Health and Medicine in Colonial America During the time of the HMS Sultana, just prior to the American Revolution, health and medicine were quite different than what we expect today. The medical community was unaware of the bacteria and viruses responsible for most disease. Furthermore, the connection between unsanitary conditions and disease was poorly understood. The following excerpts give examples of the conditions, diseases and treatments Colonial Americans faced. “A colonial teenager faced a struggle for existence. The average life expectancy was under twenty-five years. Diseases such as smallpox, malaria, tuberculosis, pneumonia, influenza, rickets, and fevers caused many deaths in children and adults. Wells for drinking water were often contaminated by nearby privies and unpenned animals, causing many illnesses. Colonial homes had no bathroom, septic system, or running water. Chamber pots, hidden under beds and inside chests, performed the function of today’s toilets. Slaves would dump the contents of the pots daily. Outdoor toilets of wood or brick, called privies, sometimes had four or more holes for larger families. The waste pits below the privies were normally “cleaned” by chickens; sometimes slaves would have to shovel out the pits. People in this period were accustomed to living with smells that we would consider extremely unpleasant. Today most people bathe or shower daily, a practice that adults and children of the colonial period would have considered odd. They did not believe in bathing everyday, or even every week. They felt that bathing washed away the layer of dirt that was their protection against germs and disease. Most baths consisted of washing with a cloth dipped into a basin of water. When washing in warm water was desired, water had to be heated in the fireplace. No chemical deodorants or anti-perspirants masked body odors; however, since nearly everyone shared the same standard of cleanliness, odors were not as offensive. The term doctor was first used in the colonies in 1769. By the time of the Revolution only a small percentage of doctors had attended a medical school; most were either trained by another physician or self-trained. Physicians usually limited their treatments to rich patients who were chronically ill. Lack of knowledge of causes and cures of most diseases,
effective medicines and painkillers, and instruments such as the thermometer and stethoscope handicapped colonial doctors in their practice of medicine. “ Excerpted from http://www.stratfordhall.org/ed-med.html?education “ A colonial household cold not function properly without an herb garden. Housewives were well informed about herbs and their uses and were prepared for any emergency whether it was deodorizing a home for guests or ministering aid to someone ill or injured. Household gardens were close at hand and contained a wide variety of plants for both food and medicine. Many of the herbs used by eighteenth-century families were native to Europe and were brought to the American colonies because of their medicinal value. The colonial housewife would sometimes supplement what was in her garden with plants such as nutmeg, which was imported and could be purchased at a local store. Many were also fascinated with Indian remedies made from native herbs, minerals and animal products.” Excerpted from http://www.history.org/history/teaching/medicine.cfm Medical practices in the 18th century were primitive compared to today’s standards. In Sultana’s era, doctors did not know about germs or the causes of infection. Many surgeons had poor training and limited knowledge of the human body. As a result, many sailors died from wounds that today would be easily treated and cured. One of the biggest problems on naval ships was infection. If a sailor received a wound on his arm or leg that became badly infected, Sultana’s surgeon had no choice but to cut off, or amputate, the man’s limb in order to save his life. This painful operation was completed without use of painkillers. Since the surgeon’s tools were not properly cleaned, sailors often died when new infections took hold after the operation was over. This was a slow and painful way to die! Another problem aboard Royal Navy ships was disease. Because sailors lived very close to one another, diseases such as smallpox and yellow fever spread quickly and could wipe out entire crews. Without antibiotics, doctors had no way to prevent this from happening. One way to “treat” illnesses was bleeding the patient. This was done by poking a small hole in the skin and draining the sailor’s blood into a bowl. Another way that doctors bled patients was by using leaches! Doctors believed by getting rid of the “bad blood” in the body they could rid the person of their sickness. Unfortunately, this almost always did more harm than good. Excerpted from Sea of Change: Sultana, the Tea Taxes, and the Dawn of the American Revolution
Below are diseases listed by their 18th century common names: Ague Summer complaint Spotted Fever Ship Fever Putrid Fever King’s Fever Dock Fever Chillblain Black Vomit Swamp sickness Rickets Lockjaw Milk Fever Mormal Grocer’s Itch Dengue Chin cough Black Plague
Use the following resources to identify 21st century names of the above diseases and 18th century versus 21st century cures for the above diseases. Place the information on the chart provided. Resources: Every Man His Own Doctor: or, The Poor Planter’s Physician By John Tenet Medicine and the American Revolution: How Diseases and Their Treatments Affected the Colonial Army By Oscar Reiss Medicine in the American Colonies: An historical sketch of the state of medicine in the American Colonies, from their first settlement to the period of the Revolution By John B Beck Colonial Diseases: http://www.mayflowerfamilies.com/colonial_life/colonial_diseases.htm http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~sam/disease.html