Cholera Belts Outlived Cholera Science

Starting in the 1700s, travelers commonly wore fabric belts to keep their abdomens warm because they believed a cold stomach caused disease. People later called them “cholera belts,” and the idea spread through armies and travelers as a supposed defense against cholera. The habit persisted even after scientists identified cholera’s bacterial cause in the 1850s. It still showed up in World War I, long after the real risk came from contaminated water, not cold air.

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