Cover of The Natural Cure of Consumption, Constipation, Bright's Disease, Neuralgia, Rheumatism, "Colds" (Fevers), Etc. How Sickness Originates, and How to Prevent It. A Health — A Reader’s Guide

The Natural Cure of Consumption, Constipation, Bright's Disease, Neuralgia, Rheumatism, "Colds" (Fevers), Etc. How Sickness Originates, and How to Prevent It. A Health — A Reader’s Guide

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In Category - Nursing Hygiene

Authors: Page, C. E. (Charles Edward), 1840- Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2012 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Hygiene -- Popular works; Medicine, Popular Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 90,903

Reading time 396 min

Text sections 13

This digital edition of The Natural Cure of Consumption, Constipation, Bright's Disease, Neuralgia, Rheumatism, "Colds" (Fevers), Etc. How Sickness Originates, and How to Prevent It. A Health — A Reader’s Guide is described by source-level measurements including 90,903 words, 6 hr 36 min estimated reading time, and 13 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 27.2 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Hygiene -- Popular works,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #40184

C. E. Page's 1883 health manual argues that fresh air, fasting, and minimal clothing can cure consumption, dyspepsia, and other ailments. Drawing on case histories and a polemic against drugs, the book urges readers to overcome 'aërophobia' and trust nature's own methods.

Editorial Edition Score 4.8/5

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Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
Text length15 pts
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File: pg40184

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CONSUMPTION——(_Continued_), 50

BRIGHT’S DISEASE——(ALBUMINURIA), CROUP, DIPHTHERIA, ETC., 116

INSOMNIA——INSANITY, 133

RHEUMATISM, FATTY DEGENERATION, ETC., 145

BILIOUSNESS, “HAY FEVER,” NEURALGIA, ETC., 152

THE FLESH-FOOD FALLACY, 158

AIR-BATHS, DYSPEPSIA, SCROFULA, ETC., 166

SALINE STARVATION——CAUTION, “FOSSIL LIVERS,” 177

WHEAT-MEAL _vs._ “ENTIRE FLOUR,” 185

FRUIT, “SCROFULOUS HUMORS,” ETC., 191

THE ONE-MEAL SYSTEM, 197

THE NATURAL DIET: ITS RELATION TO SCROFULA AND OTHER AFFECTIONS, 206

MALARIA, SEWER GAS, “CHANGE OF AIR” AT HOME, ETC., 236

COFFEE, MEDICINALLY AND DIETETICALLY CONSIDERED.——THE TRUE THEORY OF STIMULATION, 243

APPETITE——CONTINENCE, 262

ALBERTONI, PROF. 60 ARGYLE, DUKE OF 267 BEALE, SIR LIONEL, M.D., ETC. 152 BOSTWICK, DR. 21 BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL 244, 247 BRUNTON, T. LAUDER, M.D., F.R.S. 59, 138 BRYANT, WILLIAM CULLEN 110 COMBE, ANDREW, M.D. 20 COOPER, SIR ASTLEY. M.D., ETC. 21 DAVIS, E. H., M.D. 21 DICKINSON, W. HOWSHIP, M.D., F.R.C.P. 117 EVANS, PROF., M.D. 21 FARRAR, CANON OF WESTMINSTER 265 FOTHERGILL, J. MILNER, M.D. 63 FRANKLIN, DR. BENJAMIN 171 FROTHINGHAM, REV. O. B. 256 GOODE, J. MASON, M.D. 21 GREGORY, PROF. JAMES, M.D. 21 HALL, MARSHALL 39 HALLER, ALBRECHT VON 210 HOLMES, PROF. OLIVER WENDELL, M.D., ETC. 21 HUNTER, CHARLES D., M.D., ETC. 178 HUXLEY, PROF. T. H. 23, 97, 247 HYGIENE OF THE BRAIN 110 JACKSON, JAMES C., M.D. 9, 270 LANCET, LONDON, 52 LENNEN, M., M.D., ETC. 247 MCCLINTOCK, DR. 21 MOORE, THOMAS, M.D. 10 NAGEL, RICHARD. M.D. 218 NICHOLS, JAMES R., M.D. 171 NICHOLS, T. L., M.D. 156, 205 OSWALD, FELIX L., M.D. 29, 45, 47, 49, 51, 70, 188 PARKER, PROF. WILLARD, M.D. 21 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 243 PITCHER, ————, M.D. 69 PRESCOTT, PROF. ALBERT B. 243 RICHARDSON, PROF. B. W., M.D. 171, 240 RUSH, ————, M.D. 133 SARGENT, PROF. DUDLEY A. (HARVARD) 261 SAVAGE, M. J. 156, 157 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN 239 SCHLEMMER, DR. 212 SCHMIDT-MÜHLHEIM, PROF. 60 SHAPTER, LEWIS, M.D. 244 STEVENS, A. H., M.D. 21 THOMPSON, SIR HENRY 53, 54, 55, 56 VIREY, JULES, M.D. 202 WELCH, PROF. (YALE) 51 WOOD, PROF. CASEY A., M.D. 145

Although it is evident to my mind that the world is growing more healthy and more moral with every generation——speaking of civilized nations——it is still, as all agree, in a most pitiful state as regards both moral and physical health. The two are indissolubly associated, notwithstanding the glaring exceptions which are, indeed, more apparent than real, and it is difficult to appreciate which leads——whether man grows more healthy as his moral tone improves or more moral as his physical state is exalted. Both are, in fact, constantly acting and reacting upon each other. Few people withdraw themselves from the influence of disease-producing habits, who do not first come to hate disease as a symptom of disobedience to the laws governing their organism. The pain of an aching head is not sufficient, generally, although it may discount the tortures of the damned, to determine the sufferer to live a better life; but when he comes to know the fact that the disorder is needless, brought upon himself by violation of law, and that it is the normal office of pain to warn of danger; then, if he be conscientious, instead of cursing his suffering, he will feel ashamed of his sin, and endeavor to learn the laws of life and obey them.

“In days gone by and not far away, there was a very general impression with the people that sickness and the death which so often follows it were of divine origination and ordainment. No person who might be sick blamed himself for it; certainly no one was held by the community of which he was a member, as in any sense responsible or blameworthy because of his death by sickness. It was believed that for reasons thoroughly justifiable, but incomprehensible to the mind of man, the Supreme Ruler saw fit to manifest His modes and methods of government, either providential or punitive, by taking away the health or the life of those who became sick, or who being sick died of their sickness.

“This notion, though not so prevalent as formerly, still lingers in the popular mind and lies hidden away in the select circles of religious people, occasionally to be brought forth and urged upon public consideration with emphasis, when some person is taken sick and remains for many months and perhaps years an invalid, or when one taken sick suddenly dies.

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Page opens with a warning to the 'inexpert' reader: skimming a health book leads to dangerous half-measures. He anticipates that his condemnation of 'over-wrapping' will be misread as a command to go 'shivering about in shirt-sleeves in all weathers.' This defensive preface sets the tone for a manual that expects careful, patient study—not casual browsing.

The excerpts reveal a work built on case histories and direct appeals. Page's language is blunt: he tells one patient to 'throw away her medicine—iron and strychnia, aconite and chloral—bottles and all.' The book is less a systematic treatise than a collection of arguments and testimonials, each designed to convert the sick to a regimen of air-baths, fasting, and self-discipline.

A Preface That Foreshadows the Method

The preface immediately establishes Page’s rhetorical strategy. He distinguishes between the 'inexpert' reader—who cannot 'think freely'—and the diligent student who will follow his instructions precisely. This dichotomy recurs throughout: the author positions himself against both conventional medicine and lazy reading. He warns that 'dieting' is often 'overdone, half done, or not done at all in the manner designed by the author,' and that exercise taken 'under wrong conditions' can deplete rather than strengthen. The preface thus functions as a contract: the book demands active, careful engagement, and failures are attributed to the patient’s lack of thoroughness, not to the method itself.

The Air-Bath as a Central Prescription

Page’s recommended 'air-bath'—exposing the skin to cool air while rubbing the body—appears as a cornerstone of his natural cure. He describes it as 'Nature herself, in very truth,' and claims to have seen 'patients who were thought to be hopelessly ill' revive through this practice. The instructions are specific: even delicate patients should begin cautiously, 'graduated, as to temperature and duration,' and those too weak to rub themselves should have an attendant do it. The air-bath is presented not as a luxury but as a corrective to what Page calls 'aërophobia'—the irrational fear of fresh air. This concept ties his physical regimen to a psychological battle, framing illness as partly a failure of will.

A Case History as Evidence

The extended case of Mrs. T. from New Hampshire exemplifies Page’s use of patient narratives. She arrived 'terribly emaciated,' with a 'yellow-purple' complexion and a history of failed treatments—cod-liver oil, beefsteak, iron, strychnine, chloral. Page’s intervention was stark: stop all food for seven days, drink only water, and begin air-bathing. He notes that her symptoms 'increased in severity' for the first few days, which he interprets as 'not a bad sign.' By the seventh day she felt improved. The case is presented as proof that fasting and fresh air can reverse chronic dyspepsia, but Page also uses it to critique the medical establishment: the patient had been 'well drugged' by physicians who misdiagnosed her heart and lungs.

The Rhetoric of Urgency and Blame

Throughout the excerpts, Page employs a tone of urgent correction. He addresses 'the sick and suffering, everywhere, the hopelessly sick who would decline in comfort,' and dedicates the book to those who 'may prove themselves still fit to survive.' This language frames illness as a test of character. The reader is warned that 'the unfriendly critic is sure to make a point' of misrepresenting the method. Page’s prose is peppered with italics and exclamations—'bottles and all'—that mimic spoken emphasis. He does not merely describe treatments; he argues against competing approaches, creating a sense of embattled truth. The book thus functions as both a manual and a polemic, demanding allegiance to a single, nature-based system.

Page’s manual is best approached as a period document of alternative medicine, not a modern health guide. Readers should note that his evidence consists of selected case histories and personal testimony, not controlled trials. The book’s value lies in its vivid picture of late-nineteenth-century therapeutic debates and its insistence on patient agency. To read it critically is to observe how a reformer constructs authority through anecdote, warning, and a stark division between the enlightened and the misled.

That rainy afternoon, I kept returning to Page’s insistence on trusting the body’s own quiet rhythms, not force. His stubborn faith in nature felt almost tender. Later, while tidying, I found a slim volume on midwifery, and the same unhurried patience seemed to breathe there—waiting for something new to begin. It felt like meeting an old friend. Obstetrics for Nurses — Reading Companion.