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Historical Bibliography Updated: June 17, 2026

The home hand-book of domestic hygiene and rational medicine.

Publication Details

Battle Creek, MI: Health Publishing Company, 1880 CE.

"Kellogg was not only a physician, surgeon, author, and administrator, but also an inventor. Although less discussed in comparison to his food creations, he designed and improved upon a number of medical devices that aided in his surgical operations and in treatment modalities falling under the term "physiotherapy" that were regularly used at the Battle Creek Sanitarium. Dr. Kellogg attempted to popularize these treatment methods, including electrotherapy, hydrotherapy, and motor therapy, in his work The Home Handbook of Domestic Hygiene and Rational Medicine first published in 1881.[25]

"As he specialized in certain gynecological surgeries (particularly hemorrhoidectomies and ovariotomies) and gastrointestinal surgeries, he developed various instruments for these operations including specialized hooks and retractors, a heated operating table, and an aseptic drainage tube used in abdominal surgery.[26] Additionally, Kellogg took keen interest in devising instruments for light therapy, mechanical exercising, proper breathing, and pure water. His medical inventions spanned a wide range of applications and included a hot air bath, vibrating chair, oscillomanipulator, window tent for fresh air, pneumograph to graphically represent respiratory habits,[26]loofah mitt, and apparatus for home sterilization of milk.[26] Some of his inventions were even considered fashionable enough to be found in the first class gymnasium of the Titanic[27]" (Wikipedia article on John Harvey Kellogg, accessed 03-2017).

Digital facsimile of the 1885 edition from the Hathi Trust at this link.

Catalog MetadataReference Information
Entry Number#9306
Permanent Linkhttps://staging.historyofmedicine.com/entry/11488
Author Bio LinkWikipedia ↗
External URLthe-home-handbook-of-domestic-hygiene-and-rational-medicine

Geographic Context

Publication place: Battle Creek, MI