# Do You Suffer From an Imbalance of Bodily Humours? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 2, 2004, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-from-an-imbalance-of-bodily-humours/248307 "2004-06-02T19:25:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-from-an-imbalance-of-bodily-humours/248307/21 "2004-06-03T12:33:06Z")
> [@Thera](#): > > Don’t know if this counts, but I love the old “cure” for feminine “hysteria” – the doctor would apply a vibrating metal contraption to the genital region of the patient. > > Apparently it was a very popular procedure… Apparently! ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-from-an-imbalance-of-bodily-humours/248307/22 "2004-06-03T12:34:54Z")
> [@hillbilly queen](#): > > I bought a Home Remedies book when I was pregnant, hoping it would help keep me from grabbing the tylenol everytime I had a little discomfort. > > _“To relieve the pain of swollen breast during pregnancy, place warm flapjacks on each breast.”_😕 Ohmygod that’s hilarious. Had they not considered the hot water bottle? Warm flapjacks! Bwahahahahahahaha!!! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-from-an-imbalance-of-bodily-humours/248307/23 "2004-06-03T12:38:34Z")
I suppose a flapjack would better adjust to the contours of the breast. On the other hand, maybe it’s just an easy excuse to get the man to make some pancakes. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-from-an-imbalance-of-bodily-humours/248307/24 "2004-06-03T13:09:48Z")
**Eve** Dear– please give me the title of this new book? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-from-an-imbalance-of-bodily-humours/248307/25 "2004-06-03T13:12:50Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > See here now, you’ve gone and given poor **Eve** the vapors! I’ll fetch a cool compress and the smelling salts… 😃 NAY! Fetch leeches. We shall cure her anon. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-from-an-imbalance-of-bodily-humours/248307/26 "2004-06-03T13:31:23Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > **Eve** Dear– > > please give me the title of this new book? [Elizabeth’s London](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312325657/qid=1086269400/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/103-4717103-3942226?v=glance&s=books), by Liza Picard. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-from-an-imbalance-of-bodily-humours/248307/27 "2004-06-03T14:18:13Z")
Rock group Pearl Jam’s third album, _Vitalogy_, was named after a turn-of-the-last-century home medical book by one E. H. Ruddock. The album cover and much of the artwork were taken from the book, and excerpts from the text are also included. This generated enough interest in the original book that it came back into print, so those of you curious about such things should be able to order it. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-from-an-imbalance-of-bodily-humours/248307/28 "2004-06-03T14:35:54Z")
> [@](#): > > “To relieve the pain of swollen breast during pregnancy, place warm flapjacks on each breast.” So what’s wrong with pancakes and milk? I hear Oreo’s work great, too. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-from-an-imbalance-of-bodily-humours/248307/29 "2004-06-03T16:06:48Z")
> [@Already in Use](#): > > Blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. An excess of blood makes you sanguine, or cheerful. An excess of phlegm makes you phlegmatic, or calm. An excess of yellow bile (choler) makes you choleric, or angry. An excess of black bile makes you melancholy (literally “black choler”), or sad. These of course determine whether you are in a “good humour” or a “bad humour.” [The Four Humours.](http://mbhs.bergtraum.k12.ny.us/cybereng/sonnets/humors.html) ---
**Author:** ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-from-an-imbalance-of-bodily-humours/248307/30 "2004-06-03T18:35:54Z")
For about half a second I was confused about how **Eve** could be reading a book yet to be published. Now I’m just very jealous. Which humour is in control of the green-eyed monster? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-from-an-imbalance-of-bodily-humours/248307/31 "2004-06-03T18:49:57Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > [Elizabeth’s London](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312325657/qid=1086269400/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/103-4717103-3942226?v=glance&s=books), by Liza Picard. Hmph! Teasing us with a book we can’t have! No leeches! No leeches for you! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-from-an-imbalance-of-bodily-humours/248307/32 "2004-06-03T19:06:49Z")
> [@hillbilly queen](#): > > I bought a Home Remedies book when I was pregnant, hoping it would help keep me from grabbing the tylenol everytime I had a little discomfort. > > _“To relieve the pain of swollen breast during pregnancy, place warm flapjacks on each breast.”_😕 This is hardly any more bizarre than putting cabbage leaves inside your bra–a remedy that is still commonly recommended in all seriousness. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-from-an-imbalance-of-bodily-humours/248307/33 "2004-06-03T19:13:56Z")
Actually, I could see the cabbages helping. “Honey, how are your breasts?” “Well, they still hurt a little. But what’s really bothering me is the cabbage.” ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-from-an-imbalance-of-bodily-humours/248307/34 "2004-06-03T19:18:41Z")
My OB recommended frozen cabbage leaves to make my milk dry up. He joked that when I was finished with the cabbage leaves, I could make cole slaw. :eek: Robin ---
**Author:** ![phall0106](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phall0106/32/5934_2.png) [@phall0106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phall0106)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-from-an-imbalance-of-bodily-humours/248307/35 "2004-06-03T19:29:21Z")
> [@hillbilly queen](#): > > I bought a Home Remedies book when I was pregnant, hoping it would help keep me from grabbing the tylenol everytime I had a little discomfort. > > _“To relieve the pain of swollen breast during pregnancy, place warm flapjacks on each breast.”_😕 I’m absolutely howling with laughter…picturing blueberries, syrup…I can’t eat flapjacks without sausage…where in the heck would that go? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-from-an-imbalance-of-bodily-humours/248307/36 "2004-06-03T19:33:21Z")
> [@phall0106](#): > > I’m absolutely howling with laughter…picturing blueberries, syrup…I can’t eat flapjacks without sausage…where in the heck would that go? Honey, if you don’t know where the sausage goes by _now_ . . . ---
**Author:** ![harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmless)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-from-an-imbalance-of-bodily-humours/248307/37 "2004-06-03T19:34:16Z")
What do you think cleavage is for? Really, you need to watch more porn. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-from-an-imbalance-of-bodily-humours/248307/38 "2004-06-03T19:43:30Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > An excess of phlegm makes you phlegmatic, or calm. HAAAAAAWWWWWWKKK - PTOOOOOO!! I feel calmer already! ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-from-an-imbalance-of-bodily-humours/248307/39 "2004-06-03T20:22:45Z")
From [this site](http://www.umanitoba.ca/outreach/manitoba_womens_health/hist1.htm) on the [third page](http://www.umanitoba.ca/outreach/manitoba_womens_health/hist1b.htm). The rest of it is pretty interesting too, especially the part about the secretive beginnings of obstretic forceps. > [@](#): > > Over the next two centuries a few more [Caesarean] sections were probably carried out with survival of mother and child. The most clearly documented acount is that by Scipione Mercurio (1540- 1615) given in his text first published in 1596. He gives a detailed and illustrated account of how to make the incision, with four strong assistants to hold the patient down. Afterwards he applied a decoction of \* artemisia, agrimony, betony, mallow, flowers of pomegranate, dried roses, birthwort, sedge and sweet smelling bulrushes in sour black wine.\* The survival statistics were not clear. How would you like to have _that_ swimming around in your insides? And from the first page (linked above), this description of an obstructed delivery. (Italics mine). > [@](#): > > Case 386. A neglected transverse lie. The arm had been pulled down by the midwife till the shoulder was at the vulva. Twenty four hours later Smellie was sent for, _cut off the swollen arm_, performed internal version and brought down one leg. This _came off on pulling_, so the other leg was brought down and _the same thing happened again_. Ultimately delivery was accomplished with the crotchet. _The woman behaved with great courage_… :eek: I knew this happens with cattle sometimes when he calf has died in the womb, but I never went so far to imagine that it happened to people. The leg came off with pulling . . . shudder. ---
**Author:** ![Scarf-Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Scarf-Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarf-Ace)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-from-an-imbalance-of-bodily-humours/248307/40 "2004-06-03T20:46:27Z")
That last post was TMI! Aghh. I wonder if it survived? From “The Manual of Household work and Management”, 1910 by Annie Butterworth: > [@](#): > > [for the treatment of …] > **Hysterics** > Light diet, warm clothing, early rising and early retiring, and plenty of occupation are the best general treatment. During a fit of hysterics, the patient should be addressed sharply, no sympathy being offered, but a douche of cold water promised, and perfect solitude granted. You can just imagine… Wife: “Aiiiee aiieeee - SHREIIIK!”. Husband: “Whats the matter with you woman, do you want to go back to the cellar for some more douching?”. Also, and I can’t find the quote for this one, for the treatment of gas poisoning a 1 pint hot coffee enema was advised. Eek. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-from-an-imbalance-of-bodily-humours/248307.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-from-an-imbalance-of-bodily-humours/248307.md?page=3)