Abstract. In 1793, during a yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia, Benjamin Rush adopted a therapy that centered on rapid depletion through purgation and bleeding. His method, especially his reliance on copious bloodletting, was at first widely condemned, but many American practitioners eventually adopted it.
How did Benjamin Rush treat his patients?
Rush’s extreme treatment methods, centering on purging the body via bloodletting and vomiting, eventually earned criticism from some of his peers, who doubted the methods’ effectiveness.
How did the French doctors treat yellow fever?
Deveze’s “French cure” used stimulants and quinine and is somewhat similar to today’s treatments for yellow fever. People also soaked cloth in vinegar, carried twists of tobacco, fired rifles and smoked cigars, hoping the odors would overpower the “putrid miasma,” or bad air, that was thought to cause the disease.
What did Dr Benjamin Rush do?
Benjamin Rush, (born Jan. 4, 1746, [Dec. 24, 1745, Old Style], Byberry, near Philadelphia—died April 19, 1813, Philadelphia), American physician and political leader, a member of the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
How was yellow fever treated in the 1800s?
Those infected would be given treatments of bloodletting in hopes that the disease would be drained from the body. Although, nothing seemed to work until the city started to clean up its street and improving sanitation methods. The city’s efforts managed to erase the standing water areas.
How did Dr Benjamin Rush treat the mentally ill?
Benjamin Rush believed that mental diseases were caused by irritation of the blood vessels in the brain. His treatment methods included bleeding, purging, hot and cold baths, and mercury, and he invented a tranquilizer chair (pictured) and a gyrator for psychiatric patients.
Who was Dr Benjamin Rush and what role did he have in the yellow fever epidemic of 1793?
Doctor Benjamin Rush was a teacher, chemist, author humanitarian, politician, reformer, abolitionist, AND one of the youngest signers of the Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Rush did find his own treatment for Yellow Fever by October. By blood leeching and purging patients Dr. Rush decreased mortality.
What ended yellow fever?
The yellow fever epidemic was over. After World War II, the world had DDT in its arsenal of mosquito control measures, and mosquito eradication became the primary method of controlling yellow fever. Then, in the 1940s, the yellow fever vaccine was developed.
How is Mattie treated for yellow fever?
French doctors, like the one in charge of the hospital where Mattie is treated, believed in fresh air, rest, and a lot of fluids, and more of their patients recovered. Many of the French doctors had been to the West Indies and seen yellow fever before.
How did the tranquilizer chair work?
Pictured here is the “tranquilizing chair” in which patients were confined. The chair was supposed to control the flow of blood toward the brain and, by lessening muscular action or reducing motor activity, reduced the force and frequency of the pulse.
How did Jean deveze treat yellow fever?
Deveze believed that yellow fever was not contagious, and he felt that nature should be assisted rather than opposed, directly contradicting Benjamin Rush’s approach. Dr. Deveze’s treatment for patients with fever involved keeping them comfortable, administering quinine and perhaps sweetened wine and creamed rice.
What did Benjamin Rush do for the temperance movement?
Benjamin Rush took a logos approach to promoting temperance, noting the harmful physiological effects of alcohol. He did not appeal to pathos until the end of “The Effect of Ardent Spirits Upon Man,” when he described the moral depravity and social ills caused by alcohol consumption.
How did New Orleans get rid of yellow fever?
New Orleans was a city of epidemics, and yellow fever was the worst, with outbreaks occurring almost annually after 1825. It was thought to be caused by miasma—humid air acting on filthy, undrained soil. The theory led residents to burn tar and shoot cannons into the air as preventative measures to “purify” it.
Who developed yellow fever vaccine?
In 1951, Max Theiler of the Rockefeller Foundation received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of an effective vaccine against yellow fever—a discovery first reported in the JEM 70 years ago.
Is yellow fever still around in 2021?
In 2021, nine countries in the WHO African Region (Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic (CAR), Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ghana, Niger, Nigeria, and Republic of Congo,) reported human laboratory confirmed cases of yellow fever (YF) in areas that are at high risk for the disease and have
What is a tranquilizer chair?
a heavy wooden chair used in early psychiatry in which patients were strapped at the chest, abdomen, ankles, and knees, with their head inserted in a wooden box.
Is insulin shock therapy still used?
Insulin coma therapy went out of vogue with the introduction of antipsychotics in the 1960s. By that time, it had also been largely discredited and was on its way to being relegated to an embarrassing blip in the history of psychiatry.
Who was Dr Rush and why is he famous?
Benjamin Rush was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was also a doctor — arguably the most famous doctor in America — who became known as the American Hippocrates.
What did the government do during the yellow fever?
To protect the currency supply, the director of the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia suspended operations during each outbreak of yellow fever. Letters in the Mint’s archive show that he put workers on furlough with a guarantee of half pay for the two to three months that yellow fever lasted.
What was the WHO’s response to yellow fever?
The Eliminate Yellow Fever Epidemics (EYE) Strategy was developed to respond to the increased threat of yellow fever urban outbreaks with international spread. Steered by WHO, UNICEF, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, EYE supports 40 countries and involves more than 50 partners.
Does yellow fever still exist today?
Today, yellow fever is endemic in tropical and subtropical regions of South America and Africa. While the development of a yellow fever vaccine (Theiler won a Nobel prize for this work) has saved countless lives over the years, the global burden of this disease is still high.
