Illness and Self-help in Late Eighteenth-Century Rural Switzerland The Strategies of Ulrich Bräker (1735–1798)

n a representative survey on health care in Germany just 35 percent of the interviewees over 16 years recently maintained that they immediately consulted a doctor when they felt ill – in other words: 65 percent trust in self-help. 1 In comparison, self-help constituted an even more important strategy in early modern times to restore one’s health and cope with hardships caused by illness (or other incidents during the course of life). 2