Have you ever thought of taking laxatives to treat the chickenpox? Or how about drinking Champagne to ward off morning sickness?
Probably not, but back in 1899, those were just some of the bizarre remedies prescribed by the medical community.
Drug company Merck & Co. recently published its latest edition of The Merck Manual Home Health Handbook. The more than 2,000 page handbook is written by more than 300 medical experts and offers information on everything from prescription drugs and the common cold to complex medical conditions such as cerebral palsy and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
The manual was first published in 1899 and the company released to the media a copy of that first manual along with the latest version of the book.
In addition to listing some absolutely crazy medical recommendations, the 1899 manual is pocket-sized and comprised of fewer than 200 pages.
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