Superstitions- Breathing In

Whooping cough was common but frightening childhood ailment in times before vaccination was widespread. For the wealthy, a trip to the sea or the mountains, or even to another country, was an option.
For most people, however, any sort of a trip was out of the question. Instead, for children who contracted the often fatal disease, there was another superstition: It was believed that inhaling the pungent fumes created while making gas, burning lime or charcoal, or making and using tar would cure the illness, and so children were intentionally exposed to fumes. Among other remedies to cure whooping cough, the superstitious recommended:

• crossing water three times
• eating roasted mice
• riding a bear
• drinking milk lapped by a ferret
• hanging small live animals or creatures such as spiders, woodlice, and caterpillars in a bag around the sufferer's neck until the animal has died 
• swallowing small live frogs or making them into a soup