The Daily Transcribe

A grad student trying to understand history from the general public, the media, and the relationship between the two.

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December 5: Cinchona Bark

Rawhide bag used to hold cinchona bark in eighteenth-century Peru. Cinchona bark was (and still is) used as a fever reducer, especially for malaria. Ever heard of quinine? That comes from cinchona bark!

(1777-85, Peru)

(CC by Wellcome Library)

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December 4: Baobab Bark

Namibian traditional healer Shakanda uses an axe to obtain Baobab bark. Good especially for digestive health.

(1999, Caprivi Strip, Namibia)

(From the University of Cape Town Libraries Digital Collection)

[eponis]

Everything Is Awful and I’m Not Okay: questions to ask before giving up

Are you hydrated?  If not, have a glass of water.

Have you eaten in the past three hours?  If not, get some food — something with protein, not just simple carbs.  Perhaps some nuts or hummus?

Have you showered in the past day?  If not, take a shower right now.

If daytime: are you dressed?  If not, put on clean clothes that aren’t pajamas.  Give yourself permission to wear something special, whether it’s a funny t-shirt or a pretty dress.

If nighttime: are you sleepy and fatigued but resisting going to sleep?  Put on pajamas, make yourself cozy in bed with a teddy bear and the sound of falling rain, and close your eyes for fifteen minutes — no electronic screens allowed.  If you’re still awake after that, you can get up again; no pressure.

Have you stretched your legs in the past day?  If not, do so right now.  If you don’t have the spoons for a run or trip to the gym, just walk around the block, then keep walking as long as you please.  If the weather’s crap, drive to a big box store (e.g. Target) and go on a brisk walk through the aisles you normally skip.

Have you said something nice to someone in the past day?  Do so, whether online or in person.  Make it genuine; wait until you see something really wonderful about someone, and tell them about it.

Have you moved your body to music in the past day?  If not, do so — jog for the length of an EDM song at your favorite BPM, or just dance around the room for the length of an upbeat song.

Have you cuddled a living being in the past two days?  If not, do so.  Don’t be afraid to ask for hugs from friends or friends’ pets.  Most of them will enjoy the cuddles too; you’re not imposing on them.

Do you feel ineffective?  Pause right now and get something small completed, whether it’s responding to an e-mail, loading up the dishwasher, or packing your gym bag for your next trip.  Good job!

Do you feel unattractive?  Take a goddamn selfie.  Your friends will remind you how great you look, and you’ll fight society’s restrictions on what beauty can look like.

Do you feel paralyzed by indecision?  Give yourself ten minutes to sit back and figure out a game plan for the day.  If a particular decision or problem is still being a roadblock, simply set it aside for now, and pick something else that seems doable.  Right now, the important part is to break through that stasis, even if it means doing something trivial.

Have you seen a therapist in the past few days?  If not, hang on until your next therapy visit and talk through things then.

Have you been over-exerting yourself lately — physically, emotionally, socially, or intellectually?  That can take a toll that lingers for days. Give yourself a break in that area, whether it’s physical rest, taking time alone, or relaxing with some silly entertainment.

Have you changed any of your medications in the past couple of weeks, including skipped doses or a change in generic prescription brand?  That may be screwing with your head.  Give things a few days, then talk to your doctor if it doesn’t settle down.

Have you waited a week?  Sometimes our perception of life is skewed, and we can’t even tell that we’re not thinking clearly, and there’s no obvious external cause.  It happens.  Keep yourself going for a full week, whatever it takes, and see if you still feel the same way then.

You’ve made it this far, and you will make it through.  You are stronger than you think.

[transcribinghistory]

December 3: Nursing Infants

Japanese feeding bottle made of porcelain to hold milk or water to feed infants. Large spout: place to fill the bottle with desired liquid. Small spout: drinking end.

(Japan, dated between 1780-1900)

(Science Museum/cc by Wellcome Library)

[bcpk-deactivated20210131]

Black Mental Health Matters.

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December 2: Pest Control

Translation: Everyone struggles against disease and pests!

Depicts a woman with a fly swatter and four images behind her exhibiting different methods of pest control at home and working outside.

(Chinese Red Cross Society, 1960)

(NLM Digital Collections)

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December 1: AIDS

World AIDS Day warning from the Bahamas, one of four student drawings from C.C. Sweeting High School, Nassau (1993)

(CC by Wellcome Collection)

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Advent Calendar 2019: Non-Western Disease, Medicine, and the Body

Hello! Yes, I’ve been on hiatus from posting for most of the term so I can focus on things like grant writing, prospectus research/writing, grad student unionizing, and keeping up with a long-distance spouse who’s very stressed.

This year I’m doing an Advent calendar based on the non-western history of medicine, which, funny enough, is my field! No, it’s not very holiday-ish, but I felt like doing something that didn’t involve thinking about the money I need to spend on gifts, maneuvering between family members, or being more social than I want to be after a long semester.

So, enjoy!

(P.S. “Non-western” here means Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania)

[npr]

Childhood anxiety is one of the most important mental health challenges of our time. One in five children will experience some kind of clinical-level anxiety by the time they reach adolescence, according to Danny Pine, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the National Institute of Mental Health and one of the world’s top anxiety researchers. Pine says that for most kids, these feelings of worry won’t last, but for some, they will — especially if those children don’t get help.

Here are six takeaways that all parents, caregivers and teachers can add to their anxiety toolkits, including information on how anxiety works, how parents can spot it and how to know when it’s time to get professional help.

How To Help A Child Struggling With Anxiety

Illustration: Lindsey Balbierz for NPR

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This is so important. I remember dealing with anxiety as a child, particularly anxiety attacks that I couldn’t communicate well but freaked me out immensely. It’s something to catch early and help early instead of waiting for them to deal with on their own. 

Chances are, “deal with on their own” will do more harm than good. I’m a living product.

[npr]

Get Your Flu Shot Now, Doctors Advise, Especially If You're Pregnant

Pregnant women and people with chronic health conditions such as asthma, diabetes and heart disease are particularly vulnerable to flu complications yet lag the elderly in getting vaccinated.

[thelatestkate]

Mindfulness can be useful for literally E V E R Y O N E, but I found it particularly helpful for anxiety– this exercise got me out of the house and functioning again.   °˖✧*•  Shop, Patreon, Book, Mailing List *•. ✧˖°`

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Cherokee surgical instruments, undated

(from Wellcome Library)

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New Iraq Railway: Opening Up a Fertile Tract

One recent event of immense importance to Iraq, which has not received the advertisement it deserves, is the opening of the Kirkuk railway. Kirkuk is situated among the foothills of the Kurdish mountains which encircle the fertile corn-growing plains int he north-eastern corner of Iraq. It commands the main road between Mosul and Persia and also forms the link between the mountains and the Iraq plain where the distinctive produce of each district is most naturally exchanged.

The Germans, with an eye only to military considerations, aligned the Mosul-Bagdad [sic] section of the Bagdad railway along the Tigris which, though the most direct route, traverses comparatively barren tracts of country.

This section of the railway has never been completed because it was not an economic proposition. Instead, a railway has been built from Bagdad to Kirkuk which will be extended to Mosul in the near future. This will provide cheap transport to the plains for the timber, tobacco, fruits and nuts, grown in the mountains, and will take up in exchange cloth, hardware, arms, and food for cattle in the winter months from Bagdad.

(The Times of India, Mumbai, India, October 9, 1925)

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Reading about time standardization this morning, so decided to see what artifacts are out there. This "cholera clock” from the Tropical Disease Bulletin tracks the movement and mortality of cholera in the Madras Presidency, British India, sometime in the mid to late nineteenth century.

(From the Wellcome Library Digital Database, UK)

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College Students Just Want Normal Libraries

Schools have been on a mission to reinvent campus libraries—even though students just want the basics.

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Judy, London, England, October 4, 1893

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Opening of the Mexican Congress

The Mexican Congress opened on September 16th, and referred the disturbing question of d[?]ble credentials to the proper District Judge for decision. President Diaz, in his opening speech, expressed great satisfaction at the political and moral advancement of the Republic. He said the negotiations for the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with France [with which the country had recently had a spat] had resulted satisfactorily. He did not specially mention the United States. The President expressed the hope that the present Congress would find a solution for the financial difficulties of the Government, and place the national credit on a sound base.

(Daily Evening Bulletin, San Francisco, CA, October 2, 1880)