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Edwin smith papyrus breast cancer11/10/2023 ![]() 210 C.E.), who was significantly influenced by Hippocrates, is credited with the invention of cold cream, which he prescribed not for skin care or the removal of makeup, as it later came to be used, but for cooling purposes in a medicinal context. Yet he also recognized the therapeutic potential of cooling elements, as he prescribed using snow and ice to stop bleeding, and drinking cold water to bring down fever. He pointed out that “cold causes fits, tetanus, gangrene, and feverish shivering fits is bad for the bones, teeth, nerves, brain, and the spinal cord.” 460–370 B.C.E.) spoke of the dangers of exposure to cold at some length in his treatises. Fever, as a “hot” disease, would have required exposure to an opposite element as a treatment.Īncient Greek physician Hippocrates (c. These humors, most often listed as black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood, were either “hot” or “cold,” “wet” or “dry,” thus causing corresponding afflictions. To restore health, a physician would have to diagnose and address the humoral imbalance. This system posited that in the human body, there circulate four “ humors,” or liquids, which, when out of balance, would cause any number of diseases. “The next big advancement for using cold therapeutically didn’t happen until over 1,000 years had passed, when cold was incorporated into the humorist system of medicine,” Dr. Some of the better known forefathers of medical science also wrote about cold temperatures and their dangers and therapeutic potential. Jaekl, “hese texts are significant because they are some of the first to advocate systematic medical procedures rather than incantations or prayers, which were common at that time.” The Edwin Smith Papyrus is possibly one of the first medical “textbooks” laying out case studies of physical ailments and indicating dedicated treatments. They suggest using local cold applications to treat skin irritations, likely for or in military situations.”įor “an abscess with prominent head on the breast,” the papyrus prescribes “cool applications,” which in this case were ointments with cooling effects, made of ingredients such as fruit, mason’s mortar, and water.Īccording to Dr. “Some experts think these texts are the first recordings of medical teachings from Imhotep, a polymath and advisor to the pharaoh Zoser. “The earliest written records of using cold were discovered in ancient Egyptian texts,” Dr. Its first known mention was in the Edwin Smith Papyrus, a medical treatise outlining treatments for various injuries and ailments, a text that may date back to around 3,500 B.C.E. Therapeutic hypothermia seems to have been practiced for over 5,000 years. Phil Jaekl, neuroscientist and science writer, whose upcoming book, Out Cold: A Chilling Descent into the Macabre, Controversial, Lifesaving History of Hypothermia, discusses these topics at length. To understand more about the curious history of therapeutic hypothermia and the continued appeal of exposure to low temperature for medical purposes, we also spoke to Dr. In this Special Feature, we briefly outline the complex history of therapeutic hypothermia. ![]() Some of its uses have been controversial at best, but it has also given rise to legitimate modern-day treatments. Therapeutic hypothermia - the cooling of the body for therapeutic purposes - is a medical practice that has been around, in one form or another, since ancient times. This dangerous medical condition has been understood as such for centuries, yet there is also another side to the history of hypothermia. Severe hypothermia can result in heart failure and death. Nowadays, hypothermia is classed as a severe condition in which the body is unable to maintain its normal heat, and body temperature drops dangerously.
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