In my new work-in-progress, the hero is a late nineteenth century physician. This character originally appeared as a minor character, a friend of the hero, in my 2009 Civil War romance, Confederate Rose. In that novel, he served as a physician in the Union army, but now practices at home in a small Pennsylvania town in a rural setting.
In the story, he travels to his patients’ homes to treat illnesses and wounds caused by accidents.
The late eighteen-hundreds saw many advances in both medical knowledge and technology. As a result, the medical profession itself went through drastic changes. The acceptance of germs causing diseases, unheard of before the nineteenth century, along with research of the human body and development of specialized tools, caused a revolution in treatments of illness. The practice of hygiene, put into use during the American Civil War, aided patients and improved outcomes for recovery.
Late nineteenth century physicians visited patients’ homes or occasionally worked out of an office in their own home. Doctors in rural areas needed to be able to travel in a wide area. Doctors would travel by foot or horseback and needed to carry tools and drugs they could pack into a small case or saddlebag.
During the Industrial Revolution, hospitals in big cities were looked on as being dirty, breeding grounds for disease and infection. Because doctors didn’t practice methods for keeping germs from spreading from patient to patient, a hospital stay would likely cause a person to contract a new disease, so people avoided them.
Because most doctors worked in large geographic areas, they were expected to treat such ailments as toothaches, stomach aches, fevers and even sick livestock. It wasn’t until later in the century that doctors developed specialties in medicine.
Even surgical procedures would be carried out in a patient’s home. Anesthesia was not widely in use until the end of the century, so complex surgeries weren’t usually performed. And the types of anesthesia available, ether or chloroform, could asphyxiate a patient. Antiseptic practices also weren’t common until the turn of the century, so a surgical risk of infection after the fact ran high.
To learn more about nineteenth century physicians and advances in medicine, visit these sites:
http://rosemelnickmuseum.wordpress.com/2009/03/11/19th-century-doctors-in-the-us/
http://suite101.com/article/19th-century-advances-in-medicine-a172276
In another hundred years, people will think our current medical practices are horrific, but I’m glad I am living now instead of in the 19th century or earlier, aren’t you? Great post, Susan.
Thanks, Caroline! And I sure am! It’s hard to believe physicians still practiced bloodletting that late.
We’re been watching Murdock Mysteries [A Canadian programme] and last night they had a dentist featured – very scary – especially as that’s where we’re going today. Ugh.
I hear you, Maddy! But I’m sure your 21st century experience will be much better than those poor souls in the 19th.