Today’s medical field is highly technological and regulated. With the advances in the way that doctors and pharmacists practice medicine it can be hard to believe how provincial the field of medicine was during the late 1800s. The way that medicine was practiced 150 years ago was significantly different as it is today.
In 1884 when someone was in need of medical care they very rarely went to the hospital. Hospitals were only located in large cities which did not make their use feasible for most of the public as most of the population lived in rural towns or on farms, a long distance from the hospital. Even the people ho did live in cities typically did not have the financial means of using the services of hospitals. Single mothers and the elderly were parts of the population that were expected to enter hospitals. People outside the geographical area or of financial means to go to the hospital for care had other means to treat their ailments (47).
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Without a hospital center as an option, people would start their medical diagnosis and treatment with family, neighbors, storekeepers who sold packaged medicines before contacting a doctor or pharmacist. Only as a last resort, or in situations of severe illness or injury, would professionals be used to solve the problem. Pharmacists often prescribed medications themselves even without a doctor’s diagnosis. Laypeople offered palliative care for self-limiting problems (48).
Some illnesses were considered self-limiting in that they ran their course, and the patient was cured over time. Their family and neighbors gave patients experiencing self-limiting sicknesses supportive care, avoiding the need for a visit with the doctor. Medicine was a casual business, whether a friend or a professional is treating the ill (48).
Doctors had a casual relationship with their patients. Casual relationships were obvious in how they managed their fees and payment schedules. It was not uncommon for doctors to receive payment in the form of goods or services. Documents reveal doctors received hay, wood, oats and housecleaning services as payment. Doctors may have sent bills every few months but expectations of receiving payment were not optimistic. Today’s world of medicine, controlled by insurance companies, would never allow such a casual relationship. Another way that medicine has changed is with the use of cocaine (50).
Cocaine was the drug of choice for practically every ailment. It was even used to treat morphine addiction. Cocaine was widely available in the form of an elixir. It was mixed into soda, and Coca-Cola and many other brands were created. Bartenders added it to shots of whiskey. Bosses at construction companies gave it to their employees to keep the work moving quickly. Cocaine was wildly popular as both a medication and recreational drug, but it’s addictive tendencies and damaging properties soon made its use taboo. State governments regulated its use to medicinal purposes only and eventually the federal government became involved in the issue as well (57-59).
Cocaine use was frowned upon and, therefore, its use was often kept secret from family and friends due to stigma. Cocaine users also died from their addiction which kept the population of users constantly changing. Opium users, on the other hand, were overall stagnant making it easier to estimate their numbers (59).
Medicine in 1884 was significantly different than it is today. People would only visit doctors for severe illness or injury and when they did the relationship was casual. Doctors did not always receive cash as payment. Cocaine was widely used as a prescription drug to treat ailments and was even used recreationally.
- Myers, Peter. Flyover History: Remembering Our Ignored Past, Volume 1. Independence:
Thomson Custom Solutions, 2008. Print.
