Construction therapy
The Baunscheidt therapy (also the Baunscheidtismus and the Baunscheidtieren ) is an alternative medical treatment method, which is based on the irritation of the skin and was used around 1840 by the Westphalian trade teacher, wheelwright and inventor Carl Baunscheidt (1809-1873). It is one of the diverting procedures and is almost only used in this form in Germany. With this method u. a. chronic inflammation, pain and irritation and cramps, rheumatism, gout, multiple sclerosis, lung diseases, disc damage, migraines and the like a. treated. The effectiveness of this therapy has not yet been scientifically investigated.
Baunscheidt first sold smaller inventions such as a gun sight or a breast pump. His “lifesaver”, which he himself first called “Mücke”, made him so rich that he was finally able to purchase Dottendorf Castle near Bonn. According to his own account, he had the idea when a mosquito stung his gouty (according to another source: rheumatic ) hand and his pain then disappeared. His invention was copied by many contemporaries in Europe and the USA.
Compared to other therapies, the procedure is rarely used nowadays by naturopaths or naturopathic doctors.
principle
The "Lebenswecker" is a needling device. It consists of a coin-sized disc on a handle. 25–30 steel needles are attached to the disc, which are pierced 1–2 mm deep into the skin by hand or with a feather. Needle rollers are also used. The treatment is usually carried out on both sides of the spine on the back, less often on other parts of the body. As a substitute for the mosquito poison, Baunscheidt mixed a skin-irritating oil that was rubbed into the scratched areas of the skin, the so-called pustulantium (see pustule ), the recipe of which has not been handed down. After Baunscheidt's death, the adherents of the method came up with a number of alternative recipes, including: a. with juniper oil, mustard oil and other skin-irritating substances, but croton oil was used particularly often, the use of which in the original recipe is still debated in the literature. Blisters or pustules appear on the treated areas, which usually heal without scars. The patient sometimes gets a slight fever. The treatment is not painless.
Croton oil is obtained from the seeds of the East Asian Croton tiglium L. ( milkweed family ). In animal experiments, croton oil was highly effective in promoting the development of cancer as a so-called co-carcinogen . In addition to organic triglycerol esters , it contains several phorbol esters, including the tumor-promoting phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate . The use of croton oil is therefore forbidden for naturopaths in Germany, they resort to oils containing histamine , such as clove oil, juniper oil and tansy oil.
It is believed that, as with acupuncture and tattooing, an injury to the skin creates a non-specific immune response that leads to some of the effects described. The reason for this: the body tries to heal the injury and produces more immunoglobin.
Criticism and risks
A therapeutic effect has not yet been scientifically investigated.
As with all invasive procedures, skin disinfection is mandatory before using Baunscheidt therapy. If this does not happen, severe dermatitis and generalized infectious diseases can result. As a result of the Baunscheidtierens, infections have led to several serious incidents ( Stiftung Warentest , 1996). Furthermore, allergic reactions to skin-irritating oils are possible.
literature
- Werner E. Gerabek : Baunscheidtism. In: Werner E. Gerabek, Bernhard D. Haage, Gundolf Keil , Wolfgang Wegner (eds.): Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , p. 155.
- Tobias Dosch: Carl Baunscheidt and Baunscheidtism. Development and basics of a naturopathic treatment (= series of empirical medicine . Volume 22). Heidelberg 1978.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Dirk HR Spennemann: A Baunscheidt Homeopathic Medicine Kit in the Jindera Pioneer Museum. In: Studies in German Colonial Heritage. 2007, ISSN 1834-7797 ( csusap.csu.edu.au English: PDF; 110 MB), pp. 1–88.
