More about bad medical advice. Apparently, some people are still afraid of aluminum.
This started
back in the 20’s when aluminum was blamed for everything from cancer to nerve
problems.
Also, general problems with homeopathic medicine are mentioned
here.
Looks like it’s generally a takeoff on the old leeches and
bloodletting stuff.
Barbers used to be doctors as well in the 1700s. They would try to cure diseases
by bleeding the patient because they thought the problem was in the blood.
Apparently, the red and white barber poles represent the blood being drained with red and
the tourniquet with white. Weird that the barber pole caught on as a custom.
Unrelated to this, I was reading that they used to try to treat tuberculosis by
collapsing
the lung to let the lung rest and heal as recently as the 40s. Wow, talk
about making bad situations worse!