Introduction and study aim:
Alcohol in folk medicine in the first half of the 19th century was considered by doctors as a sign of ‘superstitious thinking’, but, as it seems, it was a common ingredient of folk remedies. The aim of the study was to establish what ailments were treated with alcohol by country people living on old Polish lands under foreign rule, and whether alcohol has indeed become the folk

Material and Methods:
After conducting a search in journals publishing ethnographic articles from the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century (64 volumes) and in monographs describing peasants (72 volumes) from that period, the information found was matched to particular ailments using their folk names. Due to its extensiveness, the material was divided into two parts. The first part includes the treatment of malaria, cholera, dysentery, tuberculosis, and the symptoms that were known in folk medicine for jaundice, diarrhoea, and gripes. Inner criticism of sources was conducted. The integral method was used.

Results and Conclusions:
Alcohol was the key remedy in folk medicine in the 19th century. Rubbing the body of the ill person with alcohol and drinking vodka and consuming fat was the remedy for most ailments. In the treatment of malaria, cholera and dysentery, the majority of remedies were those containing a high level of alcohol. Along with alcohol, coprotherapy was used, and in the treatment of dysentery and jaundice people followed the rule ‘similar treats similar’. So far, the issues of folk treatment of infectious diseases have not been analysed, but on the basis of the studied material it can be assumed that alcohol was the key medicine in these cases, as well as in the treatment of diarrhoea. It was, however, less important in the treatment of jaundice and tuberculosis.