The Doctor: Friend or Foe?
Treatments for disease and ailments in 18th century Europe were all but pleasant. People were commonly not helped and even harmed while receiving medical care. Medical care focused on purging of one of the four humors; blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile in order to rid the patient of his/her illness.Procedures such as bloodletting, which either involved leeches or actually releasing blood from the body were believed by physicians to rid the patient of illness but in fact often made the patient worse. Even as terrific medical breakthroughs were made further into the century, people were often afraid to receive even preventative inoculations for fear that the "cure" would bring worse ailments with it (picture above scheong.wordpress.com).
Care from a physician during the 18th century was expensive. In some cases the doctor made the difference between life and death. In some cases the best medical care made things worse or made no difference. It wasn't until the 19th century that medical care made a significant difference (McNeill 212).
Mark Catesby was a physician in 18th century Europe who discovered therapeutic plants such as may apple, snakeroot, ginseng, and witch-hazel. He wrote about these in Natural History. Stuart Grassian began the use of solitary confinement. Joseph Charriere wrote Treatise of the Operations of Surgery. John Monro believed that inducing cosistent vomitting would rid the body of any harmful agent. Peter Shaw and George Cheyne instituted dietary changes while Luigi Gahani used electricity. Samuel Auguste believed in homeopathy. Samuel Auguste Tissot used jugum and Leopold Auenbrugger used percussion. Dr. James Kilpatrick made smallpox inoculation fashionable when he went to London in 1743 and wrote about the successes of it. His actions saved many lives (Cartwright 125). Edward Jenner realized that smallpox was preventable by vaccination of cowpox (Cartwright 127).
British naval surgeon James Lind published carefully controlled experiments showing how fresh lemons and oranges cured scurvy in 1753. Naval authorities did little at this time as fruits were expensive and couldn't be stored long. Finally in 1795 the Admiralty decided that, based on Lind's research, citrus juice was the best treatment for scurvy. This earned the British navy the nickname "Limeys". Lind also installed sea water distilleries on ships. He also encouraged quarantine for new sailors until they were bathed and received fresh clothing. This greatly reduced typhus and typhoid. Lind instated the use of quinine for malaria and convinced sailors to not go ashore after dark (McNeill 237-238).
English surgeon and dirator of the National Vaccine Establishment James Moore suggested that diseases were more likely to be taken into a country by invading armies than be taken home from the left-overs of a retreating army returning home. The separation of disease by water or a large space of land made a difference in how the disease spread (Beatty and Marks 57-59). Giovanni Maria Lancisi and George Baglisi helped to discover that the unsanitary conditions of French ships were leading to the spread of disease. They discovered that typhoid and salmonella were transmitted in urine and feces (Beatty and Marks 135).
In 1773 Dr. Charles White of Manchester England published A Treatise on the Management of Pregnant and Lying-in-Wait Women. This advocated cleanliness, ventilation, disinfection, and isolation in relation to Puerperal Fever. His pupil, Thomas Kirkland, wrote A Treatise on Child-Bearing Fevers, and the Methods of Preventing Them in London in 1774. Physician Alexander Gordon wrote in 1775 in London, A Treatise on the Epidemic Puerperal Fever of Aberdeen. He noticed that the infection was more frequent and more fatal in large towns and in hospitals than in country and private practice. In Aberdeen in December of 1779 Gordon covered 77 cases between then and March of 1792. Of these cases, 28 died of the fever (McNeill 214-215).
In London, obstetrician and pediatrician Michael Underwood first recognized in 1789 the fever and lameness caused by poliomyelitis. He published the second edition of The Treatise of Diseases of Children. His actions were made other doctors aware of the disease. He also discovered that the disease affected children between the ages of one and five (Beatty and Marks 229).
Mark Catesby was a physician in 18th century Europe who discovered therapeutic plants such as may apple, snakeroot, ginseng, and witch-hazel. He wrote about these in Natural History. Stuart Grassian began the use of solitary confinement. Joseph Charriere wrote Treatise of the Operations of Surgery. John Monro believed that inducing cosistent vomitting would rid the body of any harmful agent. Peter Shaw and George Cheyne instituted dietary changes while Luigi Gahani used electricity. Samuel Auguste believed in homeopathy. Samuel Auguste Tissot used jugum and Leopold Auenbrugger used percussion. Dr. James Kilpatrick made smallpox inoculation fashionable when he went to London in 1743 and wrote about the successes of it. His actions saved many lives (Cartwright 125). Edward Jenner realized that smallpox was preventable by vaccination of cowpox (Cartwright 127).
British naval surgeon James Lind published carefully controlled experiments showing how fresh lemons and oranges cured scurvy in 1753. Naval authorities did little at this time as fruits were expensive and couldn't be stored long. Finally in 1795 the Admiralty decided that, based on Lind's research, citrus juice was the best treatment for scurvy. This earned the British navy the nickname "Limeys". Lind also installed sea water distilleries on ships. He also encouraged quarantine for new sailors until they were bathed and received fresh clothing. This greatly reduced typhus and typhoid. Lind instated the use of quinine for malaria and convinced sailors to not go ashore after dark (McNeill 237-238).
English surgeon and dirator of the National Vaccine Establishment James Moore suggested that diseases were more likely to be taken into a country by invading armies than be taken home from the left-overs of a retreating army returning home. The separation of disease by water or a large space of land made a difference in how the disease spread (Beatty and Marks 57-59). Giovanni Maria Lancisi and George Baglisi helped to discover that the unsanitary conditions of French ships were leading to the spread of disease. They discovered that typhoid and salmonella were transmitted in urine and feces (Beatty and Marks 135).
In 1773 Dr. Charles White of Manchester England published A Treatise on the Management of Pregnant and Lying-in-Wait Women. This advocated cleanliness, ventilation, disinfection, and isolation in relation to Puerperal Fever. His pupil, Thomas Kirkland, wrote A Treatise on Child-Bearing Fevers, and the Methods of Preventing Them in London in 1774. Physician Alexander Gordon wrote in 1775 in London, A Treatise on the Epidemic Puerperal Fever of Aberdeen. He noticed that the infection was more frequent and more fatal in large towns and in hospitals than in country and private practice. In Aberdeen in December of 1779 Gordon covered 77 cases between then and March of 1792. Of these cases, 28 died of the fever (McNeill 214-215).
In London, obstetrician and pediatrician Michael Underwood first recognized in 1789 the fever and lameness caused by poliomyelitis. He published the second edition of The Treatise of Diseases of Children. His actions were made other doctors aware of the disease. He also discovered that the disease affected children between the ages of one and five (Beatty and Marks 229).