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4-Year-Old’s Life Saved by Salted Pork Being Shoved Up Her Nose … Really!
Salted Pork Saves Little Girl's Life
In our medically advanced culture with all its high-tech gear, machines, doo-dads and thingamajigs, it’s refreshing when you hear stories like this one.
The doctors at the Detroit Medical Center saved a 4-year-old girl’s life in a very inexpensive and lo-fi way. They saved her life by shoving salted pork up her nose.
Now, you may be wondering how a cured meat product up one’s nostrils would be a life-saver …
Here’s what happened. This particular 4-year-old girl had a rare bleeding disorder and had been in intensive care for five days after she was struck with a nosebleed. The surgeons at the hospital were unable to stop the blood loss. The girl had operations, underwent regular blood transfusions and was on a ventilator. Their next step was a risky procedure that could’ve left her blind or caused her body to attack her own cells. But then, miraculously, a very simple cure was tried … and it worked.
One of the doctors — who had served in the military — had recalled a tip from the field that in case of a nosebleed, you put salted pork in one’s nose to stop the bleeding. This was apparently a common practice up until the 1940s, when ‘modern’ advances took over. The doctors at the Detroit Medical Center opted to try this last ditch effort and obtained salted pork from a local supermarket, cut it into thin strips and packed into the girl’s nostrils. And the bleeding stopped.
How does the cured cure work? Apparently, the heavy salt content in the pork causes the nose to swell, which cuts off the bleeding. In addition, there may be some sort of element in the pork that aids in healing as well. But doctors warn not to use this to cure your regular everyday nosebleed, since there is a risk of infection.
Do you embrace any old-school cures for what ails you?
Photo Source: Wikipedia.com
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9 Comments
bob commented on Jan 30 12 at 3:36 pmSnort!
http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2010/5/22/129190654003484619.jpg
Jaime commented on Jan 31 12 at 7:00 amSeriously I believe it! I’ve had to use it on a boil and it cured that!
Ella commented on Feb 08 12 at 10:48 pm“Modern” technology hasn’t always been around. We have to take it back to the old school some days. God Bless her and the doc who wasn’t too afraid to speak up!
diane caso commented on Feb 08 12 at 10:48 pmEverything old is new again,,,at one time, it was common to apply liquid cocaine to a cotton swab, and insert in nostril,
celesta commented on Feb 08 12 at 10:58 pmYes I would!
Kerri commented on Feb 08 12 at 11:00 pmSounds like something House would do!
Rachel commented on Feb 08 12 at 11:08 pmRaw bacon will draw out infection! Good for abscesses! Smack it on and put a big bandage over top. Works wonders. : )
Mumbi commented on Feb 09 12 at 12:51 amMy great grandmother used semi dry chicken poop to draw out a thorn that had gone all the way in beside my shin when i was 6.To this day no one knows how it worked or why we have never tried it again though.She just put it on a handkerchief with some of her chewing tobacco had me take a nap and by the time i woke up it was in the poop.She was a medicine woman in her tribe Dorobo of Kenya.she died in 2003 at an estimated age of 116.
Kierah commented on Feb 09 12 at 12:02 pm@Mumbi – your great grandmother sounds like my great grandmother. My great gran was Native American (Blackfoot). Unfortunately we’ve lost so many of her old ways. They worked though!
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