HEALTH IN THE TIMES OFCHARLES DICKENS

HISTORICAL CONTEXT The Victorian era of Great Britain

marked the height of the British industrial revolution and the apex of the British Empire.

By 1851 more than half the population lived in towns.

After the industrial revolution, there was a mass exodus of peasants to the cities; these people are sometimes called the ‘proletariat’.

The proletariat strengthened the economic and social power of big business, which formed a dominant group we sometimes call the ‘bourgeoisie’. An economy based on manual labor was replaced by one dominated by steam-powered industry and manufacturing. Trade growth was favored by the improvement of transport routes such as canals and later by the birth of the railroad.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT Epidemics spread easily in these large cities. Poor health becomes a social problem on a massive

scale, due to the appalling conditions. Another problem affecting health, is poor diet. The workers have no possibility of going to a doctor,

the cost is too high and the alternatives offered are generally harmful quackery.

MAIN ILLNESSES

1. Cholera2. Typhus 3. Diphtheria4. Tuberculosis

CHOLERA

Intestinal disorder that causes diarrhea and dehydration. It is spread by inhaling miasma, or foul-smelling toxic fumes that came from materials.

Main illnesses

TYPHUS

Is a set of infectious diseases caused by the bites of various arthropods such as lice, fleas, mites and ticks that are carried by different birds and mammals.

Main illnesses

DIPHTHERIA

Is characterized by the appearance of false membrane which prevents breathing and produces toxins.

Main illnesses

TUBERCULOSISMAIN ILLNESSES

Was known during this period as the “white plague”.

It produces coughing for more than 15 days, sometimes with blood in the sputum, fever, night sweats, dizziness, chills and weight loss.

CURES FOR THESE ILLNESSES

Medicine made great advances in the 19th century. Louis Pasteur 1822-1895 proved that disease was caused by microscopic organisms. He also invented a way of sterilizing liquids by heating them (called pasteurization). He also invented vaccination for anthrax (which killed many domestic animals) and for rabies.

Surgery was greatly improved by the discovery of Anaesthetics. James Simpson began using chloroform for operations in 1847.

Immunization against diphtheria was invented in 1890. A vaccine for typhoid was invented in 1897.

All these diseases thrived in the city due to poor hygiene and population size. In contrast, the low population of countryside meant that there were much less infectious diseases.

THE END

Andrea Lobo Paola Ocio Marta Quevedo Miren Ulibarrena