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1750 1900

Spot the difference

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750 900

What was the impact onhealth of industrial living?

Wednesday, 24 April 2013

Explain what problems the Industrial

Revolution brought.

Understand the diseases of the period.

Practice an exam question.

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The term revolution means rapid change. We oftenrefer to this period in history as the IndustrialRevolution because there was rapid change in the wayindustry was organised and the way it functioned. Therewas also an agricultural revolution (change in farming),

social revolution (birth of a new middle class), politicalrevolution (change in who could vote), transport revolution(change in ways of travelling around) and so on.

What we will be looking at in this unit is whether therewas a medical revolution.

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Britain during the Industrial RevolutionBefore we can follow the path of medicine from 1750to 1900, we need to look at what Britain was like at this time.

State-funded education None For all thoseaged 5-11

% of people living in the countryside: 80% 20%

Total population was 11 million 40 m

Travelling was quickest by sea or river train

Life expectancy 35-40 45-50

Most people worked in farming industry

Machinery was powered by hand, horse steamor water

1750 1900

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How Industrialisation Affected Medicine:

Many people moved to towns for work, resulting in

overcrowding and quickly built, poor quality housing.Health was badly affected and diseases spread rapidly.

Improved communications allowed ideas to be exchanged.

New factories and better technology could produce more

sophisticated medical implements, such as fine syringeneedles, or powerful lenses for microscopes.

Progress in science led to many medical discoveries whichwere beyond understanding before. Doctors moved away

from Galens ideas and looked for scientific reasons forillness.

Wars with France and in the Crimea led to improvedsurgical procedures and nursing care.

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Industrial towns

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Health before the mid 19th century

Few people could afforddoctors and most relied onherbal medicine.

No-one knew aboutgerms or how infectionwas spread.

Surgery was stillvery basic anddangerous, withoutanaesthetics orantiseptics.

Those who sufferedserious injury had littlechance of survival.

The cause of disease was not understood so cures werestill based on superstition and old wives tales.

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Killer Diseases of Industrial Towns

(Many of these diseases were present in rural areasbut had less effect there because there were fewer people.)

Tuberculosis (TB) - affected 15% of people in the 19thcentury.

Smallpox - killed or scarred thousands of peopleof all classes and ages.

Measles - often killed or blinded children.Whooping Cough - severely weakened children who then

often died of other common infections.

Diptheria - killed or maimed mainly children.

Influenza (flu) - outbreaks killed thousands of all ages.

Scarlet Fever - killed thousands of children each year.

All these diseases were spread by germs in droplets

coughed or breathed into the air.

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These diseases were spread bycontaminated water:

Cholera - killed very quickly and painfully

Typhoid - lasted several weeks, often fatal.

This disease was passed on by bites from body lice:

Typhus - lasted several weeks, often fatal.

Explain why all these diseases became an

enormous problem in the new industrial towns.

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TB

Dip

Scar

Cholera

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These diseases were spread bycontaminated water:

Cholera - killed very quickly and painfully

Typhoid - lasted several weeks, often fatal.

This disease was passed on by bites from body lice:

Typhus - lasted several weeks, often fatal.

Explain why all these diseases became an enormous problem inthe new industrial towns.

Overcrowded housing (often 10 people in a room), lack of

sanitation (no proper toilets/sewage system), lack of freshwater supply (often contaminated with sewage). Damp housing,poor diet, pollution, and long working hours in dangerousfactories all weakened peoples resistance to disease. A mildattack of flu easily killed people in this condition.

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