Scarlet Fever Research Paper

Words: 1026
Pages: 5

The last few gasps taken by children as they lay dying came to a deafening silence when Scarlet Fever made it’s debut in the 18th century. The pain soon followed by a story of triumph swept across the nations giving the last bit of hope one could wish for at the time. Crystal Evans stated “Life is not profound without its own tragedy. It humbles us. Sets the bar for our introspection. Keeps us from believing we are gods. Puts our egos in check”. Scarlet Fever, a tragedy that has humbled countless individuals, has resulted in impacting literary works, led to advancements in medicine, and has evolved from being a detrimental risk for society to a rarity.
Throughout the course of history diseases have played a crucial role in the development of
…show more content…
He studied diseases that were troublesome to society in the 18th-19th century. He was known in multiple areas of medicine for his attention to detail and multiple accomplishments that include research of malaria and Scarlet Fever. Sydenham described Scarlet Fever as “a summer disease that especially affects infants” and prescribed “keeping the patient indoors, with no meat intake, and using a mild laxative” (Chnm, 2004). Due to the lack of technology and medicine people were left to face the oncoming disease with limited resources based on the meager observations of physicians until the discovery of antibiotics in the 1950s. Now we know that Scarlet Fever usually occurs “after a skin or throat infection with a rash containing the streptococcus bacteria” (Westbriton, 2008). In today’s world if a case of Scarlet Fever was to break out the treatment would be a dose of Penicillin or giving the patients general antibiotics. From the 18th century to the present Scarlet Fever has changed dramatically and with the use of today’s technology we have almost eradicated it