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I'm trying to figure out how a case of diarrhea was a death sentence in the 1800s...

I realize they probably didn't wipe very good, but still.
Many, many people died of diarrhea. Today, we have much more sanitary ways of "handling" sewage, and we know now not to drink from rivers and ponds without boiling and/or filtering... so we don't see many outbreaks of cholera, but...
 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
26,220
30,175
Carmel Valley, CA
Couple of notes: I don't go to a thesaurus or other source for big words. They are stored in my memory banks, crowding out important information.

I didn't mean to call anyone names, just issued a challenge to back up a statement. And the only piling on I see is ribbing regarding the use a word some had to look up.

A favorite quote:
--
"In fact, I'm a word nerd. I get a kick out of tossing a few odd ones into my column, just to see if the pervicacious editors will weed them out."
--Michael Hawley
 

woodsroad

Lifer
Oct 10, 2013
12,644
20,157
SE PA USA
My parents were word nerds. My mom because she was a first generation American and grew up bilingual. My dad because he was an inquisitive, voracious reader. There was always an open dictionary at home. There is no shame in having an expansive vocabulary. Nitpicking someone’s grammar, spelling or word choices is another matter entirely. But laziness in writing just makes you look a bit dim.

Gotta go.
My guts are rumbling.
Remind me to wash my hands more often.
 

Choatecav

Can't Leave
Dec 19, 2023
491
1,320
Middle Tennessee
Many, many people died of diarrhea. Today, we have much more sanitary ways of "handling" sewage, and we know now not to drink from rivers and ponds without boiling and/or filtering... so we don't see many outbreaks of cholera, but...
Diarrhea (actually, dysentery) was a major killer of the soldiers of the American Civil War (1861 - 65) and rivaled deaths caused by battle. The problems were lack of sanitation and a lack of understanding the causes of many of these diseases. The soldiers literally wasted away from uncontrollable bowel discharge.
 
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Diarrhea (actually, dysentery) was a major killer of the soldiers of the American Civil War (1861 - 65) and rivaled deaths caused by battle. The problems were lack of sanitation and a lack of understanding the causes of many of these diseases. The soldiers literally wasted away from uncontrollable bowel discharge.
OK, dysentery and cholera, two ways to diarrhea yourself to death. And, just before I meet my wife for lunch. puffy
 

PLANofMAN

Might Stick Around
Jan 13, 2024
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Salem, Oregon
I'm trying to figure out how a case of diarrhea was a death sentence in the 1800s...

I realize they probably didn't wipe very good, but still.
I grew up (at least during my teenage years) quite poor. We couldn't afford insurance (or to go to a hospital) at the time. My mother caught a case of E-coli from Jack in the Box back in 1994, and she just toughed it out. She lost 25 lbs in two weeks and almost died. Continuous diarrhea can in fact, easily kill a person, especially if saline bags plugged directly into the bloodstream to replace lost fluids are not available.
 
Dec 6, 2019
5,015
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Dixieland
I understand that continuous diarrhea could kill you.

Earlier in this thread it was mentioned that a case of diarrhea was a death sentence 150 years ago.

I was just wondering how... I have a case or two a week and I survive without any modern medical intervention.

I do however have toilet paper, and wipes too if it's a really bad case.
 
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