![]() ![]() Other treatments were less pleasant - and much bloodier. Old photographs show patients lounging in chairs, taking in the fresh air, while literally covered with snow. Since fresh air was thought to also be a possible cure, patients were often placed in front of huge windows or on the open porches, no matter what the season. This was done in “sun rooms”, using artificial light in place of sunlight, or on the roof or open porches of the hospital. Patient’s lungs were exposed to ultraviolet light to try and stop the spread of bacteria. Some of the experiments that were conducted in search of a cure seem barbaric by today’s standards but others are now common practice. ![]() Treatments for tuberculosis were sometimes as bad as the disease itself. Families were tragically divided with parents, and even children, forced into the sanatorium with little contact with their loved ones. Sadly, the main use for the hospital was to isolate those who had come down with the disease and to keep them away from those who had not. There was no medicine available at that time to treat the disease and so many patients were offered rest, fresh air and lots of nutritious food. It was considered the most advanced tuberculosis sanatorium in the country but even then, most of the patients succumbed to the disease. The new structure, known as Waverly Hills, opened two years later in 1926. The disease continued to run rampant through the region and eventually, with donations of money and land, a new hospital was started in 1924. Built on low, swampland, the area was the perfect breeding ground for disease and in 1910 a hospital was constructed on a windswept hill in southern Jefferson County that had been designed to combat the horrific disease. In 1900, Louisville, Kentucky had the highest tuberculosis death rate in America. This terrifying and very contagious plague, for which no cure existed, claimed entire families and sometimes entire towns. During the 1800s and early 1900s, America was ravaged by a deadly disease known by many as the “white death” - tuberculosis. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |