THE FAMILY READING, Names of Diseases

In exploring family memories and albums, we often run across causes of death which don't mean anything to us in modern times. I've compiled this list from several sources to help you identify what diseases were called in older times.

five generations acute mania : severe insanity (19th century term) ague: malarial fever aphonia: laryngitis aphtha - thrush apoplexy : paralysis due to stroke bad blood : syphilis bilious fever : terphoid, malaria, hepatitis or elevated temperature and bile emesis biliousness : jaundice or other symptoms associated with liver disease : also any upset leading to vomiting bile. black jaundice : black and yellow are malaria (black water fever is the deadly form) and black vomit with the bilious yellow fever.. that same yellow fever in its worst form, also Wiel's Disease, black jaundice not caused by mosquitos. In Depth Discussion. black vomit - vomiting old black blood due to ulcers or yellow fever blackwater fever : dark urine associated with high temperature bladder in throat : diphtheria (seen on death certificates) bleeding : a treatment rather than a disease, but it killed George Washington. blood poisoning : bacterial infection; septicemia bloody flux : bloody stools bloody sweat : sweating sickness blood poisoning : septicemia (overwhelming bacterial infection) five generations bone shave : sciatica brain fever : beningitis bright's disease : glomerulonephritis (serious kidney disease) breakbone : dengue fever bright's disease :chronic inflammatory disease of kidneys bronze john : yellow fever bule : boil, tumor or swelling cachexy : malnutrition camp fever (jail fever): typhus canker - ulceration of mouth or lips or herpes simplex catalepsy : seizures / trances catarrhal : nose and throat discharge from cold or allergy cerebritis : inflammation of cerebrum or lead poisoning chilblain : swelling of extremities caused by exposure to cold child bed fever : infection following birth of a child chin cough : whooping cough commotion : concussion congestive chills : malaria congestive fever : malaria consumption : tuberculosis, pulmonary tuberculosis - the effect of the disease was that of wasting away (any "wasting" diseases that rendered their victims a bag of bones before delivering the coup de grac)e. corruption : infection coryza : acold costiveness : constipation cramp colic : appendicitis croup : laryngitis, diphtheria, or strep throat cystitis : inflammation of the bladder five generations cramp colic : appendicitis cretinish : hypothyroidism, congenital croup : a congested cough that babies get day or diary fever : fever lasting one day; sweating sickness death from "teething" : tooth infections with inflammation and cellulitis were clearly important causes of illness and death before there was adequate dentistry. debility : lack of movement or staying in bed decrepitude : feebleness due to old age delirium tremens :hallucinations due to alcoholism diptheria - contagious disease of the throat diseases from disturbed graves : mostly superstition, very few things survive in the body after death, anthrax being a notable exception though rare distemper : usually animal disease with malaise, discharge from nose and throat, anorexia domestic illness : a euphemism for women's incontinence due to birthing techniques resulting in torn tissues at birth, a common plague; the result was a diaper of some sort the drier : cholera or any gastrointestinal disorder causing death by dehydration (common in America during the time of the Civil War) dropsy: edema (swelling) often caused by congestive heart failure or nephrosis (kidney problems) following scarlet fever; one treatment was administration of digitalis (foxglove leaves). Obits often told how much fluid was drawn from these people at death. dyspepsia : acid indigestion dropsy of the brain : encephalitis eclampsy : symptoms of epilepsy, convulsions during labor edema of lungs : congestive heart failure, a form of dropsy elephentiasis : a form of leprosy encephalitis : swelling of brain; aka sleeping sickness enteric fever : typhoid fever erysipelas : contagious skin disease, due to streptococci with vesicular and bulbous lesions euphoria : inappropriate affect -- laughing when you shouldn't, grimaces, etc., also known later as shell shock, battle fatigue, post engagement stress syndrome, post traumatic stress syndrome, Turret syndrome? etc extravasated blood : rupture of a blood vessel fits : sudden attack or seizure of muscle activity flux : an excessive flow or discharge of fluid like hemorrhage or diarrhea a five generations falling sickness : epilepsy fatty liver : cirrhosis of the liver flux of humour : circulation french pox : venereal disease also known as the spanish disease or the german disease (anyway, someone else started it!) gathering : a collection of pus genetics - general discussion glandular fever : mononucleosis gout : an inflammation of an extremity - usually the foot resulting from some fatty blood vessel/circulation problems not unlike arthritis.; certainly a rich man's disease great pox : syphilis green sickness : anemia the gripp : influenza (flu) killed lots of people in 1918 hallucination : delirium hectical complaint : recurrent fever hereditary angioedema : a blood condition caused by internal or external swelling, usually from a bump or other trauma hip gout : osteomyelitis, but only of the hip... osteomyelitis (usually a staphlococcal infection at that time) could occur in many bones, causing chronic drainage and often death... hydrophobia chlorosis : iron deficiency anemia but also a number of confounding diseases -- like leukemia -- that were not recognized at the time jail fever : typhus - see the discussion under camp fever. king's evil : scrofula, a tubercular infection of the throat lymph glands Tom's comment: also sometimes syphilis by a quite separate cynical reference grip : flu king's evil : tuberculosis of neck and lymph glands lockjaw : tetanus lues : syphillis (though again even the better physicians of 150 years ago may have trouble telling it from gonorrhea) lumbago : back pain lung fever : pneumonia lung sickness : tuberculosis lying in : - being delivered of a baby mania : insanity marfan's syndrome : a genetic disorder that produces long limbs, long fingers and toes, potential heart defects, etc. Some think Abe Lincoln had this condition. miasma : poisonous vapors thought to infect the air milk leg (leg milk, phlegmon dolorosa alba): a painful swelling of the leg soon after childbirth, due to thrombosis of the large veins, sometimes called phlebitis. mormal : gangrene morphew : scurvy blisters on the body mortification : infection; also gangrene or necrotic (dead) tissue like in frostbite. necrosis : mortification or death of bones or tissue nervous prostration : extreme exhaustion from inability to control physical and mental activities neuralgia : any discomfort, such as neuralgia in the head meant a headache nostalgia : homesickness. palsy : paralysis or uncontrolled movement of controlled muscles, sometimes listed as a cause of death on old death certificates paroxysm : convulsion pest house : an isolation hospital or quarantine house for victims of contagious epidemic diseases plagues and epidemics in the United States 1628-1631 New England - Small Pox 1638 New England - Small Pox & "spotted fever" 1648-1949 Massachusetts Bay Colony - Small Pox 1659 Massachusetts Bay Colony - Throat distemper 1677-1678 Charlestown & Boston - Small Pox 1679-1680 Virginia - Small Pox 1689-1690 New England & Canada - Small Pox 1693 Boston - Yellow Fever 1696 Jamestown, Virginia - Small Pox 1699 Charleston & Philadelphia - Yellow Fever March 1699 South Carolina - Small Pox 1702 New York - Yellow Fever 1702-1703 Boston - Small Pox 1706 Charleston - Yellow Fever 1711-1712 South Carolina - Small Pox 1715-1725 Most of the colonies - Small Pox 1721 Boston - Small Pox 1723-1730 Boston, New York, Philadelphia - Small Pox 1732 Charleston & New York - Yellow Fever 1735-1740 New England - Small Pox, Scarlet Fever & Diphtheria 1737 & 1741 Virginia - Yellow Fever 1738 Charleston, South Carolina - Small Pox 1752 Boston - Small Pox 1755 Canada - Small Pox 1760-1761 Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Charleston - Small Pox 1762 Philadelphia - Yellow Fever 1763 Philadelphia - Throat distemper 1764 Boston - Small Pox 1769 New York - Throat distemper 1772-1774 New England - Small Pox 1776 Boston - Small Pox 1778 Boston - Small Pox 1792 Boston - Small Pox phlegmasia alba dolens : milk leg five generations plague (black death) : bubonic plague. pleurisy : any pain in the chest area with each breath podagra : gout poliomyelitis, polio or poliopotter's asthma : fibroid pthisi, polio virus pott's disease : tuberculosis of the spinal vertebrae protein disease : glomerulonephritis, kidney related, used to be somewhat common in childhood where the kidneys leak protein puerperal exhaustion : death due to childbirth puerperal fever : elevated temperature after giving birth to an infant putrid fever : diphtheria quinsy : tonsillitis or the extension of a tonsillitis infection into the muscle spaces of the neck. remitting fever : malaria, still responsible for from 1 to 3 million deaths each year. rubeola : german measles sanguineous crust : scab. scarlet fever : a strep bacteria infection. This was a major cause of death in children before the 20th century. It is caused by strep bacteria with a very strong endotoxin (a bacterial poison). The child gets pharnagytis, then a skin rash, with bleeding into the skin and a high fever in the very bad form, which is almost never seen today. Collapse and death may come within 48 hours. Like all infectious diseases, it appeared in bursts... or epidemics. For some reason, the disease is no longer so virulent, and children are not at risk for these complications today. Penicillin and other antibiotics handle the disease well. scarlet rash : roseola sciatica : rheumatism in the hips or more properly, pain in that big nerve that runs down the inside of the leg screws : rheumatism, bursitis and tendinitis. scrofula : See king's evil, ship's fever : tuberculosis of the neck lymph nodes. scrivener's palsy : writer's cramp thus not a disease at all, just tired fingers scrofula: tuberculosis of neck lymph glands, progressing slowly with abscesses and pistulas, a young person's disease simple smiling jesus : spinal meningitis, the grimaces that often accompany the disease make the interpreted name seem reasonable ("folk" renderings for long names they hear but not quite correctly) softening of the brain : ? spina bifida : deformity of spine (the nerve column is open at birth), most babies with this can't walk and may be incontinent spotted fever: typhus or meningitis st. anthony's 's fire - erysipelas, but named so because of affected skin areas are bright red in appearance st. vitas dance : ceaseless occurrence of rapid complex jerking movements performed involuntary strangery : rupture summer complaint : baby diarrhea caused by spoiled milk. sunstroke : uncontrolled elevation of body temperature due to environment heat predisposed by lack of sodium in the body swamp sickness : could be malaria, typhoid or encephalitis; also caused by "miasma" from the swamp sweating sickness - infectious and fatal disease common to UK in 15th century tetanus : infectious fever characterized by high fever, headache and dizziness thrombosis : blood clot inside blood vessel as in milk leg, phlebitis, etc. tick fever : rocky mountain spotted fever toxemia of pregnancy : eclampsia (high blood pressure and seizures) trench mouth - painful ulcers found along gum line, caused by poor nutrition and poor hygiene (presumably got its name from the trenches of World War I) tumors : could be cancer tussis convulsiva : whooping cough variola : smallpox venesection : bleeding, supposedly a cure but sometimes fatal viper's dance : st. vitus dance womb fever : infection of the uterus Many thanks to the variety of sources from which this list was compiled. Please email me with contributions or things that you can't locate and I will add them.

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