Lebenswecker (skin irritator, quack medical device)

Object/Artifact

-

Museum Of American Heritage

Name/Title

Lebenswecker (skin irritator, quack medical device)

Entry/Object ID

1000.2087.2

Description

Lebenswecker, skin irritant, quack medicine

Made/Created

Manufacturer

John Linden

Notes

possible date made: Early 1900s where made: Cleveland, OH model name: Resuscitator

Material

Aluminum

Color

Black

Web Links and URLs

Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

curated description

Label

Lebenswecker (Skin Irritant) John Linden, Cleveland, OH Early 1900s This resuscitator is an American version of Carl Baunscheidt’s Lebenswecker, also called a life-awakener or artificial leech. The device’s spring-loaded needles punctured the skin. An irritating oil (applied to the needles or the skin) caused boils at the wound sites. The claim was that the body would be purified of health-destroying matter when the boils burst.

General Notes

Note

A version of the German Lebensweker Used in Baunscheidtism practices For irritating skin to purify the body. Quack medical, in original box