Caroline's Passion, page 20
part #3 of Wilderness Brides Series
In 27 years, 300 women attended the college, but only 98 received full doctoral degrees. On average, only five students graduated each year. The requirements for graduation included courses in basic medical study before attending the college, then an additional two years, a thesis, and a final exam. Tuition costs started at $25 per term, and room and board cost an additional $2 per week.
Scurvy, basically is the deficiency of Vitamin C. It has been recognized for hundreds of years, but the cause and cure wasn’t really known or understood. After months of eating a diet that contained little to no Vitamin C, symptoms start to appear which include hemorrhages under the skin, joint swelling, and loose teeth. Days and weeks later, the patient becomes debilitated and weak, and coughing blood. It will result in death unless the patient is given foods rich in Vitamin C.
Rabies was one of the most feared diseases on the plains. Not many people contracted it, but because of the horrible way in which people died from it, it brought terror to the minds of the pioneers. Victims of “furious rabies” (contracted by about two-thirds of victims) usually only lived for seven days once symptoms appeared, which are similar to those in animals. Symptoms include salivating at the mouth, agitation, confusion, morbid fear, and aggression. The victim usually falls into a coma and dies during the end stage. The other form of rabies is called “dumb rabies” which paralyzes the victim, and it takes much longer to kill. Because of the victim’s fear of water, the disease was most commonly called hydrophobia.
Mastoiditis is a complication from ear infection. Instead of draining, the infection enters the mastoid bone, which is filled with air cells. When the cells fill with infected material from an unresolved middle ear infection, mastoiditis can develop. In severe cases, the infection can enter the brain. The current treatment is antibiotics. In the 1800’s, anitbiotics were not available, so the common treatment was drilling a hole in the mastoid bone to drain the infection.
The two most common anesthetics available in the 1800’s were chloroform and ether. By the time the American Civil War broke out in 1861, both ether and chloroform had been in use for several years as methods of surgical anesthesia. Both anesthetic agents were developed around the same time in the 1840’s.
The mountain men typically resorted to alcohol for treatment of wounds. It was the only “anesthetic” available, and it was effective for many illnesses, too. Many mountain men remedies came from Indian remedies, such as sweat baths, herbs, and other treatments.
The terms “abscess” and “infection” were both around in the 1800’s, but had slightly different meanings. An abscess was recognized as a collection of dead tissue and pus, often accompanied by swelling and inflammation, and was also usually associated with boils.
Infection was believed to be the propagation of disease caused by animals or vegetables, or by bad odors “vapours” or “effluvia.”
One of my main sources of information came from the book Bleed, Blisters, and Purge – A History of Medicine on the American Frontier, by Volney Steele, M.D.
About the Author
Peggy L Henderson is an award-winning, best-selling western historical and time travel romance author of the Yellowstone Romance Series, Second Chances Time Travel Romance Series, Teton Romance Trilogy, and Wilderness Brides Series. She was also a contributing author in the unprecedented 50-book American Mail Order Brides Series, contributing Book #15, Emma: Bride of Kentucky, the multi-authorTimeless Hearts Time Travel Series, and the multi-author Burnt River Contemporary Western Series.
When she’s not writing about Yellowstone, the Tetons, or the old west, she’s out hiking the trails, spending time with her family and pets, or catching up on much-needed sleep. She is happily married to her high school sweetheart. Along with her husband and two sons, she makes her home in Southern California, but lives in Yellowstone National Park during the summer season.
I am always happy to hear from my readers!
To get in touch with me:
www.peggylhenderson.com
peggy@peggylhenderson.com
Peggy L Henderson, Caroline's Passion
