EVER READY MEDICAL COIL, 1954

This example was made in 1954, but similar items have been around since the 1930's. It was used to treat skin conditions such as excema or 'exema' (sic), and dermatitis as well as other skin complaints.

The voltage was produced from small batteries which would be contained within the box, the patient would feel a tingling sensation when they passed the implements over the effected area.

This item can be compared with the modern day 'TENS' machine

Your comments:

• My parents had a very similar device and nicknamed it the tickle box. It was intended for medical use. It was powered by a flat battery ie 3 cells in series. There were a set of adjustable and sprung contact breakers. The frequency of buzzing could be varied by adjusting a screw. There were two electrical terminals where hand held devices could be attached with insulated wires. My father enjoyed challenging us to pick a coin from the bottom of a bowl of water whilst holding one conductive handle in one hand and having the other wired handle in the water.
  As we attempted to retrieve the coin from the water with our free hand, the electricity caused our fist to clench tight, so the coin was almost unobtainable when the voltage was set to maximum. There was a sliding controller which enabled the desired voltage to be varied for the intended medical use. Some optional handles (electrodes) looked like a shaving brush but with a soft leather pad instead of bristles that could be wetted and slid over the skin. The photo shows one of these pads.
  .......... Jim Sanders, Canterbury Kent, 11th of January 2022
  
  
• According to Black`s Nursing Dictionary (1950) this type of coil was also used to pass an electric current through bathwater as a means of treating patients suffering from nervous exhaustion/nervous breakdown etc.
  Actually possess an Ever-Ready model similar to your picture. Uncertain if pre 1954 though .
  .......... Willie Armstrong, East kilbride, Scotland, 12th of September 2011
  
  

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