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How did Benjamin Rush treat his patients?
He was probably a sensitive, caring, concerned physician, who sometimes helped and usually comforted his patients. His writings reflect a strongly paternalistic view of the physician-patient relationship (4). Rush married Julia Stockton, age 16, in 1776.
What did Benjamin Rush do for occupational therapy?
Rush also was a pioneer in the yet-to-be established field of occupational therapy, regularly encouraging patients to sew, garden, listen to music or exercise during the day. Dr. Rush's work as a scholar and author began at the age of seventeen, when he translated Hippocrates' Aphorisms into English.
How did French doctors treat yellow fever?
Deveze's “French cure” used stimulants and quinine and is somewhat similar to today's treatments for yellow fever. People also soaked cloth in vinegar, carried twists of tobacco, fired rifles and smoked cigars, hoping the odors would overpower the “putrid miasma,” or bad air, that was thought to cause the disease.
What role did Dr Benjamin Rush play in the yellow fever?
Doctor Benjamin Rush was a teacher, chemist, author humanitarian, politician, reformer, abolitionist, AND one of the youngest signers of the Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Rush did find his own treatment for Yellow Fever by October. By blood leeching and purging patients Dr. Rush decreased mortality.
How did the tranquilizer chair work?
Pictured here is the "tranquilizing chair" in which patients were confined. The chair was supposed to control the flow of blood toward the brain and, by lessening muscular action or reducing motor activity, reduced the force and frequency of the pulse.
What is a tranquilizer chair?
a heavy wooden chair used in early psychiatry in which patients were strapped at the chest, abdomen, ankles, and knees, with their head inserted in a wooden box.
What medicines and cures were used for yellow fever in 1793?
Balm Tea: A liquid or semi-liquid substance, often fragrant, that soothes through being applied to the skin, eaten, or drunk. Benjamin Rush: Famous Philadelphia patriot, doctor, and public figure who treated many patients during the 1793 Yellow Fever epidemic.
What did Dr Rush suggest as the best way to treat yellow fever?
Abstract. In 1793, during a yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia, Benjamin Rush adopted a therapy that centered on rapid depletion through purgation and bleeding. His method, especially his reliance on copious bloodletting, was at first widely condemned, but many American practitioners eventually adopted it.
How was yellow fever treated in the 1800s?
Those infected would be given treatments of bloodletting in hopes that the disease would be drained from the body. Although, nothing seemed to work until the city started to clean up its street and improving sanitation methods. The city's efforts managed to erase the standing water areas.
What is the vaccine called for yellow fever?
A yellow fever vaccine called Stamaril® is available to protect you against yellow fever. In addition, certain countries require you to produce a yellow fever certificate to enter the country.
How did the yellow fever stop?
The yellow fever epidemic was over. After World War II, the world had DDT in its arsenal of mosquito control measures, and mosquito eradication became the primary method of controlling yellow fever. Then, in the 1940s, the yellow fever vaccine was developed.
How is mother treated for yellow fever?
Dr. Kerr says that Mother must be bled in order to let the fever leave her body. He then suggests that Matilda leave the city to avoid the illness. Grandfather and Matilda make plans to go to the Ludingtons'.
What was Boerhave's cure?
Boerhave’s “cure” was to bleed his patients, which in turn reduced the friction and fever. In addition to time spent with Boerhave’s theories, Rush studied under William Cullen, a teacher at Edinburgh who had developed a theory that disease was caused by “nervous excitation” and its effect on bodily solids. [41] .
What was Rush's theory of disease?
Rush would combine the philosophies of Boerhave and Cullen to develop his own “monistic explanation for disease”, which he felt was caused by a “hyperactive state of the arteries . . . called hypertension (fever – in modern terminology). [42]
How many pints of blood did Rush have?
Rush believed that blood letting was a universal cure for all ills (even mental problems), and felt that a patient could be bled of 6-8 pints over several days (the body only contains 12 pints), with the blood replenishing itself in a day or two. [46] .
How old was Benjamin Rush when he graduated college?
In the month of September 1760 [Rush] was admitted to the degree of Batchelor of Arts.”. [30] Benjamin Rush was fifteen years old when he graduated college, and had planned to pursue a legal career. Upon the advice of his former teacher Reverend Finley, he decided to become a physician instead.
What was Rush's favorite purge inducer?
Rush’s favorite “purge inducer” was calomel, a “profound intestinal irritant which [he] administered in whopping doses.”. [48] Calomel was a white tasteless power which consisted of mercury chloride. When taken in small doses calomel led to the evacuation of the bowels.
What was the state of medicine in 1803?
The state of American medicine in 1803 was deplorable by modern standards . According to Dr. Chuinard, “Bacteriology, hygiene, and preventative medicine were unknown sciences.” [19] To this, Dr. Peck adds that the “concepts of germs, contagious diseases, and parasites”, of which we are familiar today, were unheard of. [20] “Infectious illness in various forms took staggering numbers of people into early graves, often with a helpful push from their learned physicians. The viral diseases of smallpox, measles, influenza, and yellow fever mercilessly” killed millions, while parasitic diseases like malaria and typhoid infected millions more. [21] There was little that the average colonist could do to combat disease, and it was unlikely that most would ever see old age. Ailments such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease which we associate with the aged, were virtually unknown in the 18th and 19th centuries.
When did Morgan and Shippen start teaching medicine?
They approached the College of Philadelphia in 1765 with an idea for adding a medical school to their program. This was accomplished in November of the same year, with Morgan teaching the theory and practice of medicine, and Shippen teaching anatomy. [33] .
What did Benjamin Rush order?
What the Doctor Ordered: Dr. Benjamin Rush Responds to Yellow Fever. One of the most difficult concepts for students to grasp when studying the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1793 is why Philadelphia’s doctors—among the most accomplished in North America—failed to understand the disease’s origin and method of transmission.
Who discovered glyster?
It was named after Dutch/German chemist Johann Rudolf Glauber (1604-1670), who discovered it in spring water. Once used as a cathartic and diuretic, it is no longer used for medicinal purposes. Glyster: An enema. Also known as clyster, a substance injected into the lower intestines to encourage discharge of waste.
What is a doctor's powder?
Physician: A medical doctor. Powder: Dried, crushed medicinal mixtures of various herbs and chemicals. They were dissolved in liquids (either alcohols or water). The medicines described in Rush’s letters as “powders” are most likely diuretics and/or purgatives designed to rid the body of Yellow Fever.
What did Rush do?
Rush was a leader of the American Enlightenment and an enthusiastic supporter of the American Revolution.
What was Rush's practice of psychiatry based on?
.... Rush's practice of psychiatry was based on bleeding, purging, and the use of the tranquilizer chair and gyrator. By 1844 these practices were considered erroneous and abandoned.
What did Rush propose to women?
After the Revolution, Rush proposed a new model of education for elite women that included English language, vocal music, dancing, sciences, bookkeeping, history, and moral philosophy. He was instrumental to the founding of the Young Ladies' Academy of Philadelphia, the first chartered women's institution of higher education in Philadelphia. Rush saw little need for training women in metaphysics, logic, mathematics, or advanced science; rather he wanted the emphasis on guiding women toward moral essays, poetry, history, and religious writings. This type of education for elite women grew dramatically during the post-revolutionary period, as women claimed a role in creating the Republic. And so, the ideal of Republican motherhood emerged, lauding women's responsibility of instructing the young in the obligations of patriotism, the blessings of liberty and the true meaning of Republicanism. He opposed coeducational classrooms and insisted on the need to instruct all youth in the Christian religion.
Why is Benjamin Rush on Navy Hill?
Statue of Benjamin Rush on " Navy Hill " which is, due to security, in a section of Washington, DC inaccessible to tourists and foot traffic.
What was Rush's anti capital punishment?
Anti-capital punishment. Rush deemed public punishments such as putting a person on display in stocks, common at the time, to be counterproductive. Instead, he proposed private confinement, labor, solitude, and religious instruction for criminals, and he opposed the death penalty.
What was Rush's reaction to the sight of slave ships?
In 1766, when Rush set out for his studies in Edinburgh, he was outraged by the sight of 100 slave ships in Liverpool harbor. As a prominent Presbyterian doctor and professor of chemistry in Philadelphia, he provided a bold and respected voice against the slave trade.
Where is Benjamin Rush Elementary School?
Legacy. Benjamin Rush Elementary School in Redmond, Washington was named by its students for him. The Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush magnet high school in Philadelphia was established in 2008. Rush County, Indiana is named for him as is its county seat, Rushville.
What was Rush's pamphlet entitled?
In 1784 Rush published a pamphlet entitled, An Inquiry Into the Effects of Ardent Spirits on the Human Mind and Body. In it he described how one might fall prey to the disease wrought by overconsumption of alcohol.
Who was the first doctor to talk about alcoholism?
Rush was, according to Green, one of the first doctors to talk about alcoholism as a progressive disease, and one of the first people to suggest that in order to kick the habit, addicts should go away somewhere to sober up.
Why did Americans drink more after the Revolution?
Following the Revolution, Americans began drinking more due to the greater commercialization of grain. Emma Green at The Atlantic, explains: Over the next four decades, Americans kept drinking steadily more, hitting a peak of 7.1 gallons of pure alcohol per person per year in 1830.
Where were the art stolen during the Nazi occupation?
During the Nazi occupation of France, many valuable works of art were stolen from the Jeu de Paume museum and relocated to Germany. One brave French woman kept detailed notes of the thefts
Who was the doctor who signed the Declaration of Independence?
Then a doctor named Benjamin Rush came along. Green explains that Rush, a devout Christian, was worried about the ways alcohol might threaten the newly formed America — a nation he cared deeply about, as one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Was alcohol a cure all?
And alcohol wasn't just consumed in bars, either. It was prescribed as part of treatment for some ailments, and in some places it was also safer and cleaner than many water sources. And along with it being a cure-all and a water replacement, the 19 th century brought with it a lot of medical alcohol quackery.
Overview
Notes
1. ^ "Benjamin Rush: 1745–1813: Representing Pennsylvania at the Continental Congress". Signers of the Decl of Independence. ushistory.org. Archived from the original on February 7, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
2. ^ Renker, Elizabeth M. (1989). "'Declaration-Men' and the Rhetoric of Self-Presentation". Early American Literature. 24 (2): 123 and n. 10 there. JSTOR 25056766.
Early life and career
Rush was born to John Rush and Susanna Hall on January 4, 1746 (December 24, 1745 O.S.). The family, of English descent, lived on a farm in the Township of Byberry in Philadelphia County, about 14 miles outside of Philadelphia (the township was incorporated into Philadelphia in 1854). Rush was the fourth of seven children. His father died in July 1751 at age 39, leaving his mother, who …
Revolutionary period
Rush was active in the Sons of Liberty and was elected to attend the provincial conference to send delegates to the Continental Congress. Thomas Paine consulted Rush when writing the profoundly influential pro-independence pamphlet Common Sense. Starting in 1776, Rush represented Pennsylvania and signed the Declaration of Independence. He also represented Philadelphia at P…
Controversy
Rush criticized General George Washington in two handwritten but unsigned letters while still serving under the surgeon general. One, to Virginia Governor Patrick Henry dated October 12, 1778, quotes General Thomas Conway saying that if not for God's grace the ongoing war would have been lost by Washington and his weak counselors. Henry forwarded the letter to Washington, despite Rush's request that the criticism be conveyed orally, and Washington recognized the han…
Post-Revolution
In 1783, he was appointed to the staff of Pennsylvania Hospital, and he remained a member until his death. He was elected to the Pennsylvania convention which adopted the Federal constitution and was appointed treasurer of the United States Mint, serving from 1797 to 1813. He was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1788.
Corps of Discovery
In 1803, Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis to Philadelphia to prepare for the Lewis and Clark Expedition under the tutelage of Rush, who taught Lewis about frontier illnesses and the performance of bloodletting. Rush provided the corps with a medical kit that included:
• Turkish opium for nervousness
• emetics to induce vomiting
Reforms
In 1766, when Rush set out for his studies in Edinburgh, he was outraged by the sight of 100 slave ships in Liverpool harbor. As a prominent Presbyterian doctor and professor of chemistry in Philadelphia, he provided a bold and respected voice against the slave trade. He warmly praised the ministry of "Black Harry" Hosier, the freedman circuit rider who accompanied Bishop Francis Asbury during the establishment of the Methodist Church in America, but the highlight of his invol…