The 9 Deadly Diseases That Plagued George Washington
George Washington is a mainstay of history books for fighting everything from the British Empire to a cherry tree, but his private battles may have been the fiercest.
Tuberculosis. Malaria. Smallpox. Dysentery. Some of the deadliest ailments of the 18th century attacked him early and often.
"There are many points before and after the Revolutionary War when he could have died," said Dr. Howard Markel, director of University of Michigan's Center for the History of Medicine. "He was really quite ill, even when he was president."
A look back at Washington's medical chart on this 235th Independence Day offers both a snapshot of America's original biological villains and a progress check on its medical advances.
Today, Washington would probably take a preventive shot for diphtheria, pop some pills for tonsillitis, and skip the deadly blood-letting procedure for epiglottis. Yet he would be even more susceptible to skin cancer in the 21st century and the pneumonia would likely be just as unpleasant.
Washington ultimately died of a throat infection at age 67 -- but his relative health amid other sicknesses offers a lesson, Markel said.
"His body won more times than not. There's a million and one things that could have killed him, that could kill any of us, but they didn't," he said. "And that's the wonder of the human body."
We asked Markel to break down Washington's woes and offer a 21st century update for each. Read those below:
Diptheria - "This was a very common infection, particularly in childhood. Washington may have had it when he was about 15. It strikes in two stages, first with a terrible sore throat and then a pseudo-membrane over the back of the throat which poses a risk of suffocation. It also creates a toxin which circulates around the body, weakening the heart and sometimes causing a person to drop dead several weeks later. As early as 1895, we were able to treat the second stage of the illness with a diphtheria antitoxin. Since the late 1930s, we don't have to worry about treatments or side-effects, we just prevent it with a vaccine. In the U.S., we only have about a half dozen cases per year - in kids who are not immunized." Tuberculosis - "Washington's brother had this and a common treatment back then was for a doctor to prescribe 'breathing in fresh air.Sick Role Relevance In 21st Century - News
Yet he would be even more susceptible to skin cancer in the 21st century and the pneumonia would likely be just as unpleasant. Washington ultimately died of a throat infection at age 67 -- but his relative health amid other sicknesses offers a lesson,
We tend, this far into the 21st century, to give smokers a wide berth and regard them with a mixture of pity and revulsion. But consider, for a moment, the plight of your average nicotine addict today. Though they partake in something no more illegal
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She discussed the need for medical records, and that a major role of the nurse was to observe the patient. Here we are, in the 21st century with multiple issues related to medical records, what to record, where to record it, whom has access, etc.
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But there is a major downside to having the person you look up to be a famous athlete. Chances are very, very slim that the so called “ballers” at school (If you can even call a kid being a basketball star at a 1A school in Bellevue a baller) will ever meet LeBron or Kobe. These NBA superstars don’t have to time (or more likely, don’t care enough) to sit down with a kid at his house and discuss how they got to be where they are. It just doesn’t happen. Sorry, “baller”. One of the things that happened on this retreat into the California sun was a lot of just hanging out on the top of the houseboats. And when you combine 85-degree weather and two genders, there is a lot of “Hey gurl, wanna hang out with my G’s on top of our houseboat and get yo’ tan on?” It wasn’t always like that, but you get the picture. But let’s get back to those two senior guys. I had always looked up to them, and have even talked to them a bit over the last 9 months. And after just merely spending a couple minutes with these guys, I knew I wanted to be just like them. They’re confident, welcoming, realists, and just plain chill. These two future college basketball athletes aren’t consumed with the insignificant things in High School that will fade away over time, but see the big picture and seem to know what lies ahead for them in their lives. Instead of hanging out with girls 24/7 (not saying that’s a bad thing, or they didn’t do it at all), they asked me , a freshman, to hang out on their boat consistently. “Holy crap” I thought in disbelief. “Why the heck would they hang out with me?” Not only did they ask me to come over and be in their presence, but actually talked to me. So, the moral of the story is this: If you’re in any position of power, such as an athlete, being a senior, or whatever, know that even the most subtle act can mean the world to someone. It did for me when Tanner shouted across to my boat asking if I wanted to join his dance party (which consisted of us dancing like idiots to “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus), and it could mean the same to someone else.
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