A Medical Revolution

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Recommended: Influenza pandemic 1918-19 essay

In the spring of 1918, the first wave of one of the deadliest influenza pandemics began plaguing its victims (Peters, ix). Over the span of three lethal waves, the pandemic claimed approximately forty million victims, eradicating nearly twenty percent of the entire world’s population, or about one out of five individuals (Peters, ix). To make matters more dire, the ill-suited medical community was exceptionally unprepared for such a wide-scale pandemic: Doctors had very basic tools, knew little about diseases, and had no experience with vaccinations or prevention (Peters, 1-5; “The 1920s: Medicine and Health: Overview”, n.p.). People blindly faced the epidemic, relying on folk remedies such as consuming wine, drinking antiseptic, and adapting nudist lifestyles to face the sickness that could kill within hours (Peters, 47; “Medicine ads of the 1910s”, n.p.). Therefore, the accountability of the 1918 Great Pandemic was placed heavily on the medical community’s shoulders (Peters, 43). After the Great Pandemic, the public and the medical community realized the fact that changes needed to happen in order to prevent such a catastrophic pandemic in the future (Peters, 44). Despite the obstacles the pandemic caused and the fact that it left the medical community debilitated, the medical community miraculously started flourishing by inventing new technologies, diagnostic processes, remedies, and preventative methods in the 1920s (Scott, n.p.; “The 1920s: Medicine and Health: Overview”, n.p.). The 1920s marked the turning point of modern-day medicine as it transformed art into a science that renovated and saved society.

The 1918 Great Influenza Pandemic came as a painful slap in the face to the medical community; a slap that tol...

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...rse: Birth Control Advertising in the 1920s and 1930s.” 1 Jan. 1994. ProQuest. Web. 1 Feb. 2012.

Scott, Robert. "1920's Medicine." The Roaring Twenties. 2005. N.p. Web. 16 Jan. 2012. .

Peters, Stephanie True. Epidemic! The 1918 Influenza Pandemic. Tarrytown: Benchmark Books, 2005. Print.

"The 1920s: Medicine and Health: Overview." American Decades. 2001.Encyclopedia.com. 16 Jan. 2012 .

“Why is Medicine Important?” Adorable Science. 2011. N.p. Web. 8 Feb. 2012.

Wong, George J. “Penicillin.” University of Hawaii at Manoa Botany. N.d. University of Hawaii at Manoa. Web. 8 Jan 2012.

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