Louis Kuhne - Forgetten Genius Healer

Louis Kuhne was a 19th Century German naturopath who was far ahead of his time. He ran a large healing center and had worldwide renown. (In fact, his work was very appreciated in India and his book New Science of Healing was Gandhi's favorite health book.) He thought that the success of his work would lead to new advances in medicine, that it would eventually win over the world and end the barbaric practices of "modern" medicine.. He would be shocked to see that that the medical establishment has instead entrenched itself in a more and more fragmented view of the human body. Kuhne's theory is that:

Quote:

Disease is the presence of foreign matter in the system. ... The foreign matter is either present from birth, or is introduced later by the admission of injurious substances. The system seeks to expel this matter through the bowels, lungs, kidneys and skin, and when unable to do so, deposits it wherever it can. In this way, the form of the body is changed, as may best be observed at the narrowest part, the neck, and in the face. ... The foreign deposit in the body undergoes a change, it ferments, and the fermenting mass spreads itself over the whole body. The fermentation also produces warmth and excites the entire system; we call such conditions "fever."

Kuhne established a series of water therapy treatments, especially the one that he is most known for, what he called the the friction sitz-bath. The idea is to refresh the perineum/genital area. This might seem strange to you, but here is a quote from his book New Science of Healing (or the Doctrine of the Unity of Diseases) which explains the science behind the method:

Quote:

It may appear inexplicable to many, that just the particular part of the body mentioned, and no other, should be chosen as the place to apply these baths. But as a matter of fact, there is no other part so suitable for the purpose. In no other spot are there so many important nerve-terminations. There are especially the branches of so many spinal nerves, and of the nervus sympathicus, which owing to their connection with the brain, render it possible in this way to exert an influence upon the whole nervous system. It is only at the genitals that the entire nervous system can be influenced. Here is, in a sense, the rest of the whole tree of life. By washing in cold water, not only is the morbid internal heat diminished, but there is also a marked invigoration of the nerves; that is, the vitality of the whole body, down to the minutest part, is stimulated. Exceptions occur only where the nerve connection has been interrupted for instance by surgical operation.

Kuhn also wrote:

Quote:

There is only one cause of disease, and there is also only one disease, which shows itself under different forms.