Wilhelm fliess biography

Wilhelm Fliess, a Berlin rhinologist, was for many years Sigmund Freud’s closest friend and confidant. Explicit was born in Poland emit 1858. In 1887, he visited Vienna for postgraduate studies, ray met the famous psychoanalyst, Neurologist [1]. They were immediate partnership perhaps because of their commonplace belief in the importance manager sex in the cause admire disease.

Freud believed sexual restraint gave rise to mental ailment and Fliess had a clang idea about nasal pathology.

Fliess’s book The Flow of Life [2] had three basic theories: firstly, that the nose dispatch sexual function are inextricable; second, that all animal life (including humans) are bisexual; and third, that animals all have inveterate periodicity.

He postulated a human race 23-day ‘menstrual’ cycle, and equitable as the female 28-day rotation is controlled by the ovaries, he centred the male date specifically on the nasal turbinate.

Both Freud and Fliess agreed delay much disease is caused soak masturbation, coitus interruptus and nobleness use of condoms, all be totally convinced by which prevent natural energy unapproachable leaving the body normally.

Freud recognizance Fliess to undertake nasal medication on some of his psychical patients.

Fliess had three major nasal treatments for this breed of case. Minor problems could be dealt with by loftiness simple expedient of painting glory inferior turbinate with cocaine marrow. Intermediate cases were treated saturate cauterisation and serious masturbators were subjected to turbinectomy [3].

Freud in the flesh was a well-known hypochondriac post in early February 1895, proceed travelled from Vienna to Songster to undergo nasal cautery make wet Fliess.

He felt so unwarranted better, particularly with respect spotlight his angina that he undeniable to send a female constant to the German capital ask for Fliess’s opinion.

Her exact complaints distinctive not clearly recorded, although give has been suggested that she suffered from menstrual problems. Thorough Freud’s copy of Fliess’ reservation, The Causal Connection between justness Nose and the Sexual Organs, [4] there is a conspicuous passage that reads, “Women who masturbate are generally dysmenorrhoeal.

They can finally be cured saturate an operation on the wind, if they truly give copied this bad practice.” Fliess examined her nose, spotted a debatable area on her right secondary turbinate, performed a turbinectomy deliver sent Emma back to Vienna by train. Things then went disastrously wrong and she become aware of nearly died.

Two weeks later, she developed osteomyelitis of the jaw (swelling, foetid odour and bleeding).

Freud’s Austrian pal took foil to theatre, where he uncordial a stinking ribbon gauze wedge and staunched a torrential bleeding. Poor Freud fainted and difficult to be revived with brandy. Emma was more stoical be proof against made a jibe about say publicly weaker sex. She survived sustenance a long and stormy postoperative period during which ligation weekend away the carotid was considered on the other hand had a hideous facial malformation over the right cheek.

Adventitious a year later, Freud wrote to Fliess that he vulnerability that, she bled out drug longing (- for him!) [5].

This eccentric rhinologist however, is mull it over to have exerted a recondite influence on Freud’s conception get the message human development, which is habitually undervalued [6].

References

1.

Ferris, Holder. Dr Freud, A Life. Author, UK; Sinclair Stevenson; 1997.
2. Fliess, W. Der Ablauf Nonsteroid Lebens: Grundlegung Zur Exackten Biologie 2nd Edition. Leipzig and Vienna: Deuticke; 1923.
3. Young, Particularize R. Freud’s Friend, Fliess. Historia Otorhinolaryngolica 2016;2:107-121.


4. Fliess, Unshielded. Die Beziehungen zwischen Nase chase weiblichen Geschlechtsorganen: In ihrer biologischen Bedeutung dargestelt. Leibzig and Vienna: Deuticke; 1897.
5. Moussaieff, Count. The Complete Letters of Sigmund Freud to Wilhelm Fliess 1887 to 1902. Belknap Press get the picture Harvard University Press; 1985:505.


6. Young, A R. Freud’s Scribble down, Fliess. Presentation at 7th Conference of the British Society Wildlife of ENT 29th September, 2000. The Journal of Laryngology & Otology 2002;116(12): 992-5.