Amber beads as a goiter remedy

 AMBER.

goiter

"Goitre is so common that, unless the neck be very thick, it is not considered to be anything abnormal; hence my first table will only show most unmistakable goitres.
Many well-known facts will also be seen brought out strongly—as the greater tendency in women, and the greater liability of the right side.

I obtained from the villagers their ideas as to causes, and subjoin these in the order of their belief:—Family; water; parturition; strains and coughing; overcrowding; cold..
As to sources of relief, they mention—wearing of flannel; pressure of shirt-collar; heavy bead necklaces; change of residence, and climacteric change."


source: The Lancet, 1872


"Thyrocele or simple goiter is most common in young girls at puberty. As a rule, it subsides in a few months without treatment. The wearing ofamber beads is supposed by the laity to have a curative effect upon goiter—it is in these cases that such good results are obtained and tend to keep up the superstition."


source: The International journal of surgery, Volume 26, 1913

amber necklace

Q. What effect does an amber necklace have upon goiter?

A. The same effect as a moss agate cuff button.


source: Buffalo Sanitary Bulletin, 1914





"In spite of investigations ...Laymen and physicians are still in mystery about it(goiter). Superstition, ranging from the wearing of a chain of costly amber beads ..."

source: Eclectic Medical Journal, Volume 78, 1918

amber

"From the earliest times amber has been supposed to operate as a charm, so that it has been used as an amulet, and for purposes of ornament it is the most ancient of all gems (Legends of Gems). It is a congener of Jet, with which it is found. It is highly electric, so that the Greeks called it electron—hence the name electricity. Pliny states that a necklace of amber beads would guard against secret poison and keep off witchcraft and sorcery.

Amber was, and still is, used as a remedy for all throat affections, including goitre, and also as a cure for pain in the stomach, jaundice, asthma, gout, dropsy, heart disease, and dysentery."

source: Archaeologia, or, Miscellaneous tracts, 1871

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