Medicine During the Civil War The Civil War had more deaths than all previous wars combined. Most people think that those soldiers during the Civil War died from wounds or amputations, but the truth is that most died from common diseases that they had never been exposed to. Diseases cost soldiers ten times more lives than those soldiers who died in battle and from wounds (Heidler 1303). While there were many diseases that killed soldiers, there were six common ones. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Dysentery was considered the worst and most serious of all diseases. Dysentery is an intestinal infection that is most commonly caused by bacteria or parasites. It is defined as diarrhea that contains blood, pus, and mucus. There are two types of dysentery. One is amoebic dysentery or intestinal amoebiasis, caused by a parasite present in the large intestine. The other type is bacillary dysentery and is caused by an invasive parasite (Thomas 1). The causes of dysentery are parasites and bacteria. Some of the symptoms include cramps, bloating, fever, and about 3-8 stools a day. These symptoms are not just limited to mild cases. In severe cases, most symptoms include pain when touching the abdomen, ten or more stools a day, nausea, and vomiting. It is also common for weight loss to occur. While there are many symptoms, they vary based on the severity of each one, for example a soldier might go from simple abdominal pain to chronic diarrhea. Symptoms typically emerge around seven to twenty-eight days after the infection occurs (Thomas 2). Soldiers used whiskey during the Civil War as a stimulant, and one of the risk factors of alcohol consumption was dysentery (Military History Monthly 3). Intestinal disorders were treated in different ways. For the open intestine, they used an opium plug. However, for a closed intestine, they treated him 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 that is spread through contaminated food and water. In most cases, symptoms occur one to three weeks after initial exposure. Early symptoms include fever as high as 104 degrees, weakness and fatigue, muscle aches, sweating, dry cough, weight loss due to loss of appetite, abdominal pain, constipation, rash, and extremely swollen abdomen. Without treatment, the typhoid state occurs. Here you lie still and can barely open your eyes. Soldiers suffering from typhoid fever also began to become delirious. The bacterium that causes this is Salmonella Typhi. The most serious complication was internal bleeding and holes in the digestive tract (Mayo Clinic 1). This was a fatal disease so there was no good treatment. In 1864, the mortality rate was 60%. They used remedies such as turpentine, quinine, brandy and quinine sulphate, or hygienic measures to try to cure it (PBS 2). Pneumonia is a disease present today, but during the Civil War it was responsible for the deaths of 20,000 Union citizens and 17,000 Confederate troops. About 1 in 6 men infected with pneumonia had it as fatal (Diseases of the Civil War 1). Stonewall Jackson died of pneumonia. Pneumonia is defined as an infectious disease thatinflames the air sacs located in one or both lungs. Various things cause it, including viruses, bacteria, and fungi. This disease can range from mild to 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 status.awareness (in adults 65 years of age and older), fatigue, fever, sweating, shaking chills, lower than normal body temperature (in adults over 65 and people with a weak immune system), nausea, vomiting or diarrhea, and ultimately shortness of breath. Many people have heard the term walking pneumonia, but it 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 bacterium is Streptococcus pneumoniae. During the Civil War, this type of pneumonia came after the common cold or flu. The fungus that caused pneumonia was found in soil and bird droppings, but varied depending on the geographic location where it was found. The viruses that caused the common cold and flu were also the viruses that caused pneumonia. Many men during the Civil War smoked and this was one of the risk factors for pneumonia (Mayo Clinic 3). To treat 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 had the common cold, and as mentioned above, pneumonia was often associated with the common cold. They used cups and blistering agents to drain his lungs of pneumonia, because that's what they thought they were doing. Like other diseases, 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 serious problem for soldiers, especially young ones, during the Civil War. A group of ten thousand new recruits were stricken with measles, and by the end of the week, 40% of them had contracted the disease (Murphy 89). Measles is caused by the rubeola virus. Measles is an epidemic disease, which means it is always present in society. Scientists have done research and found that there are 21 different strains of the measles virus. It takes about one to three weeks after infection for measles to show up. A term that accompanies the symptoms of measles are the 3 Cs. These are cough, coryza and conjunctivitis. Coryza has a runny nose. Conjunctivitis means swollen eyelids and inflamed eyes. It is said that no matter what happens, fever always comes. Other symptoms include dry cough, watery eyes, sensitivity to light, sneezing, reddish-brownish rash, muscle pain, and Koplik's spots. Koplik's spots are very small grayish-white spots with bluish-white centers in the mouth, inside the cheeks, and throat. It can be assumed that many of the Civil War men had vitamin deficiencies because there were limited ways to obtain these vitamins. Vitamin deficiencies were one of the risk factors for measles. Complications included diarrhea, vomiting, eye infections, respiratory tract infections, such as laryngitis and bronchitis, breathing difficulties, ear infections, which could lead to permanent hearing loss, and febrile seizures. A febrile convulsion is a seizure caused by a spike 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. It is an inflammation of the brain that can sometimes be fatal. It can occur soon after measles orseveral years later. Thrombocytopenia, or a low number of platelets, affects the blood's ability to clot, so the patient can easily bruise. Strabismus, ocular nerves and ocular 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, cardiac complications, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis is a brain disease that can affect 2 in 100,000 people, months or years after l 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 rubeola 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. In most cases it causes no lasting effects, but in military camps during the Civil War it was usually fatal. It was usually due to improper treatment of the disease and poor hygiene. Many times, measles comes after a person has been infected with pneumonia. Surgeons and doctors during the Civil War attempted to cure this problem by prescribing whiskey. They also used rest, proper care and time because it was said to be the only true cure, although many men died from this disease (measles 1). A group of ten thousand new recruits were stricken with measles, and by the end of the week 40 percent of them had contracted the disease. Tuberculosis killed approximately 14,000 soldiers during the Civil War. Once a person contracts this disease, it remains in his body for life. Tuberculosis is an infectious bacterial disease characterized by the growth of nodules (tubercles) in the tissues, particularly in the lungs (Civil War Diseases 2). Tuberculosis is caused by the spread of bacteria through tiny microscopic droplets released into the air. This happened during the Civil War, when soldiers with the active, untreated form of tuberculosis coughed, talked, sneezed, spit, laughed, sang, or did anything verbal. This means that tuberculosis was highly contagious in military camps. Some of the risk factors included diabetes, severe kidney disease, certain cancers, Crohn's disease and psoriasis, malnutrition, and very young or advanced age. Another risk factor was the medical care received or, more precisely, the lack thereof. Substance abuse was also a risk factor; alcohol abuse has weakened the immune system, making it more vulnerable to tuberculosis. Tobacco use was also a risk factor. Tobacco use significantly increased the risk of contracting tuberculosis and dying from it. There were many different complications arising from tuberculosis. Some examples included spinal pain and joint damage. Swelling of the membranes covering a person's brain was also a complication. This can cause a long-lasting or intermittent headache that occurs for weeks. Mental changes are also possible. Liver or kidney problems are common. A person's liver and kidneys help filter waste and impurities from the bloodstream. These functions are impaired if the liver or kidneys are affected by tuberculosis. Rarely, tuberculosis can infect the tissues surrounding the heart, causing inflammation and fluid buildup that can interfere with the heart's ability to pump effectively. This condition, called cardiac tamponade, can be fatal and cause immediate death. Symptoms of tuberculosis vary depending on the organs and..