A Couple of Folk Remedies

Mamie was a firm believer in the use of Carters Little Liver Pills for herself and
her children when they felt unwell.

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I took em n they cleand off my liver, she insisted. I got t feelin a heap better.
The placebo effect is powerful. The pills were nothing but a mild laxative. Decades
later, the government forced the company to rename the product so as to exclude any
reference to the liver. Carters Little Pills it then became, but its marketing agents got
around truth in labeling by enclosing the new name in a massive capital L which
continued to convey the idea that they acted on the liver without actually making the
claim.
Earache was a common complaint, due to an infection in the middle ear. Then, as
now, most cases clear within days with or without treatment. Rural folks knew exactly
how to cure it.
Belle advised suffering Iduma, Go t th woods n find a rottn log r stump.
Brang me a Bessy bug.
Iduma found a suitable location about fifty yards from the house. The large, black
bugs had a colony inside a decaying stump. The one she captured emitted loud squeaks
by rubbing its wings against its abdomen, but it didnt bite or sting. She brought the
insect to her mother.
1

Betsy Bug
Lay on th bed wif yore hurtin ear turned up, Belle instructed.
She tore off the Betsy bugs head and allowed a drop of its blood to fall into the
ear canal. Because something was being done, Iduma immediately felt better. Within
about three days she fully recovered. The placebo effect combined with action of
immunity did the work, but the Betsy bug got the credit.
(Return next time for more on folk medicine.)