Date: Fri 23-Apr-1999

Publication: Hea

Author: SARAH

Quick Words:

Sturbridge-health-care

Full Text:

HEALTH MONITOR: A Look Back At Health Care In Early America

STURBRIDGE, MASS. -- If it seems difficult to envision health care in the

years before antiseptics, anesthesia, and antibiotics, then the lancets,

bleeding cups, tooth-pulling "keys," and other early Nineteenth Century

medical instruments on display at Old Sturbridge Village will command your

attention. "Picture of Health: Illness and Healing in New England 1790-1860,"

a new exhibit that opens at the museum April 24, and remains on display until

January 1, 2001, offers a fascinating look at more than 200 artifacts from

this vanished world of medicine.

Patent medicines such as "Dr Campbell's Hair Invigorator," a doctor's sleigh,

early wheeled chairs, a gout crane, electromagnetic therapy machines, and a

steam box are on display. Computer stations allow visitors to compare today's

patterns of disease, family size, and life expectancy with those of five or

six generations ago.

"In 1830s New England, health care encompassed home nursing, folk remedies,

patent medicines, regular physicians' `heroic' treatments of bleeding and

purging, and alternative healers. For example, homer Merriam, a rural printer,

tried all the standard cures and finally decided to see an Indian doctress

named Rhoda Rhoades in Huntington, Massachusetts. She treated patients in her

home with medicinal roots and herbs," said Nan Wolverton, Old Sturbridge

Village curator of the new exhibit. "In `Picture of Health,' we have partially

re-created Rhoda Rhoades' house, and you can listen to how Homer Merriam

described his stay with her in his autobiography," said Wolverton.

"Picture of Health" explores a time when germs were not understood and

infection resulting from childbirth was a significant cause of death for

women. "About one of every four New England children died before reaching

adulthood, from diseases such as diphtheria, measles, and scarlet fever," said

Jack Larkin, director of research, collections, and library at Old Sturbridge

Village. "Most early Americans' understanding of sickness and health still

reflected ancient Greek thought that the body had four fluids, or humors --

blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile -- and that an imbalance of these

humors caused illness," said Wolverton. Physicians customarily restored the

balance by "bleeding" -- taking a pint of more of a patient's blood from a

vein -- or "purging" -- including vomiting and administering powerful

laxatives. Some American doctors came to believe in "heroic" medicine,

bleeding in large quantities and prescribing purging drugs such as calomel

(mercurous chloride) that today's doctors would see as very dangerous.

In the first half of the Nineteenth Century, these practices were being

challenged by proponents of alternative medical systems, who are also

represented in "Picture of Health." Samuel Thomson was one, he created a

complete system of vegetable-based medicines and considered traditional

medicine as poisonous. Others advocated mild electric shock or steam baths.

Sylvester Graham, now best known as the namesake of the graham cracker, argued

that a rigid diet of vegetarian fare and cold water was the key to health.

"Picture of Health" begins with "The Home as Hospital," a vignette of an early

sick room. "Women assumed the primary responsibility for caring for sick

family members, sometimes relying upon home health advice books such as The

Family Nurse. Physicians were not always available, not always trusted, and

their services could be costly," said Wolverton. In many families, doctors

were consulted only after numerous home remedies had been tried. "Even then,

the doctor went to the patient's home and prescribed treatment that would be

administered there. Nineteenth Century health care truly began and ended in

the household," said Wolverton.

Another section of the exhibit, "When Health Fails," examines rituals of

mourning and attitudes towards death. Early dentistry, veterinary medicine,

and the differing practices of midwives and obstetrical physicians are also

examined. "Picture of Health" illustrates not only the stark contrasts to

contemporary medicine, but also some interesting parallels. "Americans in both

centuries have longed for certainty and have sometimes distrusted the

established medical profession. Some of the earliest medical advice books were

published in the early 1800s, encouraging Americans to take greater

responsibility for their health, a practice that has continued today. And both

then and now, we see interest in herbal medicine and alternative treatment,"

said Wolverton.

"Picture of Health" is sponsored in part by the generous support of Fallon

Healthcare System and is included with admission to Old Sturbridge Village.

Admission is $16 for adults, $15 for seniors (age 65 and older), $8 for youths

(ages 6-15), and free for children under age 6. The village is located on

Route 20 near Exit 9 of the Mass. Turnpike (I-90) and Exit 2 off I-84. For

more information, call 1-800-SEE-1830 (TTY: 508/347-5383).