How Does Chloroform Affect Society During The 18th Century

The work of these two men changed the contemporary views on how disease was spread. By solving the cholera mystery, they helped contribute to making the world safe for bigger cities. Over the next few years a lot of changes were made. Both the medical and public health establishments latched onto Snow’s waterborne theory and through one of the greatest feats in engineering history, London started the process of making an entirely new sewer system. This, along with other precautions such as boiling water that was suspected to be contaminated, brought an end to city-wide choleric outbreaks. Besides the improvements in sewage, the improvements of sanitary conditions all around greatly diminished the spread of disease and held a major part in making the modern city possible. Overall, it turned out that something that was once horrendous and deadly for a massive amount of people, eventually turned out to be helpful for the future of mankind. (Johnson)

The news of Marilyn Monroe’s death began to spread. Newspapers were seen everywhere with her bright, smiling face and the giant, bolded letters of ‘death’ stamped on the front pages. Even The New York Times published a newspaper article titled “Marilyn Monroe Dead, Pills Near.” In this article, Dr. Theodore J. Curphey, the coroner, declares Monroe’s death to have not been from natural causes: “After an autopsy the Los Angeles coroner reported that Miss Monroe's ‘was not a natural death.’ He attributed it to a drug” (“Marilyn Monroe Dead, Pills Near”). Her death seemed to be the typical case of overdosing on barbiturates with traces of chloral hydrate which are both sedatives or sleeping pills (Los Angeles County Coroner’s Mortuary, 1962). There

Robin Yates’s paper, “Pregnancy and Childbirth, The 1800’s vs. Now: What to Expect When You’re Not Expecting,” was filled with many clear points on the advancement of labor and medicine since the 1800s. This essay was filled with interesting and grabbing facts; however, the structure of the essay needs more support.

This report recommended that the government should organise proper drainage and refuse collection, provide a pure water supply and appoint a Medical Officer of Health. However, these changes were not implemented until thirty years later when Parliament finally agreed. There were a number of reasons why the government's view of health conditions in towns changed in the 1870's. The health in towns was still very bad and there were a number of cholera epidemics, including the famous one where Dr. John Snow linked cholera to polluted water. In 1861, Pasteur proved that germs cause decay.

He linked the common illness cholera to people whom drank from the wells. He observed those getting ill and which areas and pumps they drank from and recorded it on a map, he was then able to establish all those getting ill were in fact drinking from the same pump, and consequently in 1854 John Snow removed the handle of the Broad Street pump and ceased the epidemic of Cholera in Soho, London

Dr. John Snow was known as an intelligent physician who had a background with anesthesia advancements. He believed that cholera was a waterborne disease and that it was contaminated by the sewage. Snow’s goal was to convince others about the issue and stop it from spreading. His theory about the intestinal disease, in which was published in 1849 in an article, was laughed at and many doctors believed that his idea was “wrong” and they continued to believe that it was airborne. He wanted to prove many wrong and begin to further research and experiment the disease.

It is clear by reviewing the article that the author is very much concerned with the well-being of women at this particular time. She mentions that some “doctors showed themselves more interested in protecting themselves than in caring for their patient.” McLaren also goes into detail with examples to show how the doctors would threaten their patients. Like for instance, Stewart Murrow threatened his dying patient Jennie Young that he would not treat her for septic poisoning if she didn’t name the person who performed the operation. Another case is the Sarah Robins affair where she was stimulated with drugs so as to declare the person who performed the operation. Some doctors saw themselves as the authorities. If a woman were dying in a hospital as the result of a bungled abortion, a statement was taken if only to protect the doctor and the hospital staff. This is why McLaren feels it wasn’t fair for women that doctors were too concerned for their reputation rather than the women who needed their help. McLaren also argues that methods of contraception were very expensive, for example the condom.

Martha Ballard, a famous Maine midwife, attended more than eight hundred births during her twenty-seven year tenure as sole midwife to her community. She journaled regularly over the course other adult life, yielding nearly ten thousand diary entries in total. This archive provides an unparalleled look into the role of the midwife in the delivery process. Additionally, several of Martha Ballard’s patients, especially one Mrs. Weston (sometimes referred to as Mrs. Williams) who exhibited symptoms of puerperal insanity such as “deriliam.” Ballard notes that her condition may be the result of both physical and emotional trauma.

During 1800’s society was dynamic because of the comparisons of risks with using chloroform. With a wide range of confusion amongst the public but despite this religions had mixed views about chloroform some would refuse its use and others had no reasons for their opinion whereas others have no concerns due to the Queens uses. Few religions views had the support of media whereas others supported Simpson’s views and medical support was varied, but widely discussed but most of them felt that chloroform was unethical. The Church of England preached against the use of chloroform but their views began to change once the Queen utilized chloroform. A journalist for New Vision walked into a chemist and brought half a litre of chloroform then repeated

The story takes place during an epidemic outbreak that spread rapidly as well as vigorously. Steven Johnson begins the book in London during the nineteenth century (1854). The book discusses the contaminated conditions in England. More than two million people were living within a 10 mile radius. In particular, he starts by painting a picture of the lower class. He calls them rag-gatherers, deredgermen, bone-pickers, myud-larks, night soil men, and more. The main character in the story is a man named Dr. John Snow. While everyone is convinced that people are dying because of the terrible smell, Snow spends his time trying to prove that the smell isn’t what’s killed people. He didn’t know it at first, but research and proof supporting his research proved time and time again that it was a bigger deal than smell. In his book, Johnson says,“Great breakthroughs are closer to what happens in a floodplain: a dozen separate tributaries converge, and the rising waters lift the genius high enough that he or she can see around the conceptual obstructions of the age.” (pg. 149). His belief was that cholera, a disease commonly spread through water is what’s causing all the deaths. Johnson gives the reader a view of Snow’s day to day efforts of proving himself. And although, Dr. Snow played a colossal part in this story, Reverend Henry Whitehead, whose expanded knowledge of the

Until the early nineteenth century, only a few tools existed to detect or extract a toxic substance from a corpse. As a result, many murderers walked away freely, and the number of deaths continued to rise. The chemical revolution of the 1800s changed the ease of such killings as scientists learned to isolate and identify the basic elements by gradually building a catalog known as the Periodic Table of Elements, but the very science that made it possible to identify the old poisons also made available a lethal array of new ones.

The hygiene movement helped in the avoidance of communicable diseases, diseases for example cholera, tuberculosis and water illnesses in large part by modifying the people surroundings. In the 1850s, John Snow assisted in recognized the importance in data collection and documentation. His actions terminated an outbreak of cholera in a district of London. Using the same methodology Ignaz Semmelweis, applied it to restraint fever of childbirth a major source of maternal mortality. The reason that this was happening was that after physicians worked on the death bodies, usually they did not wash their and delivered babies and contaminating both, the mother and the baby.

Cummins then listed her third example which was Lysol, an incredibly acidic product which can cause skin irritation. According to Cummins, before the legalization of birth control in 1972, women used Lysol. She goes on to explain how the acidic solution was just as corrosive on feminine parts as it would be on an individual’s hands when cleaning. Also, she states that by 1911 there were at least five fatalities due to uterine irrigation as reported by Mother

Queen Victoria regularly fought with her doctors about chloroform as the Queen wanted to use it during her births, this battle ended on April 7th 1853 after the Queen inhaled chloroform for 53 minutes while giving birth to Prince Leopold. Professor Charles Meigs advised the Queen about the risks of anaesthesia and the complications it could cause. When the Queen was again pregnant in 1850, the doctors considered the idea of using Dr. Snow but instead the prudence won and the Queen was once again denied chloroform (Poovey, 1986). The perspective of chloroform changed and doctors grew confident in the uses and in addition to this Prince Albert meet with Dr. Snow to deliberate the Queens upcoming birth. During the birth itself, chloroform meet’s

The second section of the book focused on the chemical industry, specifically vinyl chloride, where it was explained there was little known about the effects of chemicals. Because of this, there was the question of whether “a product was to be considered safe until proven dangerous” or vice versa where a product was considered dangerous until proven safe. This time the public showed greater opposition to the use of vinyl chloride, as environmentalists and labor unions united to reveal the harmful effects of it. Similar to the lead industry, the chemical industry also fought back reasoning to the government that only high levels of chemical exposure was harmful to people and the government