peashooter85:How to treat a gunshot wound in the late 1800’sOn July 2nd, 1881, President James A. Ga
peashooter85:How to treat a gunshot wound in the late 1800’sOn July 2nd, 1881, President James A. Garfield was shot in the back by disgruntled attorney Charles Guiteau. The assassination of Garfield is a textbook case of the humbuggery that was 19th century medicine.The first responders on the scene were renowned Washington D.C. physician Dr. Doctor W. Bliss (his first name was Doctor) and Dr. Smith Townshend. Dr. Bliss immediately ordered hot water bottles to be placed on the president’s feet and Dr. Townshend had the president sniff aromatic spirits of ammonia. Ten more doctors arrived at the scene, each of whom stuck their filthy unwashed hands into the wound. Then Garfield was the placed on a mattress and moved to the White House and then ordered to drink a glass of champagne.Despite the doctors’ predictions Garfield survived the next couple of days and even made great improvements. By then a whole team of doctors of all types were treating the president. Despite the president’s apparent recovery, the team decided that the bullet had to be removed. Over the course of several weeks the presidents wound was probed daily by unwashed hands and unsanitized probes but no one could find the bullet. Amazingly, the inventor Alexander Graham Bell was called forth with one of his new inventions, a crude metal detector that he had recently invented. Despite several passes with the device the bullet could not be located. Finally, a group of surgeons conducted exploratory surgery, with no success. By then Garfield’s wound had developed a nasty infection.In the mean time Dr. Doctor Bliss had taken charge of the crew of doctors. He prescribed that Garfield be fed a diet of eggs, beefsteak, and brandy. Garfield, who had a very tipsy stomach, vomited the hearty meals. Concluding that the president couldn’t keep down any food Dr. Bliss ordered the president be given daily enemas consisting of egg, milk, bullion, whiskey, and opium. A myriad of surgeons and physicians were on hand to treat the president, leading to a wide variety of treatments. The president was givens all kinds of potions and concoctions created to cure any illness. A Phrenologist was called in, a special doctor who could determine personality and health based on the shape of a person’s head. Not all of those present were in agreement on the treatment regimen and a fistfight broke out between Dr. Bliss and one Dr. Baxter. In the meantime Garfield’s health began to seriously deteriorate. After six weeks the president had lost 80 pounds and his face was severely swollen. He ordered that he be moved to the Jersey shore, to get away from the heat (there was a record heat wave occurring at the time) and to get away from his doctors. A couple of days later he died. After an autopsy was conducted it was determined that the bullet was near no vital organs and posed no threat to Garfield’s health. The cause of death was listed as “profound secondary infections”. -- source link