Can you identify what the objects below are, and how they were used?
Click on the picture to find out the answer...

Picture # 1....used by the doctors, the patients would actually "feel better" after its usage!

Picture #2...again, used by the medical profession.

Picture #3... not medically related, but it sure could help you sleep better!

Picture #1.
Called a SCARIFICATOR, this was used by doctors to "bleed" their patients, when a more demanding release was needed.  About 2" square, the lines you see on the bottom are slits in which sharp blades 
(this one has 8) are hidden.  Spring released, the patient received all the cuts at once.  After a "letting", the patient would naturally be a little 'dizzy' from the loss of blood, giving an euphoric sense, leading them to believe they were actually "being cured".

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Picture #2
This one makes my mouth hurt just to 'talk' about it.... Used by the dentists of the era, or the regular medical doctor, this device was used to pull teeth.   The curved end in the foreground was looped around the tooth, then it clamped to the handle...when secure, the 'doc' would use the "T" handle to give it a hearty twist, and out came the tooth.

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Picture #3

Bed Key   This device, averaging about a foot long,  was used to tighten the ropes on beds. As you can see in pic on right, ropes were 'laced'  on the frame.  Most, but not all, beds had pegs in  which these ropes were attached...as the rope stretched, the "key" was used to tighten it. Sometimes the pegs were easily accessible, other times they were underneath, or enclosed in the outer frame. When grandma 'made her bed', she  did so quite literally.

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Picture # 4
Known by several different names, it was generally called a "face shield".  Its use is as the name implies, to shield the face from the heat of the fireplace.  If you have sat close to a campfire, or large open fireplace, you know how hot it can get on exposed skin.  This adjustable, and often ornate, piece of furniture was a "must" for the genteel ladies of the times.

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