I’m working on my last lecture about regency culture for my Jane Austen’s England class. Just thought my readers would appreciate these fun facts about regency medicine:
Gout is actually just arthritis, but it is exacerbated by heavy drinking (though often alcohol is recommended to sufferers).
Someone who is extremely fat and short of breath is “pursy.”
A physician is the most prestigious kind of doctor (higher than a surgeon, who deals with physical injuries). He won’t ever do a physical exam, but he’ll talk to you and prescribe medicine accordingly.
Common regency medications include blue pills (made from glycerine, honey, and mercury), calomel (chlorine and mercury), and laudanum (opium dissolved in alcohol–a common medication for Jane Austen’s mother).
I for one am glad to be living in the 21st century, with all the benefits of modern medicine!
LOL. wow! I agree!!