Medicine in the Civil War The Civil War claimed more lives than all previous wars combined. Most people think that these Civil War soldiers died from wounds or amputations, but the truth is that most died from common illnesses to which they had never been exposed. Disease claimed the lives of ten times as many soldiers as those who died in combat or from their wounds (Heidler 1303). Although there are many different diseases that kill soldiers, there are six common ones. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original EssayDysentery was considered the worst and most serious of all diseases. Dysentery is an intestinal infection most often caused by bacteria or parasites. It is defined as diarrhea containing blood, pus and mucus. There are two types of dysentery. One of them is amoebic dysentery or intestinal amoebiasis, caused by a parasite present in the large intestine. The other type is bacillary dysentery, caused by an invasive parasite (Thomas 1). The causes of dysentery are both parasites and bacteria. Some of the symptoms include cramps, bloating, fever, and about three to eight bowel movements per day. These symptoms are not limited to mild cases. In severe cases, most symptoms include pain when the abdomen is touched, ten or more bowel movements per day, nausea, and vomiting. It is also common for weight loss to occur. Although there are many symptoms, they vary depending on the severity of each. For example, a soldier may go from having simple abdominal pain to having chronic diarrhea. Symptoms usually appear seven to twenty-eight days after infection (Thomas 2). Soldiers drank whiskey during the Civil War as a stimulant and one of the risk factors for drinking alcohol was dysentery (Military History Monthly 3). Intestinal complaints were treated in different ways. For an open intestine, they used an opium cap. However, for a closed intestine, they treated it with “Blue Mass”. The blue mass was a mixture of mercury and chalk. Some other treatments included strychnine, castor oil, laudanum, camphor, turpentine, calomel, lead acetate, silver nitrate, quinine, whiskey, ipecac and even cauterization of the anal opening (Civil War Medicine 2). Another disease that caused many deaths was Typhoid fever. Typhoid fever is a bacterial disease spread through contaminated food and water. Most of the time, symptoms appear one to three weeks after the first exposure. Early symptoms include fever up to 104 degrees, weakness and fatigue, muscle aches, sweating, dry cough, weight loss due to loss of appetite, abdominal pain, constipation, rash and an extremely swollen abdomen. Without treatment, a typhoid condition occurs. This is where you stay still while barely managing to open your eyes. Soldiers with typhoid fever also became delirious. The bacteria responsible is Salmonella Typhi. The most serious complication was internal bleeding and holes in the digestive tract (Mayo Clinic 1). It was a fatal disease so there was no good treatment. In 1864, the mortality rate was 60%. They used remedies like turpentine, quinine, brandy and quinine sulfate, or hygienic measures to try to treat it (PBS 2). Pneumonia is a diseasepresent today, but during the civil war it was responsible for the deaths of 20,000 people and 17,000 people. Confederate troops. About 1 in 6 men infected with pneumonia experienced it (Civil War Diseases 1). Stonewall Jackson died of pneumonia. Pneumonia is defined as an infectious disease that inflames the air sacs located in one or both lungs. This is caused by a variety of causes, including viruses, bacteria, and fungi. This illness can vary from mild to quickly becoming life-threatening. Some of the symptoms include, but are not limited to, chest pain when a person breathes or coughs, confusion or changes in mental state of consciousness (in adults 65 years and older), fatigue, fever , sweating, chills, body temperature below normal (in adults over 65 and people with weakened immune systems), nausea, vomiting or diarrhea and finally shortness of breath. Many people have heard the term walking pneumonia, but that is not the correct name. This type of pneumonia is actually caused by bacteria-like organisms. The most common cause of pneumonia is bacteria. The scientific name of the bacteria is Streptococcus pneumoniae. During the Civil War, this type of pneumonia occurred after the common cold or flu. The fungus that causes pneumonia was found in soil and bird droppings, but it varied depending on the geographic location where it was found. The viruses that caused colds and flu were also the ones that caused pneumonia. Many men during the Civil War smoked, which was one of the risk factors for pneumonia (Mayo Clinic 3). To treat the pneumonia in Stonewall Jackson's case, they injected him with mercury and antimony to use as a laxative and induce vomiting. Prior to his injuries and illness, Stonewall suffered from a cold, and as noted above, pneumonia was often associated with colds. They used cupping and blistering agents to drain his lungs of pneumonia, because that's what they thought they were doing. Like other illnesses, they used opium in the form of morphine to manage pain (Civil War Monitor 2). Another disease that killed many soldiers was measles. Measles was a major problem for soldiers, especially young people, during the Civil War. A group of ten thousand new recruits were affected by measles and by the end of the week, 40% of them had contracted the disease (Murphy 89). Measles is caused by the rubella virus. Measles is an epidemic disease, meaning it is still present in society. Scientists carried out research and discovered that there are 21 different strains of the measles virus. It takes about one to three weeks after being infected for measles to appear. A term that accompanies the symptoms of measles is the 3 Cs. These are cough, coryza and conjunctivitis. Coryza is a runny nose. Conjunctivitis means swollen eyelids and inflamed eyes. They say that no matter what happens, fever always occurs. Other symptoms include dry, dry cough, watery eyes, sensitivity to light, sneezing, reddish-brownish rash, body aches, and Koplik's spots. Koplik's spots are very small grayish-white spots with a bluish-white center in the mouth, inner cheeks, and throat. It can be assumed that many Civil War men suffered from vitamin deficiencies because the means of obtaining these vitamins were limited. Vitamin deficiencies are one of the risk factors for measles. Complicationsincluded diarrhea, vomiting, eye infections, respiratory tract infections such as laryngitis and bronchitis, difficulty breathing, ear infections which may lead to permanent hearing loss, and febrile seizures. A febrile seizure is a seizure caused by an increase in body temperature. Another complication of measles was hepatitis. Encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain that can be fatal, affects about 1 in 1,000 measles patients. This is an inflammation of the brain that can sometimes be fatal. It can occur shortly after measles or several years later. Thrombocytopenia, or low platelet count, affects the blood's ability to clot, so the patient may bruise easily. Strabismus, eye nerves and eye muscles may be affected. Very rare but possible complications include neuritis, which is an infection of the optic nerve that can lead to vision loss, heart complications, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis is a brain disease that can affect 2 in 100,000 people, months to years after measles infection. . Seizures, motor abnormalities, cognitive problems and death may occur. Other nervous system complications include toxic encephalopathy, retrobulbar neuritis, transverse myelitis, and ascending myelitis. There are two types of measles. Measles is the standard form caused by the rubella virus. Rubella, or German measles, is caused by the rubella virus (Christian Nordqvist 1). Measles usually lasts about three to four weeks under normal conditions. Most of the time it does not cause lasting effects, but in military camps during the Civil War it was usually fatal. This was usually due to improper treatment of the disease and poor sanitation. Measles often occurred after infection with pneumonia. During the Civil War, surgeons and doctors tried to treat this problem by prescribing whiskey. They also used rest, proper care, and time, as it was said to be the only true cure, even though many men died from this disease (measles 1). A group of ten thousand new recruits were affected by measles, and by the end of the week, 40% of them had contracted the disease. Tuberculosis killed approximately 14,000 soldiers during the Civil War. Once a person contracts this disease, it stays in their body for the rest of their life. Tuberculosis is an infectious bacterial disease characterized by the growth of nodules (tubers) in tissues, particularly the lungs (Civil War Diseases 2). Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria spread by tiny microscopic droplets released into the air. This happened during the Civil War, when soldiers with an active, untreated form of tuberculosis coughed, talked, sneezed, spit, laughed, sang, or did anything verbally. This means that tuberculosis was very contagious in the soldiers' camps. Some of the risk factors included diabetes, severe kidney disease, certain cancers, Crohn's disease and psoriasis, malnutrition, and very young or old age. Another risk factor was the medical care received, or more precisely, the lack thereof. Substance abuse was also a risk factor; Alcohol abuse weakens the immune system, making a person more vulnerable to tuberculosis. Tobacco consumption was also a risk factor. Tobacco use significantly increases the risk of contracting and dying from tuberculosis. Tuberculosis..