What Killed William Q. Judge? Part 2
Fohat Magazine (Fall 2003 - by Ernest Pelletier)
Treatments
In the 1880s most fever-type diseases were quite difficult to accurately diagnose, even by the best of physicians. Chagres fever, sometimes called yellow fever, was no different. Its major characteristics were “fever, jaundice, black vomit, and anuria (absence of urine excretion)”. One of the treatments for Chagres fever was the use of sulphur baths. Sulphur was used as a potent antiseptic. For instance it had been observed that workers in sulphur mines, though in a malarial district, enjoyed a complete immunity from intermittent fevers and became the picture of health. Judge therefore went to Mineral Wells where he appeared to regain some of his health. This writer’s personal observation on the matter of Katherine Tingley, a newcomer to the Society whom Judge trusted, was that she accompanied him and assisted him not only as his secretary and nurse, but was also beneficial in protecting him from psychic assailants so that he could let his guard down for periods of much needed rest.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, “infectious diseases were the most serious threat to health and well being. The most common causes of death were . . . pneumonia and tuberculosis.” Tuberculosis (TB) was “commonly known in the 1800s as consumption, lung sickness, . . . white swelling, the white plague, marasmis, phthisis, wasting disease or tuberculosis of the lungs.” Although TB “most commonly affects the respiratory system . . . [it] may affect other parts of the body [and] may be acute or chronically progressive.” The tuberculosis bacteria is spread throughout the body via the lymphatic system and can rest in any organ.
“In the past, tuberculosis was seldom suspected until severe coughs with expectoration, followed by loss of weight and night sweats, set in. . . . The cough is the best-known symptom of tuberculosis. . . .” The difficulty with diagnosing, at that time, was that:
With tuberculosis, the body is constantly in motion, and the disease is constantly in motion. The disease may be localized or spread throughout the body; the state or general condition of the body and of the person’s life enters into the treatment regime, which may take months and historically has taken years or a lifetime. . . . Tuberculosis is a moving target.
