Cholera Due to Impure Water. — among the remarkable outbreaks which goes to prove that this mode of cholera propagation is not at all uncommon, maybe mention the following, condensed from Mr. Simons eighth report as medical officer of the English privy Council, during the prevalence of cholera in England in 1865: A gentleman and his wife in the village of Theydon-Bois, and Essex, have been lodging at the town of Weymouth for two or three weeks, and returned home towards the end of September. On their way home they pass through Dorchester, where the gentleman was seized with diarrhea, vomiting and cramps, which continued more or less during the next day in the day following, when he reached his own home. During the journey to wife also began complaining of pains in the abdomen, which was followed by diarrhea and eventually by cholera, from which she died.

Here’s the first paragraph from Wikipedia on Cholera which I’m providing just as a simple contrast in the information level known now versus 100 years ago…

Cholera, sometimes known as Asiatic cholera or epidemic cholera, is an infectious gastroenteritis caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae.^[1][2] Transmission to humans occurs through ingesting food or water that is contaminated with cholera vibrios. The major reservoir for cholera was long assumed to be humans themselves, but considerable evidence exists that aquatic environments can serve as reservoirs of the bacteria. Vibrio cholerae is a Gram-negative bacterium that produces cholera toxin, an enterotoxin, whose action on the mucosal epithelium lining of the small intestine is responsible for the characteristic massive diarrhea of the disease.^[1] In its most severe forms, cholera is one of the most rapidly fatal illnesses known, and a healthy person may become hypotensive within an hour of the onset of symptoms; infected patients may die within three hours if medical treatment is not provided.^[1] In a common scenario, the disease progresses from the first liquid stool to shock in 4 to 12 hours, with death following in 18 hours to several days, unless oral rehydration therapy is provided.

That contrast in detail and accuracy is pretty amazing in and of it self.  We live in an age where modern marvels in medical advancement such as the evolution from glasses to contact lenses to lasik corrective surgery demonstrate evolutionary and revolutionary change 3 times over. So it is no wonder that even when they were on the right track with a topic 100 years ago, the level of understanding was still exceptionally rudimentary.

Infectious Diseases from Impure Water. — the principal acute diseases which are due to impure water are cholera, typhoid fever, diarrhea and dysentery; and, although it is only within a comparatively recent. That mankind has begun to realize it’s dangerous from the source of these maladies, the accumulated evidence is already very conclusive.

It is somewhat ironic, that 100 years ago water impurity was a serious issue.  The irony today is two fold.  The types of water impurities that many people around the world faced is no different than the water impurity challenges faced by many developing countries today.  However, instead of wiping out water impurities, we have complicated water impurity issues by contaminating water supplies and water tables with both chemicals from manufacturing processes as well as drugs from antibiotics to viagra that have been flushed away at levels that now present trace levels consumed from people and cattle alike.  Instead of improving our situation on Earth, we have made it more complex and possibly more contaminated. We don’t have the option to reset our water system memory and start all over again, and so we continue to struggle with a system that is gradually getting more dangerous for all of us.

Arsenic in Water. — arsenic, copper and mercury are rarely found in drinking water is in America, except in streams flowing near chemical works, or unless they are introduced designedly with some murderous intention. These metals may, therefore, be practically ignored in the consideration of water from a hygienic point of view.

Last night, I was watching a rerun of Sweeney Todd, starring Johnny Depp. I mention it only because of the reference to Arsenic, which I believe was the poison that Todd’s wife (in the movie) took to kill herself while Todd was in Prison. The movie was set right around the time this book was written, and I suspect that a spouse going to prison back then for a ‘white collar’ crime was much more serious than today, when you could probably expect a wife to spend 2-4 years travelling around on Mediterranean cruises rather than taking arsenic to be done with the world.

Iron in Water. — the presence of iron in a water, rendering it what is called Chalybeate, from the old Greek name for iron, renders it to many persons only a useful topic, but in some people it causes severe headache and serious disturbance of the digestive organs.

When I was younger I have distinct impressions of hand pumping old farm wells to water plants and things like that in my grandparents flower gardens. The water would be a very rusty brown and smell metallic. One of the things that I am unclear about here is whether or not that ‘rusty’ color of the water was actually iron in the water or something else. I think it might have been, and I’m under the impression that Iron is less dangerous than lead, but then again any metal in your body is likely to be a bad thing.

These days, I suppose I’d rather see one of those old water pumps incorporated and recycled into modern furniture rather than have to pump water to water the flowers by hand let alone drink it, but its again another sign of the times and the progress that has been made in 100 years.

Lead Diseases. — the injurious effects of lead upon the human system are displayed first, in the production of dyspepsia; later, obstinate constipation and a peculiar kind of colic, so common among painters from the influence of lead that it has received the name of “painter’s colic;” and finally, disturbance of the nervous system, especially that peculiar form of lead palsy called wrist drop, in which the power to lift up the hand is more or less completely lost.

If that seems a little scary consider that this book was written right around the same time that life insurance became popular.  Now back then, life expectancy was much lower than it is today. Its increased by about 25 years give or take.  Today life insurance quotes might also be a lot more reliable due to the higher competition amongst many high quality insurance agencies that no longer sell insurance door to door like they did 100 years ago.  Regardless, I think most of us would just rather avoid lead diseases all together.

Difficulty of Obviating Lead Poisoning. — attempts have been made to obviate the danger of water contamination from lead pipes in various ways, but not as yet with complete success. In some instances the pipes have been lined with other metals, such as tin or zinc; but, at least in some instances, a galvanic action has thus been set up, which corroded the conduits with great rapidity, and probably lead, therefore, still more dangerous pollution of the water supply. Coating the pipes on the inside with coal tar, bituminous varnish, solution of gutta-percha and the India rubber, have also been experimented with, as yet with but partial success.

Well those prescriptions sound about as useful as most prescriptions for acne treatments today.  Again, I would remind everyone that the quote above is from a 100 year old medical book and the preventative steps offered really only offer historical perspective. 

Applying the Test for Lead. — the sulfide of ammonium may be purchased at a small cost, save for $.25 an ounce, of most dealers and chemicals; and, as its odor is extremely disagreeable, it should be carefully corked until the moment it is used. The experiment should be made upon half a pint of the suspected water; and, if the contamination is supposed to be caused by lead pipes, it is a good plan to test a portion of the liquid which has stood overnight in the conduits. The mode of discriminating the precipitate caused by iron from those due to the dangerous metals, lead and copper, is to let fall a few drop of hydrochloric acid, called also muriatic acid, into the fluid. If the brownish or yellowish brown tent disappears, we may know that innocent iron is the only metallic impurities; whilst if, on the contrary, no change is effected by the addition of the acid, one of the poisonous metals, better copper, is present. No water, however, in which the slightest change is produced by adding the sulfide of ammonium, should be swallowed by man or beast until a rigid investigation by a competent water analyst has proved it to be harmless.

I somehow doubt that sulfide of ammonium costs that amount today.  Its probably either much more expensive or sold in ridiculous bulks at every grocery store, pharmacy and gas station next to the Phentermine in one of those combination aisles that sells just a little bit of everything, but never the thing you really need.

Detection of Lead in Water. — the method of detecting the probable presence of lead in a sample of drinking water is so simple that every reader is advised to take the first opportunity of examining their own water supplies, and so making sure that they or their families are not liable to the insidious dangers of lead poisoning. In order to determine whether a water is contaminated with lead, all one has to do is to drop two or three drops of the solution of sulfide of ammonium into the suspected fluid, contained in a white bowl or large cup, and observe whether a brownish or yellowish coloration is produced. If the liquid remains perfectly clear and colorless you may be sure that it either contains no lead, or that such a metallic impurities present in a quantity of less than 1/10 of a grain to the gallon, an amount which is not generally injurious to health. If , however, a slight brownish tint is produced in the water which is being tested, it must not be too hastily condemned is poisoned, since either copper or iron might give rise to the same coloration with the reagent. Such a suspicious water pots, however, to be properly analyzed by some good analytical chemist before being employed for either cooking or drinking purposes any further.

I would just like to remind readers and visitors that this is a review of the practices taught in medicine almost 100 years ago and should not necessarily be considered accurate and up to date.  Performing any of the actions in this blog may not be safe or have a desirable effect or result any more than using bamboo shades for fencing or taking instructions from a bugs bunny cartoon.

Lead Palsy. — under some special circumstances, not at present well understood, extremely minute amounts of lead in water may prove injurious. Thus, for example, Dr. Angus Smith speaks of cases in which lead paralysis, or palsy, was apparently produced by water containing only 1/100TH of a grain of lead to the gallon.

I’d like to veer off the topic of lead poisoning for a second and just meditate on the fact that until I engaged in reading this section of the book, I had not taken the time to learn the definition of ‘palsy’

Is is actually an alternative to the word paralysis, and might even be a slang term or abbreviated version of the word.  My own apathetic ignorance as it relates to this word, which to my ears in 2008 even sounds a little politically incorrect, speaks to a decrease in the threat of cerebral palsy even though paralysis (palsy) is still a real problem as a result of injuries.  I might be more in tune with seeking a car insurance quote than fearing for the potential of developing palsy as a result of lead poisoning.

Virulence of Lead Poison. — in the celebrated case of the accidental poisoning of the ex-royal family of France, a Claremont, by lead which was taken up in the drinking water, the amount was found not to exceed one grain of metal to the gallon of water. From cases which have since been observed, it would appear that the habitual use of water containing 1/10 or even 1/20 of a grain per gallon, is sometimes attended with danger. In his investigation into the cause of that curious disease, as it was formerly considered, the Devonshire colic, Sir George Baker, who discovered that it was only a form of lead poisoning due to the drinking of cider fermented in lead lined vats and troughs, found that 18 bottles of cider he examined contained four and a half grains of lead, or a quarter of a grain to each bottle.

The poisoning of the French aristocracy may not have originated in France.  Some researches believe that lead lined vats may have played a contributing role in the decline of the Roman empire.

Well-to-do Romans painted their walls a rich Pompeian red, which owed its color to a salt of lead or mercury. Lead was used for water pipes, cups, toys, statues, cosmetics, coffins, and roofs, but the most significant source may have been the wine of the wealthy class.

S. Columba Gilfillan proposed a theory for Roman decay in 1965 that involved "poisons esteemed as delicious by the ancient well-to-do." Spoilage was a problem in ancient Rome, and vintners discovered that wine tasted better and lasted longer if it was mixed with a concentrated grape syrup called sapa.

http://ces.ca.uky.edu/energy/lead/rome_lead.htm

Some enterprising Roman probably started up a nice home business making wine ‘taste better’ and in so doing brought about the wasting of the upper class and the possible downfall of Rome as a whole.