Medicine and General Health in the Nineteenth Century
Without the attempts of past doctors and psychologists, advances in medical and health fields of the twenty-first century appeared impossible. Doctors and psychologists throughout the ages attempted to enrich the world with their consistently expanding knowledge of health and medicine. “The 19th century was a period of enormous medical change and progress” (Farlex “Medicine, 19th-century”). Although the nineteenth century brought change to the scientific world, it also brought sickness and unhealthy lifestyles due to a lack of medical knowledge. The scientific knowledge between the eighteenth century and early nineteenth century varied slightly. However, throughout the nineteenth century, knowledge began to grow as doctors refined medicine and treatment methods. Prior to the nineteenth century, the majority of the population believed that the harsh judgement of God because of man’s sins resulted in punishment such as the bubonic plague. “For the first time, religion started to lose its grip on broad groups of people” (Ice “Medicine in the Victorian Era”). As one studies the nineteenth century, one notices that religion no longer controlled the opinions and medical views of the people. Although religion formerly tainted their outlook on medicine and health, scientific experts such as Dr. Edward Jenner sought to eliminate diseases that seemed incurable. “One of the most contagious and most feared diseases of the early 19th century was smallpox. It affected people of all ages, but was fatal to especially young children and the elderly” (Aiello “Diseases”). People noticed that those who contracted smallpox and survived never contracted the disease again. This belief resulted in t...
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One measure they had was that of the “red cross”. This is where they would paint a red cross on the doors of people who were diagnosed with the plague. I think this would have worked because it would let people know who had the plague, so that they could avoid falling ill themselves.
Although populations in ancient societies suffered attacks, invasions, starvation, and persecution, there was a more efficient killer that exterminated countless people. The most dreaded killers in the ancient world were disease, infections and epidemics. In many major wars the main peril was not gunfire, nor assault, but the easily communicable diseases that rapidly wiped out whole divisions of closely quartered soldiers. Until the time of Hippocrates, in the struggle between life and death, it was, more often than not, death that prevailed when a malady was involved. In the modern world, although illness is still a concern, advances in thought and technique have led to the highest birth rates in recorded history. No longer is a fever a cause for distress; a quick trip to the store and a few days of rest is the current cure. An infection considered easily treatable today could have meant disablement, even death to an ancient Greek citizen.
The contributions of several doctors, researchers, and scientists helped improve the health of the growing population. In 1850 the average life expectancy was 42 years. By 1910 the average life expectancy had risen to nearly 55 years. Between 1850 and 1910 there were several advances in the medical field. The introduction of genes, white blood cells, blood groups, insulin, rubber gloves, aspirin, and vitamins and the discoveries of Pasteur, Charcot, Halsted, Zirm, Lister, and Koch were the starting point of an international fight against disease.
“One man's life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge which I sought…” (Letter 4.21). If you are familiar with the story of Victor Frankenstein, then you probably already know that he procured stolen body parts in order to construct his famous monster. This form of grave robbing is an appropriate nod to similar events taking place at this time in history. The 18th and 19th centuries saw a fierce dispute between advancements in medicine and the morally skeptical. Such an issue plagued select regions of both North America and Great Britain, most prominently the United States and England, respectively.
Did you know there was a time where infectious diseases like the common cold could kill you and your family? This was the elizabethan era probably the last time where sickness became the “grimm reaper” before modern medical advancements. With infectious diseases spreading and killing so many people doctors became desperate. Because these doctors knew very little about medicine, they were completely willing to try experimental treatments on their patients (Alchin). Sadly just about anybody with an infectious disease died. All the knowledge these doctors knew were based on: Humours, what brain function each internal organ controls, and how to protect themselves from it.
Doctors and Medical Treatments of the Elizabethan Era The Elizabethan customs were based on the knowledge from the teachings of Hippocrates and Aristotle (Patterson, White). The beliefs were widely accepted. The emphasis on magic and astrology, however, lessened in Elizabethan times. Some physicians did still believe if the planets were not aligned, an individual would get sick.
Health, how it is defined and how it is maintained, is a reflection of the dominant ideology in a certain society. The medical system of Western countries, including Australia, is based on the biomedical model of health or biomedicine. According to Lord Nigel Crisp, who is a global health reform advocate, former Chief Executive of the National Health Service (NHS) in United Kingdom (UK) and previous Permanent Secretary of the UK Department of Health, Western scientific medicine and the health systems based on them have exhibited spectacular success in improving health over the last century and it has come to dominate medical thinking, habits and institutions globally. It also served as the guide for health regulating bodies including the World Health Organization, health care professional associations and pharmaceutical companies. He argued, however, that presently Western scientific medicine is no longer capable of solely managing the health demands of peoples in both the industrialised and developing countries. There is a need to adapt and absorb new ideas to be able to meet the demands of the twenty first century(Marble, 2010). In order to get a better understanding of the current health system in Western societies this paper attempts to take a closer look at the development of scientific medicine as the foundation of modern medical practice. In addition to the overview of biomedicine, a few of the challenges to its discourse will also be presented throughout the discussion.
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...e gap in attitudes between pre-medicalized and modern time periods. The trends of technological advancement and human understanding project a completely medicalized future in which medical authorities cement their place above an intently obedient society.
Around 1347-1348 the most well-known epidemic struck the European world. The bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death or the Black Plague, rained sickness over millions; for most people, death was the only end to the sickness. The Black Death is known as one of the most depressing occurrences in history. It attacked the three most important aspects of a person’s well-being, their mental, emotional and physical health. While the plague impacted early society, authors, Jean de Venette and Giovanni Boccaccio, described the epidemic in their own words. Modern author, Charles L. Mee Jr., describes the plague with the scientific knowledge he has living in today’s society. These three authors wrote about the bubonic plague with their own voice’s and reasoning’s but many of the accounts they mention are similar to one another. Jean de Venette, Giovanni Boccaccio and Charles L. Mee Jr. explain the symptoms, the causes and the way people acted because of the black plague.
Preventative medicine comes with the potential for making our lives both better and worse. Today the world in which we live in has faced steady medicalization of daily existence. Many factors have contributed to the rise of medicalization. For instance the loss in religion, the increase of faith in science, rationality, progress, increased prestige and the power of the medical profession. The medical profession and the expansion of medical jurisdiction were prime movers for medicalization. Medicalization has also occurred through social movements. Doctors are not the only ones involved in medicalization now, patients are active collaborators in the medicalization of their problem. Critics try to argue for or against the idea that this leads to a favorable versus a non -favorable outcome. This increased establishment and development of medicine, including technoscience, has resulted in a major threat to health. The medicalization of normal conditions, risks the creation of medical diagnoses that are widely inclusive and that hold the potential for further expansion. Many biologically normal conditions, like shortness, menopause, and infertility, are currently considered medical problems. These naturally occurring states are now regarded as undesirable and deviant. This process is referred to as medicalization. Although they are considered deviant, however, the process of medicalization also removes culpability: a person’s problems can be ascribed to a chemical imbalance rather than seen as reflecting his or her character or accomplishments. Some of the articles I will be looking into are Dumit’s “Drugs for life” as well as Healy’s “Pharmageddon” and Cassel’s “Selling Sickness” to explore if this process of overmedicalization has le...
Disease and death are most often associated with the Middle Ages because of the widespread plagues and ignorance of medical knowledge during that time period. It is difficult, however, to ascertain the true nature of illness in the early Medieval Ages because in some written sources, the author’s standpoint distorts the presentation of the disease or cause of a person’s death so that the biological cause is skewed and unattainable.
From the Black Plague in in medieval times to Smallpox to the Polio virus, there have been widespread deaths in occurrence with a multitude of diseases. After millions upon millions of deaths, mankind realized that they needed a way to prevent these diseases from killing mass amounts of their population; through this line of thinking, they developed vaccinations specifically for that purpose. Previously fatal diseases such as tetanus, cervical cancer, tuberculosis, and measles can all be prevented by vaccinations—smallpox, an incredibly lethal illness that caused widespread death in the 19th century has been completely eradicated due to vaccinations (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Even syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease referenced in Candide, has methods developed to help cure those who have contracted it. Professor Pangloss, the optimist throughout it all, finds himself suffering through the effects of syphilis—a disease that, during this time period, is likely to be fatal. Despite currently being in the process of dying, Pangloss insists that his suffering “was a thing unavoidable, a necessary ingredient, in the best of worlds” (55). He continues to claim this in spite of knowing that this disease “contaminates the source of life, frequently hinders generation, and is evidently opposite to the great end of nature” (56). Pangloss believes that since he has contracted this sexually transmitted disease, it cannot be due to any other reason than the progression of the “greater good.” In his eyes, God’s plan for him is still intact, because God is good and just. As the one-eyed doctor puts it, “all [of] this was indispensably necessary…for private misfortunes constitute the general good, so that the more private misfortunes there are, the greater is the general good” (57). If
The improvement of medicine over the course of the human successes gave great convenience to the people of today. Science has cured and prevented many illnesses from occurring and is on its way to cure some of the most dreadful and harmful illnesses. As the world modernizes due to the industrialization, so does the ways of medicine. Some cures are approached by chance, some, through intense, scientific measures.
According to Foucault and Illich (in Van Krieken et al. 2006: 351-352), doctors and the medical profession have traditionally been empowered by their knowledge as the authority that society defers to with regards to the definition of disease and health. With improvements in medical technology as well as the advent of the hospital, an evolution...