Auguste Rollier
Auguste Rollier (1 October 1874 - 30 October 1954) was a Swiss physician and climatologist.
Auguste Rollier | |
---|---|
Born | 1 October 1874 |
Died | 30 October 1954 |
Occupation | Physician, climatologist |
History
Rollier was born at Saint-Aubin, Fribourg. He was educated at Zurich and Berne Universities and graduated in medicine in 1898.[1] He worked under Emil Theodor Kocher for four years. In 1903, Rollier opened his Institute of Heliotherapy in Leysin.[2] He advocated fresh air, physical exercise, rest and sunshine to treat his patients. He became known for his treatment of skeletal tuberculosis by heliotherapy (light therapy).[3] He combined sunbathing with climatic treatment by cold air and high altitude.[4] After World War I, it was reported that 1746 of 2167 patients had recovered their health under his care.[2]
Rollier was influenced by the research of Niels Ryberg Finsen and established sunbathing clinics in the Swiss Alps. R. A. Hobday noted that "Rollier practised sunlight therapy at Leysin for over forty years and had thirty-six clinics with a total of more than 1,000 beds."[5]After antimicrobial therapy became available, heliotherapy for tuberculosis was no longer practiced.[6] Rollier was elected an honorary member of the American Clinical and Climatological Association in 1923.[3]
Selected publications
- La Cure de Soleil (1914)
- Heliotherapy (1923)
- Heliotherapy, With Special Consideration of Surgical Tuberculosis (1927)
References
- Anonymous. (1954). Auguste Rollier, M.D. (1954). The British Medical Journal 2: (4897): 1169-1170.
- Vázquez, M; Hanslmeier, Arnold. (2006). Ultraviolet Radiation in the Solar System. Springer. p. 189. ISBN 1-4020-3726-0
- Billings, F. T. (1957). Dr. Auguste Rollier. Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association 68: 52-53.
- Anonymous. (1915). La Cure de Soleil. The Journal of the American Medical Association. 64 (19): 1604.
- Hobday, R. A. (1997). Sunlight Therapy and Solar Architecture. Medical History 42: 455-472.
- Alpert J. S. (2010). Sunshine: clinical friend or foe?. The American Journal of Medicine 123 (4): 291-292.