Back before there was a preventative vaccination, and before the vaccine had made its way to the Ozark hills and hollows, the deadly threat of rabies was very real.
By the time human beings exhibit symptoms, the end result of contracting the virus, usually transmitted through animal bites, is oftentimes fatal.
Never fear, though. The Ozark hillman and hillwoman of yesteryear had a cure that Louie Pasteur himself would have been proud to use: madstones.
Now what, you might ask, is a madstone? I asked the same question. Believe it or not, madstones do exist, although their curative powers might be questionable.
Madstones, also called bezoar stones or enteroliths, are mineral deposits sometimes found in the bowels of herbivore animals, such as cows and deer, and compacted into a rock-like substance.
They are called madstones because they were oftentimes used to treat rabies, one of the better known symptoms of which is hallucinations and hyper-erratic activity.
In plain speak, rabies seems to make the victim go crazy, or “mad.”
Supposedly, madstones from a deer in particular were the most effective as a healing substance, and I’ve also read that madstones from albino deer specifically were the ones to use.
Folklorist Vance Randolph (1892-1980) talked to a number of folks in the early 20th century who had used madstones to treat rabies, though he admitted he had never actually seen it done.
The stone – which was described as typically whitish and porous – is applied to the bite wound where the rabies virus was transmitted.
The stone is supposed to just stick onto the wound all by itself without any kind of binding.
Depending on the source, when the stone finally falls off the wound on its own – be it a matter of hours or even days – you dip it in fresh milk and reapply the stone. This is done repeatedly.
Although treatments vary, milk seems to be a common factor. Some say that when the milk no longer turns green after the stone is placed in it, the patient is safe.
Due to the lack of online pharmacy viagra an independent monitory organization, chances are high that the treatment will not work or could back fire on one’s health. Forgive us remember to if we often appear a little buy viagra prescription jealous of our time. This drug ought to be cialis prices in australia downtownsault.org considered daily not less than 2-3 many weeks in order to making a last determination as to whether it’s worth continuous. These effects can range from muscle and back pain, rash and upset stomach are some of the important cialis from india tadalafil steps for a safe treatment.
Others say that when the stone no longer will stick to the wound on its own accord, the bite victim is out of the woods as far as rabies is concerned.
One thing that seems to stand out to me is that the madstone needed to be applied just after the bite occurred, indicating that it was supposed to be more of a preventative measure, rather than something that was used to treat rabies days after infection by the virus, after the symptoms were already obvious.
At that point, even modern medicine says the prognosis isn’t good, and Ozark healers might have been more pragmatic about it in those cases as well.
