Prescribed Iron Filings

"Alasdair Baxter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

In an old Edinburgh library, I came across prescriptions for iron filings which must have been
used as a cure for something in the eighteenth century. Anyone know what they were used for?
--

Alasdair Baxter, Nottingham, UK.Tel +44 115 9705100; Fax +44 115 9423263

"It's not what you say that matters but how you say it.
It's not what you do that matters but how you do it"

I don't know. Iron poor blood? I would work better if the filings were allowed to rust or mixed in
fruit acids.

Alasdair Baxter said:

In an old Edinburgh library, I came across prescriptions for iron filings which must have been
used as a cure for something in the eighteenth century. Anyone know what they were used for?

ever heard of magnetic poles? Well, it looks like it (was believed) to balance a person's poles <g>
findarticles.comarticle.jhtmlOpen ↗

In article <[email hidden]>,

Alasdair Baxter said:

In an old Edinburgh library, I came across prescriptions for iron filings which must have been used
as a cure for something in the eighteenth century. Anyone know what they were used for?

Iron deficiency anemia, which was pretty common in people on a poor diet in thsoe days, especially
women. It's not all that uncommon in women these days, either. A lot of those old patent medicines
for various forms of "weakness" were tonics containing iron. (The rest of them were mostly cure-alls
containing opium and alcohol.)

There are a lot of old folk remedies along the same lines. "For the disease of pale ears - put four
nails in an apple every night. In the morning, remove the nails and eat the apple." (Don't try this
at home: most nails these days are coated.)

William A. Noyes said:

"Alasdair Baxter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In an old Edinburgh library, I came across prescriptions for iron filings which must have been
used as a cure for something in the eighteenth century. Anyone know what they were used for?
--

Quoted message said:

I don't know. Iron poor blood? I would work better if the filings were allowed to rust or mixed in
fruit acids.

Some of the iron-enriched cereals have iron filings in them. The iron dissolves just fine in the
acidity of your stomach.

bob

"Bob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

William A. Noyes said:

"Alasdair Baxter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In an old Edinburgh library, I came across prescriptions for iron filings which must have been
used as a cure for something in the eighteenth century. Anyone know what they were used for?
--

Quoted message said:

I don't know. Iron poor blood? I would work better if the filings were allowed to rust or mixed
in fruit acids.

Some of the iron-enriched cereals have iron filings in them. The iron dissolves just fine in the
acidity of your stomach.

bob

That would be right. It would work in all with normal stomach acid levels. In other words for the
majority but not all.

Bill