Yellow Fever 1793

Improved Essays
Imagine having a horrible sickness with nobody agreeing on how to treat the sickness. This is what many Yellow Fever victims had to go through in the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1793 in Philadelphia. Doctors all had different ideas of how to treat the Yellow Fever victims. Not to mention, many people did not know what the symptoms, causes, or treatments even were. While there are many different ideas on the symptoms, cures, and treatments, there are only some that are correct, such as the “French cure.”
There are many unknown symptoms of having the Yellow Fever. One of these symptoms are the victim’s skin and eyes turning yellow. When red blood cells were destroyed it caused yellowing of the skin and eyes in fever victims (Murphy, 14). Another
…show more content…
Some believed that the 1793 epidemic was caused by the ships coming into Philadelphia. “One of the theories, and thus, one of the rumors, is that it's coming in off of those boats” (WPVI-TV. “Fever 1793.”). Some more believed causes were miasmas or wastes. It was believed that the fever could be coming from the human waste or from rotting coffee beans (WPVI-TV. “Fever 1793.”). Neither of these theories are actually correct. In fact, the disease originates from mosquito bites.”The most dangerous illnesses associated with the Aedes are dengue fever and yellow fever” (“Dangers of the Aedes Mosquito.”). Those are some examples of theories of what causes the Yellow Fever and what actually causes the Yellow …show more content…
One way that was believed to help fever victims was bloodletting. Doctors such as Dr. Rush believed in emptying the body of bad blood (Murphy,61). Another way that was believed to cure fever victims was swallowing poison to clean out the body. “Rush would, in effect, poison a patient in order to produce extreme vomiting and diarrhea (61). The correct way of healing a Yellow Fever victim, however, is performing the”French Cure.” This treatment is all about helping the body to heal naturally by feeding them, providing a clean area, and offering medicine (Murphy,75). The “French Cure” is indeed the more correct way to treat Yellow Fever victims compared to bloodletting or

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    Yellow Fever and Human Experimentation As researchers traveled to Cuba to study the disease, United States Army researchers soon discovered the cause of Yellow Fever. Through the determination of Yellow Fever Experimentation Carols Finlay, decides to test his theory of mosquito transmission. This is what many historians or researches call a human experimentation in which a human of course takes into an act of manipulation of the body for further understandment. Lazer (another researcher) continues the experiment on other humans, unfortunately they soon fell ill.…

    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The way they would treat the infection was by bloodletting and according to wikipedia.com bloodletting is, “the withdrawal of blood from a patient to cure or prevent illness and disease. John Henry later passed from a stroke according to ibiblio.org. The Killer Angels is a very interesting book about the Civil War and the people who fought it. It was during a time where many lacked knowledge of cleanliness and many other medical practices.…

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Many patients that contracted the Yellow Fever, was bled by Benjamin Rush or other physicians, that believed the tactic worked. Rush believed that bloodletting people is an effort to reduce the body from inflammation. Consequently, Dr. Benjamin Rush and other physicians bled too much, leading to the patient fainting, or dying from the bloodletting instead of the fever. But, through Rush and physicians’ eyes, they believe the treatment was working.…

    • 1265 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    We know what caused it, a near-cure, where it came from, and how to prevent it. We know that the Aedes Aegypti, a type of mosquito, causes Yellow Fever. The mosquitos breed and lay their eggs in water and like to come out at night. The incest loves hot weather and comes out during that time. In 1793, though, they didn’t have a complete understanding of the disease.…

    • 1125 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mattie and her family are not aware of the wave of disease that is about to pass through the city of Philadelphia. Key Idea 1: The Fever A fever crashes down like a wave in the city of Philadelphia spreading incredibly fast among the people living there. Yellow fever is a disease that is spread by a species of infected mosquitos. A mild case of this disease can cause fever, headache, nausea, and vomiting, However, serious cases can cause fatal heart, liver, and kidney conditions. If diagnosed with yellow fever your body will feel pain in the abdomen and muscles, chills, fatigue, fever, and lose of appetite.…

    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Compare and Contrast Essay There are two different books, Fever 1793 and The Girl Who Owned A City, with main characters. I will be comparing those main characters, Mattie and Lisa. Lisa and Mattie are similar in many ways.…

    • 456 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The author’s purpose was explaining the influence of the smallpox and the way that Washington used to prevent the smallpox spread. Becker’s thesis was the impact of smallpox on the soldiers and on military strategy during the American Revolutionary War. I believe that the author did not challenge for the historical viewpoint.…

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The two ways to treat Yellow Fever are similar in these ways. First of all, they both use pain killing syrups and drinks, and encourage drinking fluids. The fluids include coffee and…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    They government wanted to stop the fear of the disease from spreading to other children. The types of children that they experiment on were children of color. Parents were misinformed about the treatment. At the hospital, children were given several…

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Bubonic Plague Dbq

    • 1430 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Middle Ages, a time period in Europe where the thriving society after the Roman Empire declined, and the population was affected by many of the ongoing conflicts. The time of the Middle Ages lasted from 500-1500 CE. Around 1339 in northwestern Europe, the population was beginning to outgrow the food supply and relentless economic crisis began to take place. The winters were extremely cold and the summers were dry. Due to this extreme weather, very few crops made it past harvest and those that grew were dying.…

    • 1430 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    This unfortunate misconception also unfairly assigned the association of filth and disease with those who were poor and underprivileged. The Cholera Epidemics of the 19th century clearly revealed a crises over immigration, ethnicity, poverty and class. Many blamed the underprivileged and impoverished as the root cause and spread of the disease without taking note of (now) commonly understood biological and sanitary factors. Today modern science can reveal the microbiological cause of cholera, but during the antebellum period, the spread of disease was blamed mostly and unfairly on the presumed behavioral shortcomings of underprivileged individuals instead of scientific facts.…

    • 1281 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Columbian Exchange

    • 456 Words
    • 2 Pages

    It is not just the old world; the new world introduced yellow fever to the old…

    • 456 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The first signs of this plague seemed like a common illnesses with little indication of the tragedy to come. The Black Death was caused by an infectious disease from bacteria called Yersinia pestis. Yertsinia pestis is a bacteria found mainly in rats, fleas, and rodents but easily transmitted to humans. One may conclude that the ships docking at the port of Messina was the cause for this dangerous plague. This terrifying disease was contagious and spread rapidly throughout Europe.…

    • 1337 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    China Gunpowder Essay

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the fourth century China began uding coal greatly as a fuel source. The Chinese called this new mineral (coal) “black earth”. And it wasn’t until the 19th century that the rest of the world was using coal as a fuel source too. By using coal to melt iron the Chinese could create steel which meant they could produce even better tools and weapons. Weapons became more advanced with steel-tipped arrows, swords, and armour.…

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Symptoms Of Yellow Fever

    • 227 Words
    • 1 Pages

    As yellow fever evolves it is infectious. The disease is endemic of America. Since there is no cure for the viral infection, medical treatment for yellow fever focuses on easing the symptoms like dehydration. There is a high risk of internal bleeding. Avoiding aspirin and other non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs if you suspect yellow fever.…

    • 227 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays