Red-hot Iron Research Articles

H23 Traditional healing by skin cauterization (kaiy)

Abstract The practice of kaiy is an ancient medical traditional therapy that is still used in Africa and the Middle East. Kaiy is the Arabic word for cautery; a red-hot iron or coal is placed to the skin. This causes sharp circular, oval or linear burns that are placed in a symmetrical configuration, usually resulting in permanent scars. This practice is undertaken by traditional healers. A Somali woman was referred by her general practitioner to dermatology for an itchy scar on her mid-upper abdomen. She reported that 40 years ago, she had traditional skin cautery therapy to the area for bone pain, which was later diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis. On examination, she had a 4 × 0.7 cm keloid scar that was treated with a course of KenalogTM injections. This sparked an interest in understanding the practice of kaiy, and a literature review was performed. Cauterization results in the burning of tissue in order to close wounds or stop bleeding. The patient’s symptoms help to decide the location of cauterization. For example, if the presenting complaint is jaundice, the cautery is placed on the left hand. Other medical presentations that kaiy is used for include back pain, headache, depression, chest pain and exorcism. Is this practice useful or are patients being burned for no reason? Historically, it was felt that it was valuable in preventing infection; however, there is no scientific basis for this. The practice was believed to result in the destruction of pathogenic substances within the body due to the extreme heat. Patients who have undergone this therapy report that it gives them short-term relief of their symptoms; this is likely to be due to the release of endogenous opioids, allowing the body to stop the sensation of unremitting pain. Complications are commonly witnessed and consist of deep skin burns, deferred wound healing and secondary wound infections. More serious complications include septic shock, ulceration and viral transmission such as hepatitis B (Farid MK, El-Mansoury A. Kaiy (traditional cautery) in Benghazi, Libya: complications versus effectiveness. Panafr Med J 2015; 22:98; Budair F. Dermatoses due to Arabic cultural and traditional practices. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprosy 2019; 85:448–54). Kaiy should be included in the differential diagnosis of a patient presenting with multiple symmetrical scars. Some patients may not be forthcoming in admitting to the treatment if not specifically asked. This presentation aims to increase awareness in dermatologists of this practice.

Strindberg's Representation of Anxiety in The Father: Between Naturalistic Determinism and Existential Indeterminism

Strindberg's Representation of Anxiety in <i>The Father</i>: Between Naturalistic Determinism and Existential Indeterminism

Historical aspects of aseptics and antiseptics

Relevance. For many centuries, infectious complications have been one of the most pressing problems of surgical practice. In modern medicine, a wide range of aseptic and antiseptic methods is presented, which, without harm to the body, can destroy pathogenic microorganisms and prevent the development of purulent complications that significantly aggravate the patient's condition and increase the duration of treatment. However, this was not always the case. In the era of the formation of surgery, interventions in a significant majority of cases ended with the development of purulent and septic complications, which inevitably led to death.The purpose of this study was to study the main points that play a key role in the history of the formation of modern asepsis and antiseptics.Material and methods. In the course of the study, an analysis of domestic and foreign literature on the history of the development of aseptics and antiseptics was carried out. When compiling the work, the biographical method of historical research was used. Articles and historical sketches of the period of the described events were also used as materials.Results. The formation of the principles of asepsis and antisepsis is a long historical process in which many of the greatest minds of mankind have been involved. At the same time, like the development of any scientific worldview, the development of asepsis and antiseptics was based on previous knowledge, as well as on knowledge obtained, mainly empirically. From time immemorial, physicians have already had an idea of the antibacterial properties of a number of compounds. The first mentions of attempts to prevent contamination of wounds and their disinfection date back to the time of Hippocrates. In the Middle Ages, for the purpose of disinfecting wounds, cauterization with a red-hot iron and boiling oil was widely used. From the middle of the 18th century, the first antiseptics entered the practice of surgeons. From the middle of the 19th century, a significant contribution to the development of asepsis and antiseptics was made by the Russian surgeon N.I. Pirogov, and his follower N.V. Sklifosovsky. A breakthrough in the development of asepsis and antiseptics in the late 19th – early 20th centuries was the scientific discovery of the French scientist Louis Pasteur, who proved that the processes of fermentation and decay are caused by microorganisms. This discovery formed the basis of J. Lister's antiseptic method. At the end of the 19th century, E. von Bergmann developed the aseptic method. One of the last significant events in the history of antiseptics was A. Fleming antibiotics.Conclusions. Thanks to the work of great scientists and doctors, there are many life-threatening postoperative complications that claimed the lives of many people, if they did not remain in the past, then their incidence and intensity of manifestations have noticeably decreased, and asepsis and antiseptics have become an integral component of surgical practice.

Enhanced wound healing activity of nano ZnO and nano Curcuma longa in third-degree burn

Burns are caused by various external factors, such as radiation, chemicals, electricity, hot surfaces or liquids, which can seriously damage the integrity of the skin. Due to the lack of blood vessel formation, immunosuppression, and sensitivity to various infections, third-degree burns can damage the entire skin layer and delay the healing process. Therefore, this study was planned to evaluate the therapeutic effects of nano ZnO, nano CUR alone and in the composite form in third-degree burns. Topical 1% w/w skin ointments of nano ZnO, Curcuma longa (C. longa) nanoparticles (nano-CUR) and a composite of ZnO and C. longa nanoparticles (nano ZnO/CUR composite) were formulated for the treatment of burn wounds after characterization. A total of 25 rabbits from the animal house were grouped in 4 treatment (nano ZnO, nano CUR, nano ZnO/CUR and positive control) groups with 5 rabbits in each, while 5th group as a negative control group. These rabbits of four treatment groups were branded with the red-hot iron bar having a diameter of 10 mm for 15 seconds to create two burn wounds on each rabbit after induction of anesthesia. Healing time and wound contraction rate were conducted at 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th day after wound infliction while histopathological examination was conducted at 28th day after woud infliction. The statistical evaluation showed that nano ZnO/CUR composite group took less time to heal wound (avg, 24.25D ± 0.5) as compared to other groups of nano ZnO (26.25D ± 0.5), nano CUR (28D ± 0.82) and positive control (36.25D ± 0.5) with a similar pattern as observed for contraction rate of the wound. Histopathological analysis showed higher collagen deposition, vascularization, angiogenesis and fibrosis by nano ZnO/CUR composite treated group as compared to other groups. The study concluded that the application of nano ZnO/CUR composite ointment will heal third-degree burn wounds rapidly as compared to solus alone application.

The origin of the word mazija ‘steel’

The word mazija ?steel; forging ingot; a kind of ordeal which required plucking red-hot iron from a cauldron of boiling water? is common in the western part of the Shtokavian dialect continuum. Its area includes the Zeta-Raska, the Eastern Herzegovinian and the Younger Ikavian dialect, the first of the Old Shtokavian and the other two of the Neo-Shtokavian type. There are no attestations of this word earlier than the first half of the 18th century. So far, it has been mainly believed to share a common origin with the homonymous mazija ?oak gall? from Turkish maz? id. This stance is hardly acceptable in view of the fact that not only the meanings of the two words but also their geographical distributions strongly diverge, mazija in the oak gall sense being limited to the Kosovo-Resava and Timok-Prizren dialect areas of southern Serbia. The comparison with French maz?e ?refined iron?, is even more doubtful, because this term has been attested only since 1824 and with no known etymology, The true origin of m?zija &lt; maz?ja (gvozdja) should be sought in the late Greek (5th century AD) ????(?)? ??? ??????? ?iron mass shaped by a blacksmith?; the plural form ????? ??????? occurs in a Greek charter issued in 1347 by the Serbian tsar Dusan to the Great Lavra on Mt Athos. Curiously enough, in two Serbian founding charters of the same epoch there is a parallel passage where among other yearly incomes granted to the monastery iron ingots are mentioned, designated here by the gen. pl. nad'('), with complements gvozd(i)ja ?of iron? and m?r?nyh' ?of a standard weight?. The term is Slavic nada or nado, derivative from

Treatment of uterine cancer by amputation and cauterization

In 1887 Dr. Keith sent a patient with cervical cancer to the author. The diagnosis was out of doubt. The possible high amputation of the cervix, suggested by Keith, was resolved. To this operation, the author added energetic cauterization with a red-hot iron.

From the Blacksmith’s Forge to the Fires of Hell

Early Buddhist texts were first being composed and compiled during South Asia’s Iron Age, and thus contain many references to iron and other metal technologies. This article examines one metalworking image that came to play a special role in the imagination of early Buddhists: the red-hot iron ball. I argue that the iron ball, which comes to be a torture device in hell, force-fed by hell wardens, is a mimesis of the pi??ap?ta, or almsfood offered to monks and nuns by the laity. Around iron ball imagery clusters a set of related Buddhist concerns: anxieties about undisciplined and deceitful monks and nuns, especially in relation to taking alms; the public perception of the sa?gha; the conceptualization of Buddhist hells as an unfortunate karmic result of lacking discipline; and the relationship between these hells and Indian juridical forms of punishment.

Strange Histories: The Trial of the Pig, the Walking Dead, and Other Matters of Fact from the Medieval and Renaissance Worlds

Strange Histories: The Trial of the Pig, the Walking Dead, and Other Matters of Fact from the Medieval and Renaissance Worlds

Striking Iron: The Art of African Blacksmiths

Striking Iron: The Art of African Blacksmiths

Evidentiary means in feudal Transylvania. Ordeal By fire (holding a red-hot iron)

Abstract One of the evidentiary means used in medieval legal procedure was the so-called judgment of God, judicium dei, also known as ordeal, from the Latin term ordalium. Ordeals were characteristic of all peoples in their various stages of development. They were based on the belief that divinity could intervene and perform miracles, disregarding the laws of nature, in order to prove one’s innocence. In the Middle Ages ordeals were widespread on the territory of Transylvania, too, the ordeal of fire being one of the most commonly used means of proof. In this paper I will try to show the characteristics of this evidence in relation to others that were used at that time, looking at them through the lenses of the documents of the time and of personal research.

Conversion of Sponge Iron From Low Grade Iron ore And Mill Scale Through Simulating Tunnel Kiln Condition

The present investigation deals with the feasibility study of the process development for production of Directly Reduced Iron (DRI) using waste/low grade iron ore (slime), mill scale and waste/less reactive coal (partly oxidized coal i.e. Jhama coal). In order to get most green and dry strength for safe handling and transportation, the pellets of iron ore slime and the pellets of mill scale were made in disc pelletizer with optimum moisture. Dried iron ore slime pellets reduced the bed of Jhama coal fines at different temperature and sintering time. Detailed investigation for the reduction kinetics of slime pellets with Jhama coal has been carried out to explore the feasibility of slime pellets reduction. Based on reduction kinetics, process criterion for reduction of pellets with Jhama coal is optimized to produce highly metallic DRI. The Reduction of dried pellets was carried out without in duration/firing higher temperature as compared to the conventional DRI process yielding high energy efficient and cost-effective process. An optimized work flow sheet and innovative process has been developed for production of high quality DRI utilizing waste iron ore slime and less reactive coal (Jhama coal). The DRI produced from this process have high metallization (<92%) suitable for blast furnace and electrical for iron and steel making. I. Introduction Mill scale is an iron oxide waste generated during steelmaking process, casting and rolling. The mill scale contains very high percentage of iron which is generated during making of steel towards production of various long and flat products. The major part of mill scale in an integrated steel plant is recycled for in house consumption; but no commercial process for its utilization is so far available for the secondary sector in industries. So it is either dumped or exported at a very low price. It is appeared on the outer surfaces of plates, sheets or profiles when they are being produced by rolling red hot iron or steel billet in rolling mills. It is composed of iron oxides mostly ferric and is bluish black in color. It is regularly less than 0.1 mm (0.0039 in) thick and initially adheres to the steel surface and protects it from atmospheric corrosion contributed no break occurs in this coating. Here some preliminary results of a laboratory scale investigation has been done which involves pelletization of mill scale, using steel plant waste as an additive and following reduction of the air dried pellet by non-cooking coal fines under conditions, simulating a tunnel kiln. The results of this investigation indicate that the green pellets could be successfully handled, without generating much of fines and could be change to highly metalized Directly Reduced Iron (DRI) at a moderate temperature and at a reasonably low heating time.Mill scale, a high iron containing body was thus used as a waste for a long time and was dumped. However, in recent past a convincing part of mill scale is being exported to China at a very low price. Though a small amount of mill scale is utilised in ferroalloys, cement and petrochemicals industry, there is a potential for production of almost 1.0 Mt of steel, alike with the current level of mill scale generation. All the above calls for an initiative to find satisfactory means for effective utilization of mill scale. The generation of steel and corresponding mill scale in India is given in figure 1.

"No Hope for Him Unless He Can Be Got Out of the Country": Disabled Irish Republicans in America, 1922-1935

"No Hope for Him Unless He Can Be Got Out of the Country":Disabled Irish Republicans in America, 1922-1935 Gavin Wilk During the Irish Civil War, life for an Irish Republican Army member could be hazardous. Second Kerry Brigade member Jeremiah Murphy's account of his time as an IRA guerrilla fighter during late 1922 and early 1923 portrays the hardships that republicans faced. Murphy recalled that he and his battalion members struggled to find food, oftentimes slept rough, and contended with an overpowering Irish Free State army.1 Although he fully believed that republicans were "resolute men . . . hardened by the gains and defeats . . . and were not easily intimidated," Murphy conceded that "their nerves and physical endurance could not last indefinitely." Some of his fellow IRA members subsequently "became ill from stomach and lung ailments."2 If captured and placed in prison, conditions could become worse. Tipperary IRA volunteer Michael Flannery, detained in 1922 by Irish Free State troops, remembered the dampness in his cell at Mountjoy Prison.3 After awaking each morning, Flannery's standard routine included drying out his mattress. The bedding became so waterlogged that an oat grain, embedded in the fabric actually started to sprout. Prisoner hunger strikes also exacerbated the difficult conditions. The physical effects of malnourishment as described by IRA officer Ernie O'Malley included a slow and steady deterioration of the body's facilities. He wrote that the "unimportant tissues, seemingly, are first affected; the unimportant muscles waste, then more vital organs are attacked, memory and sight impaired."4 After sustaining forty-one days without food in a coordinated prisoner strike, O'Malley barely survived. His ordeal continued as he was forced to [End Page 106] endure an operation to remove bullet fragments from his back with only limited anesthesia. He recalled that the surgeon's knife "seared like a red-hot iron, and the forceps and probe produced the sensation of a hammer hitting me hard in the back."5 Overall, the Irish health care facilities that O'Malley and other wounded and sick republicans entered were severely inadequate. As the new Free State attempted in the early 1920s to centralize and amalgamate the country's health networks, the Local Government Board system was essentially dissolved. The transformation of health care after the Anglo-Irish Treaty proved arduous and was further set back by the events of the civil war.6 Medical institutions, including those which offered tuberculosis treatments also diminished. As a result, IRA members who developed serious health issues often were not afforded proper care in Ireland. With their lives in the balance, a number of disabled republicans traveled to the United States to avail of American medical assistance.7 The experiences of these men not only provide an important glimpse into the transatlantic dimensions of the republican movement at the time, but also offer compelling evidence of the flexibility and dynamism of the transnational social networks that existed between Ireland and the United States in the years after the period of the Irish revolution. In late 1922, Michael Leahy, an IRA leader from County Cork, arrived in New York to take part in republican fundraising activities.8 Leahy's time in the public spotlight was brief, however, when after a few months he was forced to travel "West for the benefit of his health."9 In April 1923, Leahy revealed to a friend that he was covered with a "bad rash" on his "back and chest." He would occasionally "wake up with a terrible sore feeling" and had difficulty swallowing.10 To combat these ailments, he had permanently moved to California and "rented a nice little cottage up in Sierra Madre." Leahy believed this area outside of Los Angeles was "the healthiest part" of the state.11 The change of scene worked; two months later and after numerous medical consultations, his health had greatly [End Page 107] improved. Overall, he was "feeling in pretty good shape" and had found employment. Awaiting the arrival of his wife and daughter, he optimistically felt that he was "surely on the mend."12 But at the same time as Leahy and his family settled in California during the summer of 1923, around...

Sculpture Student Waits to Pour a Bucket of Red Hot Iron, Reynolds Building, University of Kentucky, Lexington

Sculpture Student Waits to Pour a Bucket of Red Hot Iron, Reynolds Building, University of Kentucky, Lexington

Editorial

Editorial

The Witches' Hammer

The Witches' Hammer James J. Sosnoski I have disliked numerous books liked by other readers—at the least, their publishers. Reluctant to construe "what constitutes a bad book" as an invitation to discuss those that fall below my expectations, I was perplexed. The question suggests that "badness" can be an intrinsic quality of a book. But, unlike fruit which can go bad, or bad luck, or computers that won't boot up, books cannot rot, gamble, or fail to start. Granting that a manual that fails to describe how to use a computer might be judged bad, it is difficult to adjudicate the matter—most customers who look for bargains at Best Buy would find incomprehensible manuals techies enjoy. The intrinsic badness of books is a baffling idea. Imagine a book without words. You open it up and the pages are blank. Is this a bad book or a good diary? Imagine a book filled with sentences such as "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously." Would this be a bad book or a good joke about Noam Chomsky? In the face of such conundrums, I construed a "bad" book as a harmful one. The Malleus Maleficarum (The Witches' Hammer) (1487) by Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger came immediately to mind. For those who do not have Maleus Maleficarum in their libraries, here is a review of it: For nearly three centuries Maleus Maleficarum was the professional manual for witch hunters…by two of the most famous Inquisitors. Under the Bull of Pope Innocent VIII, [they wrote a treatise in 1484 on]…how and why women roast their first-born male child…how witches deprive men of their vital member…when to use the trial by the red hot iron…and many other [topics]. James J. Sosnoski University of Illinois at Chicago Copyright © 2009 American Book Review

Poppo’s ordeal and the conversion of the Danes

In the 10th century one certain cleric Poppo had convinced King Harald Bluetooth of Denmark of accepting the Christian faith by an ordeal: he held a red-hot iron in his hand which later had been unburned. This story is interpreted as a myth which was endowed with different meanings and different functions in the course of Nordic historiography. In a comparative study these different settings are examined. ›Myth‹ is therein understood in mere functional terms, as story which tells more about the time in which it is written down than about the events it narrates. The Poppo Myth was utilized in terms of legitimacy for both Episcopal and royal representation, until it was later replaced by other myths.

Adverse clinical sequelae after skin branding: a case series

IntroductionBranding refers to a process whereby third degree burns are inflicted on the skin with a hot iron rod or metallic object. Branding employs the phenomenon of "counter irritation," and is widely used by faith healers in developing countries for therapeutic purposes. Some methods, which are very crude and inhuman, carry a large risk of complications. The purpose of this study is to present a series of complications and to familiarize clinicians with this dangerous method of treatment.Case presentationFour Pakistani patients, three male and one female, ranging from 25 to 60 years of age "branded" with a red hot iron rod for various medical reasons presented with severe medical complications to our tertiary care hospital. The mean duration between the procedure and presentation to the hospital was 6 days. At the time of admission, two patients had septic shock, one patient had cavernous sinus thrombosis and one patient had multiple splenic abscesses. All patients received standard care for wound management and systemic infections. Two patients eventually died during the course of treatment.ConclusionSevere complications from branding are troublesome and the potential risks of this treatment outweigh its benefits. Globally, there is a great need for heightened awareness about the dangers of branding among patients and physicians, as this will have an important effect on patients who seek branding for various medical conditions.

Materials for stained glass windows in catalonian documentation (14th and 15th centuries)

During the 14th and 15th century, many churches and palaces for civil institutions were built in Catalonia. These constructions generated a rich set of documents which have been partially preserved. These documents have become an indispensable instrument to allow us to understand the material aspects of this period. The stained glass windows, being an essential element of the gothic aesthetics, are far from absent. In the texts which have been preserved, such as notary protocols, official documents of civil power – Town Council, Royal Palaces, Commercial Institutions – or written documents deriving from accounting institutions, we found amongst many other pieces of information, notes referring to the materials used to make or repair stained glass windows. However, the explanations given are not normally very enlightening and thus it is necessary to put together both the information obtained and the technical process of this period with our present-day knowledge of these materials. Only this way, we are able to interpret the meaning of these texts and understand the use of these materials. We found documents which refer to payments for various tools (pliers, grozing tools, soldering bars, tin and gloves) and materials (plaster, lead, tin, glass, iron fittings, woodwork). Also, some documents mention the purchase of coal, which was used as fuel for the muffle furnaces, or other curious materials such as bleach to clean the glass. The purchase of a brass thread to be used to weave protection nets for the stained glass windows, iron rings and bars to build the metal frames and wood to mount scaffolding are also mentioned. Some indications are very vague, like the purchase of linseed oil, lead carbonate, white lead, resin and plaster. The fact that these materials are mentioned as reinforcement for the windows makes us reconsider questions such as the application of putty during medieval times. The use of putty to cement the leaded panels is not mentioned in Teófilo's teatrise “De Diversus Artibus” (written in the 12th), but our documents and Antonio de Pisa's treatise were written in the same time and both make a minor reference about the putty [Theophilus, De Diversis Artibus, The Various Arts, Thomas Nelsonaud Sons Ltd., Londres, 1961, pp. 36–60; R. Bruck, Die Elsessische Glassmalerei, Strassburg, 1901, pp. 1–12; Der tractat des Meisters Antonio von Pisa über die Glasmalerei, Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft, vol. XXV, 1902, pp. 240–269; S. Pezzerella, Il trattato di Antonio da Pisa sulla fabricazione dele vetrate artistiche, Perugia, 1976; A. de Pise, L'art du vitrail vers 1400, Éditions du CTHS, París, 2008]. Other references are much more precise, such as the explanation of the use of ceruse to cut the glass. This material was used to outline the place where the glass needed to be cut to reinforce the heat effect of the red-hot iron and allow for a clear cut. When it comes to the purchasing of glass, we find that Barcelona is indicated as the provenance source for this material. The city stands out as an important commercial site for materials being imported from other places. Yet, the existence of an important local production of flat glass it is also made clear in the documentation. The glass furnaces of Bigues, in Vilafranca, and the one in Barcelona city, situated in the Viladalls area (located in the present day around the “Plaça Reial”) are directly named as production sites for glass. The analysis of an important amount of documents, brought to light from different Catalonian archives, informing about technical elements and materials related to the production of stained glass windows provides us with significant and sufficient examples to have a deeper knowledge of the production process of stained glass windows during medieval times.

Inverting the Panopticon: Money and the Nationalization of the Future

All the stupidity and the arbitrariness of the laws, all the pain of the initiations, the whole perverse apparatus of repression and education, the red-hot irons, and the atrocious procedures have only this meaning: to breed man, to mark him in his flesh, to render him capable of alliance, to form him within the debtor-creditor relation, which on both sides turns out to be a matter of memory — a memory straining toward the future. — Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, “Savages, Barbarians, Civilized Men,” in Anti-Oedipus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia

Gender, Language, Violence and Slavery: Insult in Jamaica, 1800–1838

Gender, Language, Violence and Slavery: Insult in Jamaica, 1800–1838