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What is Domestic Medicine?

Domestic medicine refers to our home healthcare practices, built on practical knowledge passed down through families and communities. Historically, this care involved locally sourced remedies, often plant-based, that people prepared themselves. Today, while we might reach for over-the-counter products like ibuprofen or cough drops, these modern tools are simply the continuation of a long-standing tradition of self-care. From an anthropological perspective, modern domestic medicine is not distinct from its historical counterpart but rather an evolution of the same concept— the popular healthcare culture.

Throughout much of history, the Materia Medica—the known body of medical knowledge concerning the therapeutic properties of substances—was predominantly plant-based, used by both professional and domestic practitioners.

In most households, someone was knowledgeable about caring for the ill and convalescing. Very frequently the first “expert” the community turned to when they were in over their head was one of our lady experimenters in hopes of receiving the type of charitable support I tend to think of as mutual aid.

Contrary to modern myths, people weren’t persecuted or silenced for using herbs. In fact, many families meticulously documented their medicinal knowledge in household manuscripts long before printing presses existed. Collecting and passing down recipes in handwritten books was common among families of means, and it became fashionable to preserve these records for future generations.

During the 1500s, with the rise of printed materials, household guides and gardening books frequently included medicinal uses of plants. These works, offered receipts for everything from remedies to cosmetics, and many were authored by women.

It wasn’t until the Victorian era that too much “coarse” knowledge became considered unattractive in a woman. Doctors told wealthy parents that schooling might damage their daughters’ ovaries and that they should focus their daughters’ education in areas such as music and the arts. This shift not only wrote women out of the history of medicine but also pushed aside the domestic healthcare knowledge that had sustained families for generations.

Consumer culture grew and wealthier families increasingly depended on the marketplace for their health needs. Cookbooks from the time began to focus more on food and less on medicinal recipes.

In many rural areas though, things carried on the way they always had. Families continued to grow most of their own food and herbs and mothers handed down their “choice” remedies. This is the way my family survived through the generations. I grew up raised on home remedies and “closets” full of home-preserved food, as had always been the way of things in my family.

As an adult I moved to a more urban area and pursued higher education. I became interested in how these domestic practices diverged from professionalized healthcare. My research found that a strong popular healthcare culture contributes to the resilience of a community. This website will investigate what the Western European healthcare culture looked like historically, how we can emulate in modernly in a way that complements modern medicine.

By sharing what I’ve learned from my studies and my own background, I hope to encourage you to explore the healthcare traditions within your own culture. At the same time, I’ll guide you through navigating today’s overwhelming flow of health information. It’s not an easy task, but it’s essential if we are to build more resilient and informed communities.

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