History of Wound Care, Part 6. "Ancient Japanese"

Ancient Japanese wound care was based on herbal medicine, acupuncture, and other forms of traditional treatment. Both professionals and regular people used these methods, as they had been handed down from generation to generation. Acupuncture and acupressure were employed to stimulate blood flow and healing, while ointments and poultices made from herbs and plants were applied to wounds.


Surgery and wound treatment advanced during the Edo era (1603–1868). More and more surgeons started using sutures and bandages, and those who did so also started employing sterilizing techniques to reduce the risk of infection. The hari-kiri knife (used for ritual suicide) and the tai-teki (a surgical scalpel) were two traditional Japanese surgical devices that originated during the Edo period.

The treatment of wounds in Japan changed drastically when Western medicine was introduced during the Meiji period (1868–1922). Hospitals and medical schools were constructed to train doctors in the new Western surgical procedures and instruments. Antiseptics and antibiotics were also used more often, which made infectious diseases much less common.

Modern wound care in Japan combines old ways of doing things with the latest science. Herbal treatments, acupuncture, and acupressure are still utilized and frequently combined with Western therapy. Now, many hospitals have specialist wound care centers with the latest diagnostic and treatment tools to ensure every patient gets the best care for their condition.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

History of Wound Care, Part 5. "Ancient Chinas"

Image
China has a fascinating history of wound care that extends back to ancient times. Herbal medications and wound dressings were the backbone of ancient Chinese medicine. They were used to treat everything from minor cuts to life-threatening illnesses from the time of the Shang Dynasty (17th century BCE to the 10th century BCE). They have devised new ways to help people recover from surgery, like combining acupuncture with other parts of traditional Chinese medicine. Chinese surgeons could treat wounds quickly and accurately by using these methods. China has a long history of dressing wounds that stretches back centuries. Manuscripts from the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), like the "Huangdi Neijing," mention the use of cotton and silk to treat scabies and fractures, among other skin ailments and injuries. According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which says that the body should be kept in harmony, Chinese herbal medicines and cloths were often used as bandages to treat wou...
Read more

History of Wound Care, Part 1. "Ancient Egyptian"

Image
  In ancient Egypt , healers, including magicians, priests, and lay practitioners known as " swnw ," treated patients with a combination of spells, medications, and manual manipulations. The swnw were responsible for lancing boils, draining abscesses, circumcising genitalia, and practicing rational medicine. The Edwin Smith Papyrus, circa 1500 BCE, gave instructions on classifying and managing traumatic wounds, classifying injuries by anatomical structure, and recommending therapies based on the wound's location. Even though they did not have an intellectual understanding of contagion, ancient Egyptians utilized clean dressings and changed them regularly. In addition, they utilized specialized topical ointments, such as ostrich shell, to stop bone bleeding and willow to reduce inflammation. Egyptians were certainly the first to apply honey to wounds and may have been the first to employ sticky bandages. Honey, lard, and lint were the primary components of the most common ...
Read more