicillin came along in the late 30s, early 40s. Now, as far as  CATARRH:  That's the stuffiness resulting from a head cold. You normally blow this out when you blow your nose,  but according to the ad, it will burrow through the bone into your brain making you incapacitated.  While there ARE infections that can cause serious issues,  back in the 20's some doctors had convinced some people that they might die from the common cold if left untreated.  Of course, the Quacks treatment for this was an Ozone generator.  While a useful tool today, back in the 20's it probably did more harm than good in the way it was used.

 

For real fun, right into the 50s, you took your family to the local shoe store and had you feet X-Rayed over and over as you tried on different shoes to see how they fit.  Little Johnny loved to see his toe bones inside his new shoes and the shoe salesman was all too happy to prove that the shoe was too large or small.  These were operated by guys with absolutely no training in the use of X-Rays and eventually removed from the market as one of the most dangerous devices used by the general public.

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