Duringthetimesofearly America bacteriaandviruseswere responsible formostdiseases. Furthermore, there wasvery littlelink between unsanitary conditionsanddisease. The followingpassages from StratfordHall. Org giveexamplesof the diseases, conditionsandtreatments that Early Americans faced during the 18th Century: A Colonial teenagerfaced astruggle for existence. Theaverage life expectancy was undertwenty-fiveyears. Diseasessuchas smallpox, malaria, tuberculosis, pneumonia, influenza, rickets, and fevers caused many deathsinchildren and adults. Wells for drinking water were often contaminated bynearby priviesandunpennedanimals, causingmany illnesses.
Colonial homeshadnobathroom,septic system,orrunning water. Chamber pots, hiddenunderbedsandinside chests,performedthe function of today’s toilets. Slaves would dump the contents of the pots daily. Outdoor toilets of wood or brick, called privies, sometimes had four or more holesfor largerfamilies. The waste pits belowtheprivieswere normally cleaned by chickens; sometimes slaves would have to shovel out the pits. Peopleinthisperiodwereaccustomed toliving withsmells that wewould consider extremely unpleasant.
Today most peoplebathe orshower daily,apracticethatadults and children of the colonial period would have considered odd. They did not believe inbathingeveryday,orevenevery week. They felt that bathing 1 washed away the layer of dirt that was their protection against germs and disease. Most baths consistedof washingwitha clothdippedintoa basin of water. When washing in warm water was desired, water had to be heated in thefireplace. Nochemicaldeodorantsor anti-antiperspirantsmasked body odors;however, since nearlyeveryonesharedthesamestandardof cleanliness, odors werenot asoffensive.
Pomanders,tussie-mussies, colognes,and lavender andother fragrantherbs used asairfreshenersall helped to make indoor odors tolerable. Women as Caregiver Healthcareduring eighteenth centurywasnotlikeit istoday. Mostof the healthcarewasprovided by the women inthehomealongwiththeir otherresponsibilities such astaking care ofthehousekeeping andcaring for thechildren. Despitethefactthatthey rarely received formaltraining they servedasnurses, doctors,dentistandpharmacistfortheiron families and neighbors. Theonlytrainingthey receivedwas from watching their mothers andgrandmotherstakecareof thesick.
Thewomenweretaught how togrowmedicinalherbsinthekitchen andmakeup different concoctionsfordifferentremediesby using all the availableresources they had orcould find nearby. Somewomenpracticedmedicineoutside oftheirhomes tohelp othersintheircommunityandwhen they beganpreparing,prescribing, and advertisingcures forcertaindiseases some of thewomenhadtocompete against the males. They started dominating the field of medicine. During the 2 Revolutionary War,women servedas nursesso that more mencould fight in thewar. Thewomentookcareof the woundedandthe sick bydressing wounds,cleaningbeds, cooking, preparingandadministeringmedicine.
They also received compensation and rations for their service. Medical Care Among Slaves Accordingto David McBride, “For theslaves,‘real’ healthcaremore oftenthannotwas aresult offolkhealers,grandmothermidwives,lay nurses, socialnetworkssuchaschurches,andforpregnant slaves,female networks. ”In makingthiscomment,McBride issayingslaves received healthcare treatment from folk healers, grandmother midwives and so on. Slaveswereaccustomed todealingwith everyday ailmentswith traditionalremediesthathavebeenpassed down the family linein hisor her culture.
But,even so,theEuropeanmasters believedintreating sicknessdifferently from theslavesthemselves,theyoften insistedthat theirslaves use their Europeanremediesinsteadoftheir own. Giventhat they had paid agreatdealof money for their slaves,theywereconcerned thatthey neededtostay healthy, or elsetheir investment wouldbe awaste of money. Healthcare During Wartimes Medicine duringtheRevolutionary War wasnotas advanceas medicine istoday. Duringwartimesthere were alackofmedicalsupplies as well asa lack ofpeople tocareforthe sick. TheRevolutionary Warhad campsurgeons that caredfor thosewounded inbattleaswellas caringfor 3 the camp’s diseased soldiers.
The surgeonskept aconstant checkon the conditionsof the camp inan attempttoridthe camp ofunsanitary conditionsthatmightleadtodisease. Some ofthemostcommon diseases suffered by soldiers of the Revolutionary War were dysentery, diarrhea, fever, and smallpox. In the 18thcentury Diarrhea anddysentery were treated as disease. Many of the illnesses were due to unsanitary conditions in the camp. In Conclusion Medicine and healthcare in the Early American have come along way. Women have many jobs intoday’ssociety and they are nolonger arejust consideredas caregiversandweno longerhaveslaves butwestilluse someoftheir medicalremediestoday.
Most ofallmedicineduringwartime are very up to date on technology. 4 Works Citied Spruill, Julia Cherry. Women’s Life and Work in the Southern Colonies. New York: W. W. Norton, 1998. 464. Print. Stratfordhall. org. 2012 Stratford Hall Plantation. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://www. stratfordhall. org/educational-resources/teacher- resources/medicine-health/>. McBride, David. “Slavery AsIt Is:” MedicineAndSlavesOfThePlantation South. ” OAH Magazine Of History 19. 5 (2005): 36-39. History Reference Center. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. 5.