A Revolution In Medicine: Improvements In Public Health Flashcards
Why were Britain’s towns so dirty during the 19th century?
- the towns grew very quickly in the first 50 years of the 1800s.
- As population grew the health of the people living on towns grew worse.
- People had flocked to towns to get new jobs in the new factories.
- Since s single factory could employ 100s of people rows of houses were build near the factors ‘back to back’- very crowded.
- all houses were crowded with 5+ people living in a small room.
What was disease like in the early 1800s?
People did not have much medical knowledge and no one had yet proven that germs and dirt causes disease. Even when doctors eventually proved a connection between dirty water and cholera many councils were slow to do anything about the over flowing privies an pd drains.
Throughout the 1800s how did dirty water have an impact on the public health in towns?
In towns like Leeds there wears no underground sewer system to remove waste safely. Mostly there were narrow gutters that ran through the middle of streets and yards to take away waste that people through out their windows. However this often got blocked by rubbish and leaves so waste lay stinking for months.
-in Leeds clean water was in short supply and its collection was a daily chore for many women. As a result of this, most people only took a bath once a week and the whole family had to use the same bath water.
How did housing in the 1800s affect the public health in towns?
Houses in Leeds we’re built with very few windows because they were ‘back to back’. Most had 2 rooms - one for cooking and washing and one for sleeping and living. These who could not afford this had to rent the underground cellars of other people’s houses. These were damp and dark and often crowded.
What affects did the lack of maintenance of privies have in the public health in towns in the 1800s?
The privies and the cesspits were not connected to sewers so the waste just collected underground. From time to time night soilmen cleaned them out and sold the waste to farmers. However, sometimes this did not happen for months and they were left to overflow. This overflow even went near the crake pipes of the communal water pump.
In the yard ps the smell was often terrible. This was sometimes from the waste but often it came from the privies. These were communal toilets which poorer families had to share, they were a wooden shell which was open at the front and at the back with a hole that connected to the cell out beneath the yard.
What were diseases like in the 19th century in towns?
There were many deadly diseases and most of these struck cited like Leeds. This is because the city centres were over crowded and dirty.
In Leeds in 1832, there was the first cholera epidemic. Within a few months almost 700 people had died from this. By the time the epidemic ended a year later almost 31,000 people had died.
This was not only disease feared in the 1800s. TB, typhoid, scarlet fever and Measles killed 10s of thousands of people in the 30s and 40s.
Why were city centres so crowded and how did this worsen public health?
In the 1800s many people moved into towns and cities from the countryside for work in the new factories, that had opened. These workers needed to live near as possible to towns and coteries developed around these factories. Houses for the poor workers were hurt and were crowded together (builders could make more profit) on a narrow street. Each house only had 1-2 rooms. Because of the crowded living conditions disease spread quickly.
Why was their a lack of drinking/clean water in places like Leeds in the 1800s and how did this affect public health?
People back in the 1800s did not know that dirty water could kill them. They could not afford to but clean water from the town centre so they were forced to drink unclean water that they either collected from the pump, river or after it rained.
Councils in the 19th century did not have to provide basic services like water pipes. There were very few people who had clean water piped to their houses. Many had to queue in their yards to use the communal pump or carried it in buckets from the river.
When did cholera arrive in Britain for the first time?
Arrived in 1831 and killed 50,000 people.
What were the symptoms of cholera?
- victims were violent sick and suffered from painful diarrhoea.
- their skin and nails turned black just before the victim fell into a coma and died.
- cemeteries had to be closed because they were too full.
When did further cholera outbreaks happen during the 19 century?
1831, 37,38,48,54
What was the main effect cholera had on improving public health?
Cholera outbreaks encouraged the reform movement and then eventually government legislation to improve public health.
What did Edwin Chadwick conclude from his report when he was commissioned to investigate the living conditions of the poor in 1842 during the cholera outbreak?
- there was an urgent need to improve the living conditions of the poor as their life style was linked to their health.
- workers weren’t as productive of they were unwell and took more days off so this ultimately costed the nation. (This was during the industrial revolution so industry was very important)
Who was Edwin Chadwick?
He was a lawyer and social reformer. He helped contribute to the development of the public’s health reforms during the mid 1800s.
What did Chadwick so immediately after publishing his report to help the poor and what opposition did he face?
He said helping the poor would benefit the nation. He implemented boards of health to clean the streets and provide clean water.
MPs were horrified as they didn’t want to spend government money on such issues. They believed in Laiseez Faire’.