Bleed, Blister, And Purge: A History Of Medicine On The American Frontier by Volney and M.D. Steele

Volney Steele was born in a small town in northwest Arkansas in 1922, the son of the town s only physician and its only schoolteacher. From 1959 to 1986, Dr. Steele practiced pathology in Bozeman, Montana. After retiring he served for several years overseas with Project HOPE and Pathologists Overseas. A passionate student of the history of medicine, he has published several articles on the subject. The Volney Steele Endowment to the Montana State University Foundation has helped support the Medical History of the West Conference in Bozeman since 2000.

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In the first part of this book, Steele covers a wide range of topics, from native medicine to Lewis & Clark to folk medicine, quackery, and the pioneering physicians who first came to the West. A section on women physicians is both inspiring and troubling: one admires the women who defied convention to become doctors, but shudders at the stories of women's health in the era and how poorly understood were needs such as prenatal care and birth control. In the second section, Steele talks about public health, including early hospitals, sanitation, and epidemic disease. Again, with a good eye for telling details, stories, and photographs, Steele reveals an unfamiliar story with what he calls a "mixture of awe and distress." I've always been interested in epidemics, and found particular fascination in the discussion of the frightening diseases that stalked the frontier, especially the resistance of civic leaders and ordinary citizens to take the appropriate measures to stop them. Many families lost children to cholera, diphtheria, and other so-called "childhood diseases" before understanding and civic will brought about changes in sanitation. Cattle ranchers initially fought the tick-control efforts to curb Rocky Mountain spotted fever and the veterinary procedures to eradicate typhoid and bovine tuberculosis. Even during the flu pandemic of 1918, which killed an astonishing 675,000 Americans, people resisted all efforts to curb public gatherings to try to stop the spread of the disease. But it was the story of polio that most surprised me. Beginning in 1916, a series of polio epidemics terrified the nation almost every summer. Polio was worse in rural areas such as Montana and other western states, where children had not built up the viral resistance that saved many children in more densely populated areas. Steele notes that the fear of polio took on a life of its own, out of all proportion to the actual risk of the disease. Out of millions infected with polio, only one percent became paralyzed; half of these children later regained normal function. The rest recovered with no lasting harm. From the 1920s to the 1940s, children were five to ten times more likely to catch diphtheria, tuberculosis, scarlet fever, or strep throat than polio, any one of which had a higher death rate. But the fear of paralysis, however unlikely, made polio the most haunting and feared of all infectious diseases. The reason isn't hard to understand. In those years, disabled children were barred from attending school. In some places they were not allowed out in public, and faced ridicule and ostracism if they did go out. Worst of all, they became a burden on their families. In a time and place where most work was physical, a disabled person was a real drain on the ability of a farm or ranch family to survive. Becoming crippled was truly a fate worse than death. It's interesting to wonder what attitudes now drive our fears and how they will look to generations yet to come. Bleed, Blister, and Purge is full of such thought-provoking nuggets and would be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in the history of medicine. It's a quality book that you can either dip into or enjoy reading straight through.