How did 17th-century families in England perceive their health care needs? What household resources were available for medical self-help? To what extent did households make up remedies based on medicinal recipes? Drawing on previously unpublished household papers ranging from recipes to accounts and letters, this original account shows how health and illness were managed on a day-to-day basis in a variety of 17th-century households. It reveals the extent of self-help used by families, explores their favourite remedies and analyses differences in approaches to medical matters. Anne Stobart illuminates cultures of health care amongst women and men, showing how 'kitchin physick' related to the business of medicine, which became increasingly commercial and professional in the 18th century.

In Kitchen Medicine the authors describe the wealth of healing and emergency remedies that sit unused and idle in the kitchen. Superb illustrations adorn a lively text. The ingredients are all easily found in the kitchen although in some cases they are exotic in origin (just think of tea, coffee and chocolate).

Inside "Home Doctor" you will discover the DIY medical procedures and vital medical supplies you need to have on hand to take care of common health problems and emergencies at home, while waiting for an ambulance to arrive or in the next crisis when doctors and medicines may be hard to come by.

1883 When J.I. Lighthall left home to try his fortune in the west he went to Kansas where he formed a warm attachment for the Indians and learned their ways and habits of life. the object of this book is to give each one the opportunity of learning how.

Our Family Doctor is a medical primer dating to the late 19th century, designed for use in the home - it is reprinted here for its historical value. Since this short book dates to the 1880s, the medical procedures and treatments described are starkly different from the modern day. The remedies for various serious ailments such as pneumonia, diphtheria and smallpox have long been superseded by improvements in medical science. As such, the value of this book is its demonstration of historic medicine - a time when the use of substances such as Sulphur, flax seeds, quinine and morphine to alleviate symptoms of life-threatening diseases was normal. Originally, this book was attached to a medicine case which households could buy and keep in case of a sudden outbreak of illness. At the time, although such medicines were implied as a substitute for a doctor, the author is clear that if a disease progresses further that an actual physician must be summoned to the house to administer treatment. An advertisement, listing the chemical tablets and droppers included in the company's medical kit, is appended at the conclusion of this book.