Treatment
Throughout the Civil War, people discovered medicine and different treatements that would help to heal the wounded.
Medicine:
-Beginning: Just had herbs, and guessed on how to treat people.
-End: Chemists researched and found actual drugs: Quinine was used for coughs, headaches, and toothaches, while Opium was used as a painkiller, which was highly addictive. Also, they found a medicine which was used to treat Malaria, and is still used today.
Medicine:
-Beginning: Just had herbs, and guessed on how to treat people.
-End: Chemists researched and found actual drugs: Quinine was used for coughs, headaches, and toothaches, while Opium was used as a painkiller, which was highly addictive. Also, they found a medicine which was used to treat Malaria, and is still used today.
Above is a bottle of Quinine.
Surgeries:
-Beginning: The only surgeries were amputations, which had a bad success rate. Not many people survived. Few doctors were good surgeons.
-End: More surgeries, less amputations, better success rates. Doctors were able to reset bones, and cover wounds with skin from other places.
Above is a picture of a doctor, and two assistants, treating a soldier.
Anesthetics:
-Beginning: Used only alcohol to somewhat numb the pain - often left patients
drunk.
-End: Chloroform was used to make patients unconscious - felt no pain during surgeries, unlike alcohol.
