Medicine And Native American Medicine

Medicine is continuously developing and being discovered in many different objects and ways. Forms of medicine date back thousands of years but more closely related to Native Americans and their contributions to Europeans who came over to America. The word medicine is derived from the word medecin, a French word meaning physician, which was introduced to Native Americans as many French doctors came to the new world. Native Americans used this term to describe just about any healing or spiritual method they used.

Native Americans form of medicine to treat illnesses and injuries were more along the line of herbs and remedies they made. For example, to relieve the common cold and act as a throat aid, the roots of the sannich plant would be crushed into a juice and then swallowed, this acted as cough medicine. Native Americans had many experiment trials and errors with natural plants and herbs to determine their properties, effects and which would most benefit them. As the Spanish, English and other Europeans arrived in American, Native Americans shared their knowledge to them about their remedies and other herbal medicine and healing practices. Europeans took careful notice of these practices and soon started developing ways of their own. One Spanish explorer who took much interest in medicine, was Francisco Vasquez Coronado, who eventually developed the first medical book in American in 1570.

During the early 1600’s colonizing began in America and while more and more Europeans came over so did their diseases, which were uncommon to America. Some of the main diseases were measles, yellow fever and small pox, diseases Native Americans had never came in contact with and could not fight off due to the lack of genetic imm...

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... soldiers were attacked by diseases called dysentery, smallpox and typhus. Doctors soon realized that these diseases could be contained or less spread by improving sanitation. This was the time when vaccinations were discovered to treat smallpox and became mandatory in the U.S. Another sanitation change that was introduced was the use of proper footwear and clothing for soldiers. By 1814 the army had raised its sanitations standards helping to stop the spread in these common diseases.

Looking through these times, medicine slowly advanced over the past centuries. Native Americans where the main source of these new advancements and helped contribute to the Europeans and colonial medicine. Although remedies and herbs were their from of medicine during these early times this was there way of restoring health and helping medicine evolve to where they are today.