Early Modern/Industrial : 1700-1900

• Continuity of the ideas of the cause of disease :

  • bleeding and purging
  • women still took care of the sick
• Change of the ideas of the cause of disease :

  • germs had been discovered
  • four humours was no longer believed in
• Pasteur's influence :

  • published the germ theory
  • challenged the idea of spontaneous generation
  • led to significant changes in surgery and better prevention of disease
• Germ Theory :

  • Pasteur argued bacteria was the cause of disease
  • wasn't able to identify the specific bacteria that caused individual diseases.
• Robert Koch and Microbes :

  • developed a new method of growing disease
  • discovered tuberculosis
  • discovery didn't make an immediate difference
  • improved methods of studying bacteria
• Change in care and treatment :

  • most people accepted germs caused disease
  • treatment needed to be focused on removing the germ
  • prevention became more important - people realised infection was everywhere
• Hospitals in 1900 :

  • cleanliness was the most important thing - cleaned germs using antiseptics
  • doctors were trained and got more hands-on experience
  • hospitals had officially became places for sick to be treated
  • different wards for different illnesses
• Florence Nightingale's impacts :

  • cleaning was important as she believed it got rid of germs
  • she helped keep patients alive during the Crimean War - death rate dropped massively
  • her nursing school concentrated teaching nurses practical skills
• Improvements in surgical treatment :

  • opium was used to calm patients down
  • antiseptic surgery was developed to stop infection
  • carbolic acid was a chemical that would clear bacteria
  • vaccination for smallpox
• Ideas about the causes of disease and illness

  • people still believed in miasma
  • spontaneous generation - bacteria is caused by decay of food
• Continuities of prevention and treatment :

  • still use of purging, praying, herbal remedies
  • illnesses were treated at home
• Changes in prevention and treatment :

  • doctors use drugs and herbal remedies to treat
  • provide poor with cheap medicine
  • chemical drugs began to develop
• Development of anaesthetics :

  • laughing gas helped reduce pain but patients weren't unconscious
  • James Simpson discovered chloroform which was effective but had serious side effects - sickness, bad taste, breathing problems
  • John Snow made the inhaler to control the chloroform dosage making it more safe
• Development of antiseptics :

  • Joseph Lister used carbolic acid to clean wounds and equipment, reducing infections
  • antiseptics were used more often, making surgeries safer and cleaner
• Vaccinations :

  • Edward Jenner discovered that cowpox could protect against smallpox by testing it on a young boy
  • Jenner’s vaccine for smallpox was the first successful vaccination, helping to reduce the spread of the disease of smallpox
  • it took years for people to fully accept and use vaccinations
• Cholera :

  • John Snow investigated a cholera outbreak in London and mapped cases to identify a contaminated water pump as the source
  • proved that cholera was spread through contaminated water, challenging the miasma theory of disease
  • Snow's work led to improvements in public health and the understanding of disease transmission, contributing to better sanitation