Q: What were some of the common sicknesses when you were a child?A: When I was a child, common illnesses were measles, mumps, chicken pox, Whopping cough, rheumatic fever, and polio. People did get less serious illnesses like colds and sore throats. When they had a sore throat they were not tested for streptococcus infections. Q: Which sicknesses were considered emergencies and which were considered common like a small cold now?A: People rarely went to the doctor. If someone had mumps, measles or chicken pox, there was no need to go to the doctor. Polio and other illnesses with extremely high fevers were considered emergencies.Q: How often and when did you go to the doctor?A: The only times I ever went to the doctor was for stitches. All of my vaccination shots were given at school.
Q: Did you go to the doctor for physicals or just when you were sick?A: Physicals were given at school. Children did not go to the doctor for well visits.Q: What was the procedure for going to the doctor?A: If you were sick a doctor would come to your house. In extreme cases, like polio, you would go to the hospital in an ambulance.Q: Did you get prescriptions or did the doctor just give you the medicine?A: Prescriptions were not common. A doctor would give you the medicine you needed or an antibiotic was given in the form of an injection.
Q: Was the medicine any different than the medicines we have today?A: Medicine was not given out often. It tasted awful and had no sweet flavors. There were very few over the counter medications. Today there are all sorts of cold medicines. When I was little my parents put Vicks vapor rub on my chest if I had a cold.
My grandfather had polio in 1944 when he was 6 years old. He was taken in an ambulance and sent to a special hospital. His father worked and his mother had to stay home with the other children, so he went to the hospital alone. His family lived in New York City and the hospital he was sent to, was about 30 miles away in Rockland County, New York. At that time, the highways and roads were not built up and public transportation to a location like Rockland County wasn¡Çt available. It took hours and was very expensive for anyone to make the trip from New York City so my grandfather hardly ever had a visitor. He was in that hospital for about a year and a half. Initially his whole body was paralyzed. Doctors and nurses worked with his muscles the whole time he was in the hospital. Eventually, most of his body recovered, but his right arm remained paralyzed
Update: 2003/05/01 23:13:52
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