Page 22 (1/1)

Chapter 22

SNAKES ON A STICK

The next tio to the doctor, check out the plaques on the wall One of the syed staff

Ask your doctor what this syet this line: The staff is called the caduceus It&039;s the sign of Herod of alchemists, and the symbol of the American Medical Association

But that is only half the truth

Meet the guinea wors around in ponds, too suinea-worm-infected water, one of these beasties may find its way into your stos, working cherowas two feet

And it will have babies

Adult guinea worms may be invisible to your iy - they set off every alarm they can

Why? Well, overexcited is With all those baby guinea wore blisters appear, whichto the nearest pond to cool theuinea worms smell the water and pop out of the blisters Then they settle down to begin their wait for the next unwary drinker of pond water

Ew, yuck, repeat

Guinea wor tio that ancient healers found out how to cure them The procedure is simple, in theory Just pull the adult wor But there&039;s a trick: If you pull too quickly, the wor a terrible infection The patient usually dies

Here&039;s how the doctors of the ancient world did it:

Carefully draw one end of the worm out, and wrap it around a stick Then, over the next seven days or so, wind the guinea wor in a fish in very slow ht: It takes seven days Don&039;t rush! It won&039;t be the most enjoyable week you ever spent, but at the end you&039;ll have your body back in good working order And you&039;ll also have a stick with a wor wrapped around it

And this icky leftover will become the symbol of medicine

Ew

But ure that guinea-worery Back then, it was probably a pretty a a snake out of a hu the snake-wrapped stick on their walls afterward, just to show that they could get the job done

So the next time you&039;re at the doctor&039;s office, be on the lookout for this heartwar arts (And don&039;t believe all that crap about the great god Heruinea worms)