1. alittlepronetopanic

    alittlepronetopanic New Member

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    18th Century Remedies for TB/Consumption

    Discussion in 'Research' started by alittlepronetopanic, Jan 22, 2022.

    I have tried googling this, but I honestly can't seem to find any.

    So does anyone know any that were used? Either alone or as part of a draft/medicine.

    Thank you!
     
  2. Lazaares

    Lazaares Contributor Contributor

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  3. Joe_Hall

    Joe_Hall I drink Scotch and I write things

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    TB was commonly treated by trying to move the patient to a more suitable climate, sometimes to the countryside or, if they were wealthy enough, to other countries considered better for health. Robert Louis Stevenson is one, for example, who moved to the tropics as part of his treatment for the ailment.
     
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  4. Terbus

    Terbus Active Member

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    Currently Reading::
    To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini
    Great question(s)! The answer depends a lot on the class and circumstance of the character. There was no sure cure for TB until the mid/late 20th century, however, there where serval treatments that alleviated the symptoms or provide a cure of sorts.

    Wealth was a major factor. If the suffer/their family had enough money to send them to a sanatorium that route was taken. The state of Colorado in the US because famous for its dry clear air, which helped alleviate the symptoms--this is also true of Arizona. Sending the suffer to the seaside was another option for similar reasons. Again, however, it cost money.

    TB among the poor, especially in big cities like London, was rampant. Without the money for treatment, there was little anyone could do beyond the use of drugs such as Laudanum (a mix of opium and alcohol that was often cheaper than the later substance). Such drugs would provide relief from the pain and allow for sleep, which was all that could really be done.

    I have a fairly sound knowledge of TB in the 1800s--most of it at the hight of the Victorian era. If you have other questions or need a sounding board, I'd be happy to help. Hope your writing goes well!
     
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  5. Friedrich Kugelschreiber

    Friedrich Kugelschreiber marshmallow Contributor

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    Keats for example went to Italy for his illness. Early 19th century.
     
  6. Lazaares

    Lazaares Contributor Contributor

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    Sanatoriums are mid-to-late 19th century. That form of treatment for TB was first phrased in a 1840 essay by George Bodington, as opposed to treatment with vomiting/bloodletting/constricting/heart-stopping (the usual medieval funk).

    The essay mentions some erratic treatments that "prevailed before", presumably in the early 1800s. Pages two onwards mention numerous existing practices but based on the chemical/medical knowledge showcased I'd dare assume these were 1830s/1840s remedies and not earlier.

    Bloodletting is also mentioned as a "former, dangerous and destructive remedy" on p. 4-5, which I believe was the most widespread method applied.
     
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  7. Joe_Hall

    Joe_Hall I drink Scotch and I write things

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    Sanatoriums, as in quasi-hospitals that specialized in TB, yes. But even during the middle ages right through the 1700's the prevailing theory was "bad air" for many ailments. They didn't understand the science behind it they knew certain locations easied symptoms and families often found country relatives or friends, or if already mentioned, were well-off, distant locations where the air was thought to be superior.

    Pre-1858 I would look into Humorism. That was the year that the classical idea of the "humors" blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm was finally disproven. All ailments were ascribed to one of these humors being out of balance and everything from blood-letting to changes of diet (based on the color or texture of the food which were associated with a humor) were practiced to get you back into balance. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humorism

    After 1858, germ theory became the accepted theory for illness and that continues through to the modern era. However, you still see the air theory being perpetuated in 1883 by Robert Louis Stevenson in Treasure Island when the character of Dr. Livsey smells the swamp air on the island and says that it smells like fever (malaria). You also see this to some degree in the 1881 novel Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning by Johanna Spyri when the character Klara is able to leave her wheelchair and learn to walk by moving into the alps drinking goat's milk and breathing the clean mountain air. These obviously are not TB cases, however, I think they kind of paint the medical picture for then-uncurable maladies.

    As an interesting side note, we still somewhat ascribe to the air theory. I recently had to help someone move out of Colorado because her daughter was born with sickle cell. Her daughter's doctors said that the cool thin air was causing issues with the baby's condition so the Army had to move her to an assignment the doctors considered more satisfactory. We now understand the science behind it but its kind of fun to realize that people in the past did the same thing, just by trial and error, and learned certain climates worked to lessen medical symptoms.
     
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  8. Lazaares

    Lazaares Contributor Contributor

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    Read the introduction to the 1840 paper linked; it quite literally writes what you think was the "consensus" beforehands as the "new method", proposing it to the wider medical academics after a four-years-trial in a sanatorium he founded himself (which is the first one). I don't know any more firm anchors to resolve this question other than the first official proposal in that essay, which at the time was heavily attacked by the scholarly community.

    It might be plausible someone had that idea earlier and committed to it, but even more plausible folks just went for the good ole' bloodletting.
     
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  9. Joe_Hall

    Joe_Hall I drink Scotch and I write things

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    Air or Miasma Theory goes back to the time of the greeks and possibly earlier. https://dc.cod.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1657&context=essai

    That being said, bloodletting was a go-to remedy for everything from the common cold to sprained ankles so if she had a doctor in this story treat a TB patient with bloodletting, it certainly would not be out of place.
     
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2022
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