Although the title witch doctor conjures up visions of some superstitious lunatic, there were legitimate herbal doctors who utilized herbs, honey, various animal extracts and the like to treat or enhance their client's condition.



Skin is the esthetic barrier that covers our bodies.

Our skin sends signals via discoloration, dryness, clamminess? etc. It's the front line to most injuries and can tell a doctor volumes about our general health.

Men and women pay attention to skin. They notice the color, texture and in close proximity, the softness and warmth.

Sometimes skin can even be a deal breaker between people.

For the most part skin is an important part of ones presentation to the world in terms of how healthy it looks.

Again using an example from Biblical times, there was a king named, Xerxes, who required young woman to be "prepared" before they could be considered a candidate for his affections.

She first had to be given beauty treatments for one whole year. The first six months her skin was rubbed with olive oil and myrrh, and the last six months it was treated with perfumes and cosmetics.

In the time of Cleopatra it is said that she often bathed in the Dead Sea. She and others flocked there to treat their skin and body to the rich mineral deposits in that particular sea. The mud from the Dead Sea has even higher concentrations of minerals and is considered to be therapeutic when rubbed onto the body.

There are even stories of woman who indulge in milk baths.

There is a disturbing fad that has spread across the U.S called tattooing. This so called body art is permanent and can only be removed by extraordinary means. The most popular art covers large areas of the body.

In the past it was not unusual for a sailor or thrill seeker to punctuate their adventures with a tattoo. But it was usually easy to conceal when it was in appropriate to display.

As fads tend to wane I wonder how the recipients of some types of body art will feel about their decision. After all they have used their skin as a human bill board. Society pays attention to skin and only the future will disclose the ramifications of radical tattooing.

Body piercing is yet another injury the skin must contend with.

Yes we have this one skin and it has us so we should take care of it as best we can. After all it is the largest single organ of the body.

There are some wholesome ways to reward our battered skin. The Dead Sea is still unsurpassed in the natural treatment of the skin. Geologists say that the Dead Sea is drying up and will be extinct in about two more decades.