GOING TO THE DOCTOR IN THE OLD WEST
By Annee Jones
While writing my current novel, Dalton’s
Dual Brides, I began to wonder what people would do when they got sick. Were medical doctors available, or were untrained
pioneer women expected to care for the ill with nothing to rely on other than folk
medicine? I learned that both could be true,
as well as a number of other fascinating facts about how medicine was practiced
on the late 19th century frontier.
Because there was a shortage of professionals
among the settlers, anyone could pretend to be a doctor and promote whatever
treatment they wanted. In 1880,
Tombstone boasted a population of 2,000, with 12 doctors to care for the
residents. However, eight of the doctors
didn't have a medical license.
Many people believed the most
effective medicines were the most disgusting tasting. As a result, some doctors
recommended drinking turpentine or sulfur.
There are accounts from people who had their teeth fall out after taking
mercury, also called “quicksilver,” which could be prescribed for anything including
syphilis, parasites, melancholy, or constipation.
Bleeding was a common practice as
well, based on an ancient system in which it was thought that blood and other
bodily fluids (known as "humours") had to remain in proper balance to
maintain health. Though
bloodletting was often recommended by physicians, it was often carried out by none
other than barbers in the Old West!
I
was amazed to learn that the red-and-white-striped pole signifying a barbershop
is actually derived from this practice: the
red symbolizes blood while the white symbolizes the bandages.
As a romance author, I was
especially surprised to learn of the theory that bloodletting would cure
"heartsickness" and "heartbreak". A French physician, Jacques Ferrand wrote a
book in 1623 on the uses of bloodletting to cure a broken heart.
Superstitious people sometimes
believed doctors were performing the devil's work, and it was certainly
understandable why most people feared them and preferred to be treated at home
by family members they knew and trusted, often mothers and women.
This, combined with the shortage of
licensed professionals in the frontier opened the door for women to learn and
practice medicine professionally. In
1880, Dr. Bethenia Owens-Adair earned her MD from the University of Michigan before
moving to Oregon where she practiced medicine.
She wrote of the challenges she faced in the West:
“I carried on my professional work
as best I could in that out-of-the-way place; and at no time did I ever refuse a call, day or night, rain or shine. I was
often compelled to go on foot, through
trails so overhung with dense undergrowth, and obstructed with logs and roots, that a horse and rider could not get
past; and through muddy and flooded tide- lands
in gum boots."
Here
are some remedies that come from an 1845 manual written by an untrained doctor:
Old
West Remedy for:---DYSENTERY---
Dissolve
as much table salt in pure vinegar as will ferment and work clear. When the
foam is discharged cork it up in a bottle, and put it away for use. A large
spoonful of this in a gill of boiling water is efficacious in cases of
dysentery and cholic.
Old
West Remedy for:---CHILLS---
The
plant, commonly called hoarhound, is said to afford a certain cure. Boil it in
water, and drink freely of the tea.
Old
West Remedy for:---SORE THROAT, DIPTHERIA OR SCARLET FEVER---
Mix
in a common size cup of fresh milk two teaspoonfuls of pulverized charcoal and
ten drops of spirits of turpentine. Soften the charcoal with a few drops of
milk before putting into the cup. Gargle frequently, according to the violence
of the symptoms.
Old
West Remedy for:---ASTHMA RELIEF---
Take
the leaves of the stramonium (or Jamestown weed,) dried in the shade, saturated
with a pretty strong solution of salt petre, and smoke it so as to inhale the
fumes. It may strangle at first if taken too freely, but it will loosen the
phlegm in the lungs. The leaves should be gathered before frost.
Old
West Remedy for:---A TROUBLESOME COUGH---
Take
of treacle and the best white wine vinegar six tablespoonfuls each, add forty
drops of laudanum, mix it well, and put into a bottle. A teaspoonful to be
taken occasionally when the cough is troublesome. The mixture will be found
efficacious without the laudanum in many cases.
Old
West Remedy for:---A SICK HEADACHE---
One
teaspoonful of pulverized charcoal and one-third of a teaspoonful of soda mixed
in very warm water.
Old
West Remedy for:--A TOOTHACHE--
Powdered
alum will not only relieve the toothache, but prevent the decay of the tooth.
Salt may advantageously be mixed with the alum.
Old
West Remedy for:---CAMP ITCH---
Take
iodide of potassium, sixty grains, lard, two ounces, mix well, and after
washing the body well with warm soap suds rub the ointment over the person
three times a week. In seven or eight days the acarus or itch insect will be
destroyed. In this recipe the horrible effects of the old sulphur ointment are
obviated.
COVER
REVEAL: (COMING IN APRIL!!!)
A
naughty cat…a mixed-up matchmaker…an outlaw’s ghost…and now dueling brides -
what’s a cowboy to do?
AVAILABLE NOW FOR PREORDER:
A widowed controlling father….a blind but
rebellious daughter….can Caregiver Eliza Abraham help this family before
tragedy occurs?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QRDLPD6
About
me:
I
feel incredibly honored to work as a disability counselor and am excited to be
on a new journey as a Christian romance author. My upcoming books
feature people with disabilities as well as sweet romances, happy endings, and
Christian themes. You can follow me on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B08KSFSHX1
I
welcome the opportunity to connect with readers so please feel free to “Friend”
me on Facebook while my website and newsletter are currently being developed.
https://www.facebook.com/anne.k.jones.555
Sources:
1. The
Murderous Medical Practice of the 18th Century
2. Old
West Remedies
http://www.kids-n-cowboys.com/old-west-remedies.html
3. Bloodletting
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloodletting
4. What
Was Going to the Doctor Like in the Old West
https://www.ranker.com/list/wild-west-doctors/genevieve-carlton
I loved watching that show. Thanks for sharing all this wonderful information
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