In March 1928, a Mr. Burdett opened a Sun-Ray Lamp studio above Benham’s the chemist at 6a Queen’s Road, Brighton.
One of his adverts stated that the
‘Clarion Call to Health & Healing has been heard in the South East’
Amongst its many claims were that it cured
‘hair troubles, head noises and the after effects of influenza’
A Mr. D. Tulley, patient, was ecstatic in his praise. Having suffered from acne and boils in the face for many years he was now able to go forward with new confidence thanks to the healing power of the Sun Ray Lamp which had banished his blemishes.
Perhaps one the most bizarre treatments offered by Mr. Burdett was a cure for nasal catarrh whereby a tube was inserted into the nose whilst the patient wore dark glasses.
Paul Jordan, Senior History Centre Officer
As a child in Brighton, I was at one time sent to the hospital for regular sessions of sun-lamp treatment. I remember it well: boys and girls together, wearing only bathing trunks and dark goggles, sat for the prescribed amount of time in front of big lamps. Whether it did us any good (or harm) I cannot say, but I do know that exposure to the sun’s rays (or to artificial analogues) is often proclaimed to be beneficial.
When patients claim to have been cured by strange treatments there is often a good dollop of wishful thinking in their statements but, when we recall that in the pre-scientific age, all medical practice derived from the real or imagined effects of substances and physical applications, one wonders whether a study of some of these offbeat treatments might uncover real effects.