Surgeon’s Day Room

Surgeon’s Day Room. Fort Stanwix National Monument. , In a room such as this, the fort surgeon would have diagnosed the sick and treated the day-to-day illnesses of the garrison. The main illnesses were muscle strain due to the constant hard labor needed to run the fort, and infectious diseases contracted in the crowded and unfavorable conditions prevalent at the fort., Treatments were agonizing and dangerous: a common treatment for all ills was bloodletting, which was thought to rid the body of disease., ( Sidebar : ) , A Description of Bloodletting , Place patient’s hand in hot water to swell veins. , Tie a cloth tape at the pulse area of the wrist. , Patient opens and closes hand two or three times to increase swelling. , Patient’s hand is stretched open and the vein is pierced lengthwise with a small knife called a lancet. , The patient’s hand is dipped in hot water to make the blood flow freely and the cloth tape is loosened to allow the “impure” blood to escape.