Gesundheit!

Gesundheit!. Illness on the Erie Canal. The Erie Canal was completed in 1825 and transformed travel and trade but it also became a source of disease in the nineteenth century. Contaminated water, mosquitoes, poor sanitation, and close proximity among passengers allowed illnesses to be spread far and wide due to the canals extensive geographical reach. Outbreaks sometimes led to panic and discrimination against immigrants traveling on the canal, who were often blamed as the source of these illnesses., Medical knowledge and treatment options were much more limited in the nineteenth century. Germ theory-the idea that bacteria, viruses, and other microscopic organisms were responsible for illnesses-did not become widely accepted until the 1890s. The understanding and usage of vaccines was uncommon prior to 1914. Penicillin, the first widely adopted antibiotic, was not used until 1945, "Sickness and disease are produced by the foul odors arising from the waters of the (Erie Canal] as they pass through [Lockport]. Men in the mills and machine shops have been driven from their work and made sick by these odors, while the whole air is pregnant with disgusting contamination." - Lockport Daily Journal, August 2, 1882, The Great Epizootic , Between October 1872 and March 1873, an outbreak of horse influenza known as The Great Epizootic swept across North Americe, debilitating horses, mules. and donkeys. These animals were essential for moving goods and people; without them cities and economies ground to a halt. Boats full of passengers, goods, and produce came to a standstill and backed up all along the Erie Canal., [Illustration Caption: ] Ruined, and winter at the door- an episode of the horse plague, Paul Frenzeny, 1872. from Harper's Weekly, November 23, 1872. Internet Archive, With few options available, many people turned to patent medicines. Common in the nineteenth century. these over-the-counter treatments for a wide range of illnesses were often unproven, untested, and sometimes dangerous. It was not until 1906 that the Pure Food and Drugs Act was passed, and the Food and Drug Administration was created to enforce safety standards for medicine., [ Illustration Captions: ] , Hostetter's Celebrated Stomach Bitters advertisement, Ann Arbor Argus-Democrat, May 15, 1903. Ann Arbor District Library , Disease Breeding!, The Buffalo Enquirer, June 15, 1897. Newspapers.com, Waterborne Illnesses , Typhoid Fever – Bacteria - high fever, headache, belly pain, constipation or diarrhea , Dysentery - Bacteria and Parasites - fever, abdominal pain and cramps, malaise, bloody diarrhea , Cholera – Bacteria - vomiting, severe diarrhea, dehydration, Mosquito-Borne Illnesses , Malaria - Single-celled Organism - fever, chills, sweating nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, mental confusion , Yellow Fever – Virus - fever, chills, headache, bleeding, possible failure of the liver, kidney, or heart, Respiratory Diseases , Smallpox – Virus - fever, fatigue, muscle aches, blisters appear on body and may leave scars , Measles – Virus - fever, cough, runny nose. inflamed eyes, sore throat. red, blotchy skin rash , Whooping Cough (Pertussis) – Bacteria – fever, cough (sometimes violent and exhausting), runny nose, fatigue, vomiting, Other Diseases , Typhus - Bacteria-spread by fleas, lice, ticks, and chiggers - high fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle ache , Scarlet Fever – Bacteria - high fever, sore throat, bright red rash over