1750-1900 Killer Diseases

1750-1900 Killer Diseases

1. Cholera

   • First arrived in Britain in 1831
   • Was frightening
     • People could die within a single day
   • It spread so quickly that thousands could die within a few weeks
   • How it is spread
     • Through bacteria passed on through food & water that have been contaminated by the excreta of an infected person
   • Effects
     • Sickness and diarrhoea; sufferer often dies within 24 hours
       • Up to two-thirds of sufferers died

2. Diphtheria

   • How it's spread
     • Through tiny droplets when coughing and sneezing or through contact with the soiled clothing of an infected person
   • Effects
     • Bleeding and sometimes paralysis; suffocation from a blocked throat often leads to death
       • The death rate was one in ten but it particularly affected children
         • And survivors took a long time to recover

3. Smallpox

   • How it's spread
     • By touch, or through tiny droplets when coughing or sneezing
   • Effects
     • A rash turns into blisters filled with pus
       • The blisters become crusted and fall off leaving deep scars
   • About a 3rd of all sufferers died

4. Tuberculosis

   • Spread through tiny droplets when coughing and sneezing
   • Effects
     • Coughing becomes constant
       • victim brings up blood
         • Chest pains
           • often severe weight loss
     • Nearly half of all sufferers died

5. Typhoid

   • How it's spread
     • Through bacteria passed on through food and water that have been contaminated by the excreta of an infected person or through food infected by flies
   • Effects
     • Headaches, fever, constipation and then severe diarrhoea
     • Up to one third of the sufferers died
       • Especially those who were already weak
         • The old
         • The young
         • The malnourished

6. Treating Cholera

   • (were all used against Cholera in the 19th century)
   • Burning the clothes and bedding of the dead person
   • Praying
   • Cleaning the house and scattering chloride of lime around (this was used in whitewash to make things look clean)
   • Smoking cigars
   • Using lucky charms
   • Burning barrels of tar/vinegar to create smoke on the streets
   • Making 'special mixtures' of liquids or pills that were supposed to cure all illnesses

7. During the Renaissance there had been a growing interest in science

   • This affected people's ideas about the causes of disease
     • By the 18th century they were less likely to blame disease on supernatural causes or unbalanced humours.
       • The search for a new explanation of illness based on natural causes now developed into two main theories
         • Miasma
           • Disease was caused by bad air that was filled with poisonous fumes from rotting matter
         • Spontaneous generation
           • Disease was caused by germs that were produced by flesh and vegetables as they rotted