KING CHOLERA

Can you decide which of the following were used to treat Cholera, and which to prevent it?

Lavender Oil Prevention or cure? What was it supposed to do? Did it work? Would have had a calming effect but did not cure or prevent the disease Prevention and cure Calm patient and prevent spread of miasma

Beer Prevention or cure? What was it supposed to do? Did it work? Yes, but was looked down upon as something for the lower classes Prevention If beer was drunk instead of water, they would obviously avoid drinking in the infection

Brandy Prevention or cure? What was it supposed to do? Did it work? Could have helped but obviously did not ‘cure’. Cure To strengthen

Salt water Prevention or cure? What was it supposed to do? Did it work? Worked but was rejected as an idea at the time! Cure To replace lost salts

Mustard Prevention or cure? What was it supposed to do? Did it work? No, and would have made patients even more weak. Cure Emetic/Purgative (to purge or make sick)

Unbalanced meal Prevention or cure? What was it supposed to do? Did it work? This did not help as no vegetables or fresh fruit (especially citrus) were allowed for patients Cure To strengthen

Lime Wash Prevention or cure? What was it supposed to do? Did it work? Victorians believed that this would make dwellings more clean and free from disease

Gunpowder Prevention or cure? What was it supposed to do? Did it work? Was blown up on street corners to remove miasma from the air No Prevention

Cholera Kills! Using your death register mark the homes of victims of Cholera.

Where did most people die? What does this tell us about Cholera?

What did people think at the time? In your groups use your sources to answer the following questions: What does each source tell you about living conditions? What can each source tell us about attitudes to public health? Be prepared to summarise your answers for the rest of the class!

Consider the questions in your groups… Do any of the sources reveal what people thought were the problems with public health? Do any of the sources show us that people were thinking about recommendations for change? What have people started to understand about public health? What was done about it? Did the health of the public get better straight away? Why?