Treating Conditions
There were many conditions during the 18th century ranging from mild and uncomfortable to deadly. Some common illnesses and problems we deal with today, such as pulling a tooth (above-janeaustensworld.wordpress.com) and appendicitis created possibly fatal conditions in that time period. Surgery was rarely performed and when it was, sterilization was not performed. Surgical procedures were dangerous and often resulted in infection. Unfortunately, many people died for lack of technology to cure ailments.
Diseases and Treatments
There were many diseases and conditions that were prevalent and often deadly during the 18th century. Some of the most common diseases are as follows:
Smallpox was one of the worst plagues of the century, killing millions. The disease is characterized by fever, chills, weakness, pain, headache, vomitting, and a rash of pustules over the body.The disease is often fatal. Inoculation was introduced in Europe in 1721. Many were hesitant to take it at first. Sometimes families declined because they felt it was a means of population control and they had too many children already. Others refused because they felt that receiving the inoculation would be going against God's will. Over the course of the century and the discovery of a safer vaccine in 1796 by Edward Jenner, inoculation and eventually vaccination became widespread (McNeill 220-221).
The bubonic plague was not prevalent during this time period but it was not eradicated until the 19th century. The disease, which was transported by rodents, was characterized by vomitting, diarrhea, and sometimes lung problems. It is often fatal. In 1771, the plague killed 56,672 in Moscow in one season. As agriculture lessened, the number of rodents and the plague itself declined (McNeill 218-219). There was an outbreak of this plague from 1707-1714 in Russia, Prussia, and Austria. On September 12, 1720 the Department of Health by order of St. John required ships that carried letters (a means of transfer for the disease) to be abandoned at port, fumigated and left exposed to it for 24 hours before re-admittance. The plague re-appeared again briefly in Turkey while the British Army was defending it under Captain William Sidney Smith (Beatty and Marks 248-252).
St. Vitus's Dance declined greatly during the 18th century. It involved compulsive dancing until the dancer fell down dead. Eventually, a procedure was discovered that became the only known cure for the illness. The dancers were sent to St. Vitus's monastery behind Zabern. They were given crosses and red shoes as the infected hated red. Crosses were made under and above the shoes to discourage dancing. Consecrated oil and balm was poured over those who were sick and mass was said over them. They were sprinkled with holy water in the name of St. Vitus. This procedure cured nearly everyone (Beatty and Marks 96).
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease that became endemic in East Prussia in 1757 after the invasion of Russian troops during the Seven Years War.It stayed a problem until 1820 when police sanitation regulations ended it. Until then, guiac tree bark and wood was used to treat syphilis, as was mercury. The symptoms generally remain dormant for a while. The patient then becomes weak and loses color in his face. The diseases progresses to eat away the groin and the whole body with the night bringing burning with it. It spreads to the shoulders, arms, and legs attacking the skin and muscles causing joint pain and scabs with pus. Quicksilver was used to dissolve the humors in the body while patients bathed in mercury. It was believed that syphilis was a pestilence sent from Apollo upon a shepard who had lost his flock and renounced Apollo. There were no truly effective treatments until the 20th century (Beatty and Marks 116-123).
Puerperal Fever was a disease common to women during and after delivery. As hospitals were born, more women gave birth in hospitals settings rather than at home. The problem was that many women were placed in a large room separated only by curtains. Ventilation and sanitation were not well-practiced or understood and disease spread quickly. These women would end up with a septic wound in the birth canal. Phillipe Peu in 1746 wrote an account of many dying in hospitals of staph infections and high fever in London. Dr, Charles White of Manchester, England encouraged the use of ventilation, cleanliness, disinfection, and isolation. This helped greatly in lessening the occurrence of the infection over time (McNeill 213-215).
Dysentery was a disease that seemed to come about in Autumn. It included fever, mucousy bloody diarrhea that increasingly gets worse. Re-hydration was the only way to fight the disease. Many died from this (Beatty and Marks 131).
Malaria was and still is an epidemic infection caused by the transmission of infected blood through mosquitoes, although that was not realized during the time. The infection was not named malaria until the 18th century. The disease causes fever that often leads to death. Bad air emitted from long-standing water was blamed for spreading the disease in warm areas. Europe saw epidemics from the disease between 1718-1722, 1748-1750, 1770-1772, and 1779-1783 (Beatty and Marks 130).
Typhus and typhoid were often indistinguishable as the symptoms were so similar. While typhus was a rickettsial disease transmitted to humans by body lice, typhoid was transmitted by urine and feces. The diseases caused head pain, small lentils on the arms, back and chest that looked like flea bites. This was accompanied by a fever, weakness, red eyes, and the mind wandered. After about seven days, blood was in the urine. The disease was deadly (Beatty and Marks 135).
Diphtheria was a disease characterized by ulcers on the tonsils with white and black secretions called aptha. If the ulcer was deep enough it was referred to as an eschar which meant it was also red, inflamed, and painful. If the condition spread out of the mouth past the teeth it loosened and blackened the gums. Fever, inflamation of the mouth and throat, and starvation often killed the sick within days. Sometimes the sick were even suffocated within a day (Beatty and Marks 137).
Yellow fever was not common during 18th century Europe although it did still kill. The disease was referred to as dock fever because it was brought in on ships. This disease was characterized by a sudden onset of jaundice, slow pulse, and vomitting blood due to a condition with the liver. In 1762 an outbreak of yellow fever ravaged British forces and caused much destruction (Beatty and Marks 149).
Although cholera was not yet a common disease in this century, there were cases of it. Cholera caused rapid death from symptoms of profuse diarrhea, vomiting muscle cramps, and deadly dehydration. It was not uncommon for a farmer who got up tending the fields in the morning to be dead by nightfall. Ingestion of water or food contaminated with feces spread the disease as did cockroaches and houseflies. In 1781 the French army under General Andeme suffered from an epidemic of cholera and were devastated (Beatty and Marks 191-192).
Poliomyelitis was a disease discovered by pediatrician and obstetrician Michael Underwood. Underwood noted the fever and lameness that often accompanied the disease. The disease caused an array of permanent symptoms such as blindness, deafness, shrinking of limbs, lameness, and more. In 1789 Underwood published Treatise on Diseases of Children. This was helpful in making other doctors aware of the disease. A vaccine was not in use until the 20th century (Beatty and Marks 229).
Porphyria was known as 'purple urine' because those infected with the disease would release urine that turned purple upon standing. The first attacks of the disease occur in the person's 20s and 30s with sudden onset of constipation, pain, hypersensitive skin, and mental disturbance. King George III of Great Britain suffered from this disease. His doctors, Ida Macalpine and Richard Hunter thought the king to be bipolar because of his mental problems that would come and go. He was a good king when his symptoms were not causing him grief. He had eight attacks between 1762-1804 until on October 8, 1810 he died deaf, blind, and mad (Cartwright 172).
Influenza, as it still is today, had no cure in 18th century Europe. Technology was not yet advanced enough to offer much solace. Influenza was an epidemic disease with no real treatment that worked (Beatty and Marks 138-139). As for many diseases, patients could have been purged, bled, or worse as treatment. Symptoms include fever, malaise, discomfort and complications from fluid in the lungs often caused death.
Smallpox was one of the worst plagues of the century, killing millions. The disease is characterized by fever, chills, weakness, pain, headache, vomitting, and a rash of pustules over the body.The disease is often fatal. Inoculation was introduced in Europe in 1721. Many were hesitant to take it at first. Sometimes families declined because they felt it was a means of population control and they had too many children already. Others refused because they felt that receiving the inoculation would be going against God's will. Over the course of the century and the discovery of a safer vaccine in 1796 by Edward Jenner, inoculation and eventually vaccination became widespread (McNeill 220-221).
The bubonic plague was not prevalent during this time period but it was not eradicated until the 19th century. The disease, which was transported by rodents, was characterized by vomitting, diarrhea, and sometimes lung problems. It is often fatal. In 1771, the plague killed 56,672 in Moscow in one season. As agriculture lessened, the number of rodents and the plague itself declined (McNeill 218-219). There was an outbreak of this plague from 1707-1714 in Russia, Prussia, and Austria. On September 12, 1720 the Department of Health by order of St. John required ships that carried letters (a means of transfer for the disease) to be abandoned at port, fumigated and left exposed to it for 24 hours before re-admittance. The plague re-appeared again briefly in Turkey while the British Army was defending it under Captain William Sidney Smith (Beatty and Marks 248-252).
St. Vitus's Dance declined greatly during the 18th century. It involved compulsive dancing until the dancer fell down dead. Eventually, a procedure was discovered that became the only known cure for the illness. The dancers were sent to St. Vitus's monastery behind Zabern. They were given crosses and red shoes as the infected hated red. Crosses were made under and above the shoes to discourage dancing. Consecrated oil and balm was poured over those who were sick and mass was said over them. They were sprinkled with holy water in the name of St. Vitus. This procedure cured nearly everyone (Beatty and Marks 96).
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease that became endemic in East Prussia in 1757 after the invasion of Russian troops during the Seven Years War.It stayed a problem until 1820 when police sanitation regulations ended it. Until then, guiac tree bark and wood was used to treat syphilis, as was mercury. The symptoms generally remain dormant for a while. The patient then becomes weak and loses color in his face. The diseases progresses to eat away the groin and the whole body with the night bringing burning with it. It spreads to the shoulders, arms, and legs attacking the skin and muscles causing joint pain and scabs with pus. Quicksilver was used to dissolve the humors in the body while patients bathed in mercury. It was believed that syphilis was a pestilence sent from Apollo upon a shepard who had lost his flock and renounced Apollo. There were no truly effective treatments until the 20th century (Beatty and Marks 116-123).
Puerperal Fever was a disease common to women during and after delivery. As hospitals were born, more women gave birth in hospitals settings rather than at home. The problem was that many women were placed in a large room separated only by curtains. Ventilation and sanitation were not well-practiced or understood and disease spread quickly. These women would end up with a septic wound in the birth canal. Phillipe Peu in 1746 wrote an account of many dying in hospitals of staph infections and high fever in London. Dr, Charles White of Manchester, England encouraged the use of ventilation, cleanliness, disinfection, and isolation. This helped greatly in lessening the occurrence of the infection over time (McNeill 213-215).
Dysentery was a disease that seemed to come about in Autumn. It included fever, mucousy bloody diarrhea that increasingly gets worse. Re-hydration was the only way to fight the disease. Many died from this (Beatty and Marks 131).
Malaria was and still is an epidemic infection caused by the transmission of infected blood through mosquitoes, although that was not realized during the time. The infection was not named malaria until the 18th century. The disease causes fever that often leads to death. Bad air emitted from long-standing water was blamed for spreading the disease in warm areas. Europe saw epidemics from the disease between 1718-1722, 1748-1750, 1770-1772, and 1779-1783 (Beatty and Marks 130).
Typhus and typhoid were often indistinguishable as the symptoms were so similar. While typhus was a rickettsial disease transmitted to humans by body lice, typhoid was transmitted by urine and feces. The diseases caused head pain, small lentils on the arms, back and chest that looked like flea bites. This was accompanied by a fever, weakness, red eyes, and the mind wandered. After about seven days, blood was in the urine. The disease was deadly (Beatty and Marks 135).
Diphtheria was a disease characterized by ulcers on the tonsils with white and black secretions called aptha. If the ulcer was deep enough it was referred to as an eschar which meant it was also red, inflamed, and painful. If the condition spread out of the mouth past the teeth it loosened and blackened the gums. Fever, inflamation of the mouth and throat, and starvation often killed the sick within days. Sometimes the sick were even suffocated within a day (Beatty and Marks 137).
Yellow fever was not common during 18th century Europe although it did still kill. The disease was referred to as dock fever because it was brought in on ships. This disease was characterized by a sudden onset of jaundice, slow pulse, and vomitting blood due to a condition with the liver. In 1762 an outbreak of yellow fever ravaged British forces and caused much destruction (Beatty and Marks 149).
Although cholera was not yet a common disease in this century, there were cases of it. Cholera caused rapid death from symptoms of profuse diarrhea, vomiting muscle cramps, and deadly dehydration. It was not uncommon for a farmer who got up tending the fields in the morning to be dead by nightfall. Ingestion of water or food contaminated with feces spread the disease as did cockroaches and houseflies. In 1781 the French army under General Andeme suffered from an epidemic of cholera and were devastated (Beatty and Marks 191-192).
Poliomyelitis was a disease discovered by pediatrician and obstetrician Michael Underwood. Underwood noted the fever and lameness that often accompanied the disease. The disease caused an array of permanent symptoms such as blindness, deafness, shrinking of limbs, lameness, and more. In 1789 Underwood published Treatise on Diseases of Children. This was helpful in making other doctors aware of the disease. A vaccine was not in use until the 20th century (Beatty and Marks 229).
Porphyria was known as 'purple urine' because those infected with the disease would release urine that turned purple upon standing. The first attacks of the disease occur in the person's 20s and 30s with sudden onset of constipation, pain, hypersensitive skin, and mental disturbance. King George III of Great Britain suffered from this disease. His doctors, Ida Macalpine and Richard Hunter thought the king to be bipolar because of his mental problems that would come and go. He was a good king when his symptoms were not causing him grief. He had eight attacks between 1762-1804 until on October 8, 1810 he died deaf, blind, and mad (Cartwright 172).
Influenza, as it still is today, had no cure in 18th century Europe. Technology was not yet advanced enough to offer much solace. Influenza was an epidemic disease with no real treatment that worked (Beatty and Marks 138-139). As for many diseases, patients could have been purged, bled, or worse as treatment. Symptoms include fever, malaise, discomfort and complications from fluid in the lungs often caused death.