How to Treat Measles Like It’s 1804
In 1804, Mexico's Protomedicato published a guide for treating measles, targeting the poor. The manual detailed symptoms, remedies, and treatments - from barley water to bloodletting. While seemingly primitive by today's standards, this document offers fascinating insights.
We’re heading back to 1804—an era where the medical establishment in New Spain (that’s colonial Mexico for those of you playing catch-up) was all about rolling up their sleeves and doing battle with disease the old-fashioned way. None of your paracetamol or antibiotics here. Oh no. We're diving headfirst into a world where measles, that infuriating little illness, was treated with a combination of medieval improvisation, herbal concoctions, and a dash of—brace yourselves—bloodletting. Yes, it’s going to be quite the ride.
In case you’re wondering, the Protomedicato was no underground alchemist’s lair. It was a legitimate, government-sanctioned board that had one mission: keep public health vaguely on track in an age when even handwashing was regarded as suspicious witchcraft. They were also the medical gatekeepers, overseeing who got to practice medicine and who had to stick to drumming up rumors about their neighbor’s dubious witch’s brew.
