Many of the colonists were just not educated enough to take proper care of themselves. There were also very few doctors, and even they lost more patients then they saved. Many colonists also believed that many sicknesses were due to punishments by God or the doings of evil spirits.
Why All the Health Problems
Colonial America had major problems with sanitation. In fact, they did not know that poor sanitation was the cause for many of the illnesses that were taking place. Furthermore, colonial homes had no bathrooms or running water. Their toilet was either a chamber pot they kept under beds or what they called a privy. A privy was an outdoor toilet made of wood or brick. Drinking wells were contaminated by discarding toilet waste into streams and creeks.
Another problem the colonials had was they seldom if ever bathed. They felt that bathing washed away the layer of dirt that was their protection against germs and disease. When they did bathe, it consisted of washing with a cloth dipped into a basin of water. As we know today, this behavior could actually spread germs and bacteria instead of ridding them.
Medicines of Colonial America
Doctors were first recognized in 1769. They were often only educated to take care of broken bones, prescribe herbs and hard liqueur, and vanquish evil spirits. In fact, very few doctors had any formal training or learned from other physicians in an unformal setting. Doctors were generally set apart to take care of chronically ill patients only.
Most of the family illnesses were treated at home. They kept a large stock of different medicinal herbs and herbal remedies. Mom was the designated "doctor" of the house, and she kept her remedies listed in a journal that she would often to refer back to when treatment was needed. Some families would write to England to for medical advice.
Common Colonial Diseases
The average life expectancy of a colonist was 25 years of age. Some of the more common diseases they fell prey to were:
- Small pox
- Chilblain - a swelling of the hands and feet due to exposure of extreme cold.
- Pneumonia
- Scarlet Fever
- Rickets - disease of the bones caused from a deficiency of calcium or vitamin D in their diet or from lack of sunlight.
- Cholera - caused by feces contaminated food and water. It is an infectious disease that causes severe diarrhea, vomiting, and muscle cramps. The severe dehydration that occurs led to shock and death.
- Diphtheria - spread by infected milk and caused extreme difficulty in breathing, a high fever and weakness
- Dropsy - abnormal collection of fluids in parts of the body
A lot of times if a colonist was injured an infection would set in and turn to gangrene. Another health problem the colonists had was called Milksick. It was a form of poisoning caused by the cows eating the leaves of the white snakeroot plant and passing along its toxins into the milk.
Some Unusual Cures
To staunch bleeding colonists would take a piece of salt beef and roast it in hot ashes to clean it. Then they would put the beef into a wound and the bleeding would stop.
Cottonweed boiled in lye was thought to keep away ticks and lice. Colonists would lay it among clothes to keep away moths as well. It was also thought if you put some in a pipe and it would relieve headaches and coughs.
Dittany was thought to bring away dead children and hastens women’s travail. The smell of it was thought to drive away venomous animals. Colonists used it as a remedy for poison weapons and to draw out splinters and broken bones.
The American colonists really had a rough time of it. With all the unsanitary conditions, the diseases they brought with them from Europe, and their so-called cures, it’s a wonder America grew and prospered at all. But, medical advances were made each year through the centuries, which has brought us to where we are today.
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