Treating ulcers in various ways; On Ulcers, Hippocrates

 Why might you read On Ulcers?

On Ulcers is the last of the Hippocratic Corpus. As such it rounds out our knowledge of what Hippocrates knew, which was put into writing. It gives us our last glimpse into ancient Greek Medicine for the time being.

In my Self Education project, On Ulcers stands as another piece in the greater puzzle of the corpus.

Content of On Ulcers

On Ulcers is a short text that mainly details the many concoctions that can be put on ulcers to help them heal. Hippocrates starts with the general idea of drying out the Ulcer. As well as some discussion on how Ulcers occur. He recommends if they are new cutting them open to drain and bleed them. He does spend most of the work detailing different herbal mixtures that can be put on the ulcers. Again he starts in general and then moves to more specific. Not very specific but a little more. He has a section on different mixtures for the winter. They contain animal fat which the others have not. These seem to more of a kind that would set on a wound under the bandages.

Reflections on On Ulcers

The use of saffron in one of the remedies was a surprise. I don't think it has much in the way of medicinal properties. It is also expensive and the remedy called for quite a lot of it. That being said it was one of a list of possible remedies. Hippocrates was not specific about when to use it or the other options. Because of this, I would take it that the saffron remedy was an option. That other cheaper remedies could be used.

Some remedies seemed more likely to work than others. But that is because I bring modern general knowledge to the table. For example, a remedy with honey and white vinegar seem to me to have more promise than boiled olive leaves.

What others have to say about On Ulcers

This is another case where there is little on the internet about the work and many copies of the work. I found one paper but it was hidden behind a paywall.

Comparisons with other texts

On Fistulae also has plenty of remedies without too much clarity on when to use each. But, it does deal more specifically with a skin ailment in one place and is more specific in that way.

Unlike On the Surgery, there is little information about how to bandage the treated Ulcers. On the Surgery by contrast is nearly entirely about how to bandage wounds.

Conclusion

On Ulcers is a short work detailing many possible treatments for Ulcers. Though cutting and bleeding are prescribed in all cases where the sore is new. What to then add to the wound as a treatment is varied without too much description on when to use what. From that, we can gather that a great many of the treatments are interchangable.

Have you read On Ulcers? If so what did you think of it? 

 
Want to read On Ulcers but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

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Treating Anal Fistulae; On Fistulae, Hippocrates

 Why you might read On Fistulae?

On Fistulae is a very specific work, it covers exactly what it says. Its interest value though is still there for those interested in early greek medicine.

In my Self Education project, this is a work that, while informative, is mainly there to round out the corpus.

Content of On Fistulae

Hippocrates barely deals with what is a Fistulae. Instead, he spends this short work detailing many cures for it. These start with when to cut it open before treating and when to treat it as it is. Generally, he recommends not to cut if it has gone septic. All his remedies include some sponge or other foreign object being introduced. This is either with or after a wash or tincture has been applied.

Reflections on On Fistulae

I had never heard of the term Fistulae before and as Hippocrates does not seriously define the term. I found I needed to google it just to understand what he was treating. If your wondering it is a tube that forms between two hollow organs or one hollow organ and the skin. In this case, he is only dealing with tubes from the anus to the skin. Hippocrates does mention that untreated they can cause death.

What others have to say about On Fistulae

"Hippocrates was the first to use this technique where he inserted horsehair with lint in the fistula tract and then periodically tightened it. It is used almost for all types of anal fistulae and is showing a high healing rate between 80–100%." From Longterm outcome of anal fistula – A retrospective study

Comparisons to other texts

It reminds me of On Hemorrhoids. The treatments are similar, while not the same. Hippocrates generally packs the anus with a sponge or other object.

Unlike Instruments of Reductions, this text only mentions death once in passing. By contrast, Instruments of Reductions, details how lack of reduction can cause maiming or death.

Conclusion

On Fistulae is a short text covering many ways to treat anal fistulae. Hippocrates does not do a good job at defining his terms. He is, however, thorough in covering possible treatments. Some of his techniques still have cognates today. Also, this is the second time we have dealt with issues of the anus and how to treat them. 

Have you read On Fistulae? If so what did you think of it? 

 
Want to read On Fistulae but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

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A more comprehensive run through of dislocations and some other injuries; On the Articulations, Hippocrates

 Why you might read On the Articulations?

On the Articulations is a more in-depth form. We have previously seen dislocations treated but this is a more comprehensive volume. As such it gives even greater insight into how crippling dislocations could be and how they could be sometimes treated.

In my Self Education project, it starts to fill that gap of how injuries were treated. Injuries being the other part of medicine. It also gives insight into how dangerous a dislocation was at the time.

Content of On the Articulations

On the articulations works its way through dislocations an injuries of the joints. These range from shoulder to hip, from elbow to knee and also include the spine. All of these include discussions on mechanical aids and devices. For the hip, Hippocrates spends a lot of time on the deformations that will occur if the joint is not reduced. He does eventually get onto the difficulties and ways to reduce the joint. He does point out with the hip that it really needs to be done immediately. Because otherwise, the inflammation will make it impossible.

With all the joints he points out that you should not reduce the injury if the skin is broken. Reducing at that point is likely to kill the patient. It does mean however that they will be crippled by the injury. He also states that if the inflammation had come in the joint can only be reduced once the inflammation starts to come down. Reduction at this point will be a lot harder.

Reflections on On the Articulations

As I have said in other words, it strikes me how much easily injuries could cripple someone. Hippocrates spends a lot of time on this with the hip joint and the hand. It makes me thankful for modern medicine. Though I haven't broken or dislocated a joint, the thought that just that could make me a cripple is sobering.

Hippocrates treatment of club foot is interesting. He simply states that a lot can be done by slowly bringing the foot back into the right position. He does so with bandages. I do not know if this treatment actually fixes the problem or just gives a cognate to normal function.

The use of cauterisation to keep the joint from dislocating again is quite jarring. This is in the case of repeated dislocations. Hippocrates in one place rails against one location of cauterisation. He instead suggests the opposite because of the direction of the dislocation. These days while I know we do not do cauterisation but I do not know what we would do instead. I have known soccer players whose knee goes out easily. They were so used to it they just popped it back and kept going.

What others have to say about On the Articulations

"More than 2500 years ago Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.) described in detail various methods for reducing shoulder dislocations, and reduction with the heel has become the most famous one." From Neurovascular complications due to the Hippocrates method for reducing anterior shoulder dislocations

Comparisons with other texts

This is an expansion of the work Instruments of reduction. Instruments of reduction lays out the basics of treating dislocations. Whereas this text takes us right through the process and possible outcomes. 

On the articulations also drifts into the area covered by Fractures. It does so by dealing with some broken bones. Fractures is a lot more complete on the subject whereas this text just uses a few cases as they relate to the joints.

Conclusion

On the Articulations is an in-depth look at the injuries of the joints. It takes the work Instruments of reduction and expands on it to give a complete look. It covers all the joints of the limbs as well as those of the spine. Some of these reductions are still the bases of how we fix dislocations today. That being said we are not as limited as Hippocrates was by what he could physically manage.

Have you read On the Articulations? If so what did you think of it? 

 
Want to read On the Articulations but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

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Dislocations and how to treat them; Instruments of Reduction, Hippocrates

 Why you might read Instruments of Reduction?

Instruments of reduction is a complete work about dislocations of the joints and spine. Hippocrates also explains how the person will be lamed by the injury. Because of this it also gives us great insight into the risks of getting hurt in Greek times.

In my Self Education project, the Hippocratic corpus is of great import. It is the first real medicine books and gives a great foundation for medicine and the life sciences in books to come.

Content of Instruments of Reduction

First Hippocrates spends some time describing the skeletal system in depth. This includes which way the bones curve in the body. As well as a systematic description of what connects to what.

For the rest of the book, he works his way around the body. For each joint, he describes how it can be dislocated and how to return it to its position. He also details how it will heal and how lame it will be afterwards. He details this both for if it is relocated or reduced and if it is left untreated. In a couple of places, he describes how death will likely follow the injury. He does cover a little about what to do with treatment after reduction like restricting food and bandaging. He generally says no splints the exception being the fingers. This is a small part of the text as he is mainly focused on the dislocations themselves.

Reflections on Instruments of Reduction

The number of different ways you can dislocate a lot of your joints was surprising. Most can be dislocated in at least two different ways with some being able to be dislocated in up to four ways. This is of course on two planes of movement. When there is only two it is on the same plane. so backwards and forwards or inwards and outwards.

Again Hippocrates includes the use of mechanical devices to help reduce the joint. These need more understanding of his terms than I managed on a read through. He talks about using axels but not how they are used. His contraptions are generally based on these axels.

I found this book hard to read as I kept imagining the dislocations and reductions. The text itself isn't difficult, it made me squeamish.

What others have to say about Instruments of Reduction

The internet is quite again about this book. There are many places to find the text of it online but no-one has written much about it.

Comparisons with other texts

This book reminds me a lot of Fractures. That being said they are the reverse of each other. Fractures is about fractures with a slight deviation into dislocations. Whereas this text is dislocations with a slight deviation into fractures where relevant. As such while they cover some of the same material they complement each other.

Like Injuries of the Head, this is a practical work. They both start with a discussion of the relevant anatomy. They then continue on to specifics of injuries and how to treat them.

Conclusion

Instruments of Reductions is a text about relocating dislocated joints. It covers this in a systematic and complete way even detailing when death is likely to occur. It has a lot in common with Hippocrates other injury based books and complements them nicely.

Have you read Instruments of Reduction? If so what did you think of it? 

 
Want to read Instruments of Reduction but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

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Serious head injuries and how to diagnose them; On Injuries of the Head, Hippocrates

 Why you might read On Injuries of the Head?

On Injuries of the Head, covers in detail serious head wounds. As such it gives great insight into how head injuries were treated in Hippocrates time. It is interesting to see how much they are willing to be invasive when they can only see with their eyes.

In my Self Education project, the Hippocratic corpus is of great import. It is the first real medicine books and gives a great foundation for medicine and the life sciences in books to come.

Content of On Injuries of the Head

On Injuries of the Head goes through the types of head wounds. It covers from the simplest head wounds in which little is to be done. All the way to serious head injuries that are likely to result in death. Hippocrates spends time explaining how to examine head wounds. This includes the idea that you may have to cut the wound further open to see the bone and what damage has been done to it. He recommends not cutting the bone immediately but waiting to see if it comes out on its own or starts healing. If neither of these things happens then you should cut the bone most of the way through and let it fall the rest of the way. This is done so as not to damage the membrane of the brain.   

Reflections on On Injuries of the Head

Hippocrates never moralises about the cause of the injury. He does however say that the injuries could be deliberately inflicted. He treats violence the same as an accident as information to know about the wound and nothing else.

There is also an interesting section where in order to see the bone fracture Hippocrates adds a dye pack for a day and then scrapes the bone. This would leave only dye in the cracks of the fracture.

What others have to say about On Injuries of the Head

"Hippocrates' treatise On Wounds in the Head represents an excellent source of information regarding the extent of experience with head injuries in classical antiquity" From the National Library of Medicine

"On the basis of clinical observation, the great physician gives an accurate description of the external appearance and consistency of the cranium." From Hippocrates: A Pioneer in the Treatment of Head Injuries

Comparisons with other texts

Like On Hemorrhoids, this text is focused on the treatment of a specific injury. Unlike hemorrhoids this text is more life and death. The head injuries turn deadly a lot easier than the unpleasant but more survivable hemorrhoids.

In some ways, it is the opposite to On the Surgery. On the surgery mainly deals with the bandaging of wounds. Whereas it is left out of this text. Instead On Injuries of the Head is all about surgery.

Conclusion

On Injuries of the Head is a compact work detailing serious injuries of the head. It mainly focuses on those that imprint or otherwise damage the bone. It does not cover things we also look at now like a concussion. Hippocrates in most cases suggests finding out what you can and then giving the wound some time. He does cover what to do if healing does not come. This work follows the general ethos of the Hippocratic Corpus and is very detail-oriented.

Have you read On Injuries of the Head? If so what did you think of it? 

 
Want to read On Injuries of the Head but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

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Basic treatments for Hemorrhoids; On Hemorrhoids, Hippocrates

 Why you might read on Hemorrhoids?

If you have an interest in how hemorrhoids are treated this might be of interest. This work gives you insight into how treatment was done originally. It may also make you thankful for modern anesthtics.

In my Self Education project, this is a work that, while informative, is mainly there to round out the corpus.

Content of on Hemorrhoids

On Hemorrhoids is a quick text that covers a few ways to treat Hemorrhoids. The main one being to get pieces of iron made to shape. Then to heat them and burn out the Hemorrhoids. The others are just variations on the theme. He also covers condyloma as a subset of hemorrhoids. The removal of these seems to be far easier with them just being carefully pulled off rather than burnt. He covers how to treat the wounds after bleeding as well. This differs depending on the original method. 

Reflections on Hemorrhoids

Hippocrates idea of how the hemorrhoids form is quite interesting. He states that it is a build-up of bile and phlegm in the rectum that leads to these bleeding growths.

The fact that he gives multiple ways to treat is also quite interesting. He normally is about the best way and presenting that way only.

What others have to say about on Hemorrhoids

From The American Journal of Surgery"These procedures have been carried through the ages with only minor alterations or variations but are the basis for all operations for hemorrhoids in use today."

"The Hippocratic author mentions several possible ways of treating haemorrhoids. Some of these are rather invasive" From The recipes project

Comparisons with other texts

Unlike on The Surgery, this work covers what you would expect. It is a work based solely on its title.

 A bit like The heart, it is focused on the anatomy of the area in question. But unlike The heart, on Hemorrhoids is focused primarily on treatment.

Conclusion

On Hemorrhoids is a simple text that deals with how to treat hemorrhoids. It gives various methods, which is unusual for Hippocrates. Methods today are based upon the same basic principles which are just as invasive. 

Have you read On Hemorrhoids? If so what did you think of it? 

 
Want to read On Hemorrhoids but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

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It's actually more about bandaging; On the Surgery, Hippocrates

 Why you might read On the Surgery?

On the Surgery is a great recap into how to bandage wounds. Unlike its title, this is the main thrust of the work.

In my Self Education project, this fills a completion role. That is to say that its main value is in being part of the wider corpus and a wider understanding.

Content of On the Surgery

On the surgery starts with a discussion of how the surgeon should sit or stand when performing surgery. From there it diverges into discussions on how things should be bandaged. He covers this both in general in then in specific cases. He states that the bandage must always be tight by the amount they are wound around not by pressure.

Reflection on On the Surgery

This text has very little new information, most of it has been covered in other texts.

That being said the directions for how the surgeon must sit or stand are fascinating. They are mainly about how to steady their hands. Whether this is by resting the elbows on the raised knees or by resting the elbows on the sides of the torso. 

What others have to say about On the Surgery

The internet is rather silent on this work. I wonder if that is going to become more common as I work into the more obscure Hippocratic texts.

Comparisons with other texts

The big comparison here is with Fractures. Both texts deal with, as a secondary thing, the binding of wounds. Both texts give the same basic instructions for bandaging. On the Surgery gives more detail in some areas. One of these is when binding something that might slip like a knee.

Conclusion

On the Surgery is mainly a text about Bandaging wound despite its name. It does go into some discussion about how any surgery is to be done at the start, but quickly branches away from that. We have seen a lot of this material in the work Fractures, though this does give us more detail in places.

Have you read On the Surgery? If so what did you think of it? 

 
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Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

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Anatomy of the Heart; The heart, Hippocrates

Why you might read The Heart?

The heart is a quick read. It gives us an idea of how the heart was understood in early medicine. As well as giving a basic anatomical description.

For my Self Education project, it mainly is a text that is about having an understanding of the whole corpus of Hippocrates. It gives insight, also, into how anatomical deductions were made at the time.

Content of The Heart

The Heart is a short text on exactly that the Heart. Hippocrates focuses mainly on the physical structure of the heart. He correctly ascertains that there are two main chambers but fails to notice the divisions of those chambers. He does notice the valves of the heart though he incorrectly determines their uses. He does not posit that the heart is for pumping blood, but does come to the conclusion that it is like bellows.

Reflections on The Heart

Hippocrates assumptions around the function of the heart are quite interesting. He thinks it is a hot organ next to the cold lungs. We now know body temperature to be a lot more consistent than that. He rightly points out that without the valves of the heart open no blood would flow. He states that is removing a heart from a cadaver you will find blood on the right side but no the left. He uses this to state that it is just this side that the blood moves through. this is incorrect but it is easy to see how he got to this.


What others have to say about The Heart

"Hippocrates’ writings on the heart contain some of the best clinical descriptions recorded in history" From a paper by Tsung O. Cheng

Comparisons with other texts

This work had a great deal of similarity to The Nature of Man. Both this and the Nature of Man cover the physical reality of medicine. As well as descriptions of the physical parts. The heart is just a description of the physical heart. Whereas the Nature of Man covers most of the body in less detail.

It is less detailed than The Nature of the Child. This is due to the more focused topic. As well as the lack of need for the development stages that we see in the Nature of the Child.

Conclusion

The Heart is a simple description of the heart and its function. Though Hippocrates does make some incorrect deductions it is still very informative. We have seen that Hippocrates was the closest to what we know now that is seen up to his time in history. As well as how this text is similar to the two works that are about the Nature of Man and of the Child.

Have you read The Heart? If so what did you think of it? 

 
Want to read The Heart but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

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Conception and Pregnancy; The Seed and The Nature of the Child, Hippocrates

 Why you might read The Seed and The Nature of the Child?

The Seed and the Nature of the Child is an interesting dive into early embryology. It shows us the genesis of some other ideas we hold now. Although it posits some things we now know to be untrue. It is none the less an eye-opener into early greek medicine. That being said it covers more of what is happening and less actual treatment based medicine.

In my Self Education project, it stands as a genesis of embryology.

Content of The Seed and The Nature of the Child

Hippocrates starts with the male sperm. He follows this with the female sperm and conception. He states that conception is when the female body holds onto the male sperm. He also states that when the male sperm is greater you will get a male child. The same, he says is true, of it the female sperm is dominant you will get a female child. He also spends a bit of time discussing the moistening of the female womb.

After conception, he speaks of the warmth generated being taken in by the foetus. This is, he says, how the foetus first grows. He then goes on to explain how the breath starts in the foetus and how it breaths. this is both on its own in the warmth and from its mother the cool air of outside. He talks of the separating of the limbs. How long that takes depends on the sex of the child. He first spends a lot of time proving this but comparing it to how long the woman discharges after birth. Second, he gets sidetracked into the life cycle of trees. This is in order to make comparisons to the growing bones in the child. He finishes with another sidetrack. This takes the form of the temperature of surface water during the winter and summer.

Reflections on The Seed and The Nature of the Child

Hippocrates assertion that there is male and female sperm is one that has been since disproven. Instead, we talk about the male sperm and the female egg. But at least he is firmly of the opinion that the child comes from both parents genetically. In fact, he discusses how the child will be a mix of the parents and there is no way it will not look like either.

His explanation around the breath of the child is interesting. We now know that foetal breathing is essential to lung development. That being said it starts much later, at 10 weeks, than Hippocrates posits. Whether his thoughts are due to an overemphasis on the breath and life. Whether he has come to his conclusion by other means. Either way, it is interesting that he lines up with what is happening to some degree.  We will never know how he got to that conclusion.

His sidetracks while interesting are rather longer than necessary to make his point. His comparisons though show a lot about how he conceives of the development of the child. His comparison with developing chicken eggs is a great way to get some information on the animal kingdom. And you can see he used this to inform his ideas.

What others have to say about The Seed and The Nature of the Child

"it is of considerable interest for the historian of gender." from a paper by Jean-Baptiste Bonnard

Comparisons with other texts

In some ways, this text follows on from The Nature of Man. Instead of staying at a surface level though it delves into reproduction in humans. But like The Nature of Man, it seeks to cover a discrete amount of information.

Conclusion

The Seed and the Nature of the Child set out conception through to birth. It takes what could be known at the time and makes some good guesses at what is going on. Hippocrates takes some interesting sidetracks into the growth of trees and the temperature of springs. This being said he does eventually like them to the topic at hand. His work on the child is interesting in that it defiantly sees the foetus as a person.

Have you read The Seed and the Nature of the Child? If so what did you think of it? 

 
Want to read The Seed and the Nature of the Child but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

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How to set almost any type of Fracture; Fractures, Hippocrates

 Why you might read Fractures?

Fractures is the first surgical text that we have seen. As such it fills a gap about how injuries were treated. It is systematic, as we have come to expect from Hippocrates.

In my Self Education project, it starts to fill that gap of how injuries were treated. Injuries being the other part of medicine. It also gives insight into how dangerous a bone break was at the time.

Content of Fractures

The title sums it up nicely! This work covers a complete set of breaks for the arms and legs. It includes breaks that come out through the skin as well as simple breaks. 

Hippocrates starts with basic breaks of the arms and details how to realign them. He moves onto how to bandage them. He then discusses when to change the bandages and when to splint the break. Interestingly he does not recommend splinting until the seventh day. This is after some of the inflammation has gone down. He then moves onto the hands and feet. Then he details broken legs. Interestingly his advice is almost the same for the different types of breaks. He moves onto breaks that break the skin. He spends time dispelling some of the things others do. For example, wrapping around the injury but no the injury itself. He goes on to recommend wrapping with wide bandages. And then treating it very similarly to other breaks. Finally, he deals with dislocations. He instructs how to put back all variations for dislocations for knee, wrist, ankle and elbow. Some even require a group of strong men to be effective.

Reflections on Fractures

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As I mentioned in the content, Hippocrates actually recommends very similar methods for bandaging. The realignments differ and are given for every type of break. He also recommends waiting for the swelling to come down before setting the bone. Today we set the bone straight away but we do tend to put on looser casts until the swelling comes down.

Hippocrates explains how to design mechanical contraptions. The purpose of these is to help with traction and setting bones without other people.  It is interesting though I found it a little hard to picture in my mind. He seems to think they are helpful but is also very clear that they can be done without

Hippocrates is clear when there is likely to be ongoing issues. For example with shortening of the bone making a person lame. This really hammered home to me how much more dangerous bone breaks were at the time. As well as how easily even a treated break could go wrong.

What others have to say about Fractures

Actually, the internet is rather silent about this work. That being said there are many places you can find a copy of the text online.

Comparisons with other texts

Like Aphorisms, Fracture is to the point. They both cover the exact treatment for different illness or injuries. Aphorisms covers a wide range of illnesses. By contrast, Fractures systematically moves through the possible fractures of the limbs.

Unlike Traditions in Medicine, Hippocrates is not focused on food. He does mention diet a little but it is not the overwhelming way to treat things like it is in some of his other works. Fractures is a more practical manual for a more practical problem.

Conclusion

Fractures is a fairly detailed treatment of fractures of the limbs. It covers them in a logical sequence from the bottom of the leg to the top. Also, it adds in the arms alongside there analogous parts of the leg. For example, the ankle is dealt with then the wrist. I could not find anyone else on the internet commenting on this work. It is a very different work from what we have seen from Hippocrates to this point. 

Have you read Fractures? If so what did you think of it? 

 
Want to read Fractures but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

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A regimen for the well; A Regimen for Health, Hippocrates

 Why you might read A Regimen for Health

A Regimen for Health fills the gap of what a healthy person should be doing to stay well. It takes Hippocrates philosophy and spreads it into preventative medicine.

In my Self Education project, it fills exactly that gap. As well as giving further insight into what Hippocrates saw as the health person. 

Content of A Regimen for Health

This book details what should be done on a daily and seasonal basis to stay in good health. Hippocrates starts with the seasons. He states that in the winter little water should be taken and the food dry. The transition between season should be done gently. The change between dry and wet in winter and summer respectively.

He then moves on to differences in the state of one's body makes. Giving different recommendations for young and old and fat and thin. As well as hard and soft. 

His recommendations stay entirely around types of food and drink. He also includes the frequency of meals. Finally, he details how to lose and gain weight. As well as what type of exercise should be done.

Reflections on A Regimen for Health

Today we have our own ideas around what is health. Both to do what is healthy to eat and drink as well as what exercise. So it should not be surprising that Hippocrates had his own ideas of what would keep people well. He covers a fair bit of ground given the length of this text. The interesting thing is that he does not really stop and explain his reasoning. This is a little against his normal tendencies. 

What others have to say about A Regimen for Health

"Disease is not an entity, but a fluctuating condition of the patient’s body, a battle between the substance of disease and the natural self-healing tendency of the body." From Excellence Reporter

"He considered that the habits and environment in which a person was, influenced the illnesses that he contracted." From Life persona

Comparisons with other texts

This is the antithesis of Hippocrates work Regimen in Acute Diseases. Yet it covers a lot of the same ground. With directions about eating and drinking being the centre of both works. 

It also relates to The Science of Medicine. It is a continuation of the idea that everything can be discovered in its best form. In this case, it is the same ideas applied to how to stay healthy.

Conclusion

This short work covers what to eat and when for the best health. It expands into more specifics like if you are thin or fat. We have looked at how it is a continuation of the idea of Medicine as a science. As well as how it complements and contrasts the Regimen in Acute Diseases. But in all, it is just what it says a Regimen for Health.

Have you read A Regimen for Health? If so what did you think of it? 

 
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Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

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