In just two days we will be enjoying family and friends, celebrating the harvest season, and giving thanks for the bounty that we enjoy in this country.  I try to keep my columns current with seasonal themes, while reflecting on health issues, so rather than expounding on a review of elementary history regarding the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, I thought I would provide a primer on early medical practices used by the Pilgrims.  As irritating as we find our current healthcare programs, such as the Medicare Part D coverage, we may all give thanks that medical practices have evolved from their humble beginnings. 

There were actually two physicians on the Mayflower.  The more well known of the two, Miles Standish, was commander of the Mayflower, in addition to his other duties as a British army officer, magistrate, engineer, explorer, interpreter, and merchant. Obviously, multi-tasking is not a modern phenomena, and as was the case with Standish, medical training did not involve attendance at an accredited school of medicine.  His only formal education consisted of his military training, and like most physicians of his day, he learned the practice of medicine by watching physicians.   

The other physician aboard the Mayflower was Dr. Samuel Fuller.  Dr. Fuller was both a physician and a surgeon.  In truth, there was very little difference between surgeons and barbers during the early 1600s. Most of us have heard the legends regarding the red and white barber poles. The poles were, indeed, used to hang out bloody bandages following surgical procedures performed by barbers at that time.  Very little is known about Dr. Fuller’s surgical skills, but it is known that he perished during the first smallpox epidemic to hit the Massachusetts colony, around 1633.   

One of the reasons few physicians practiced surgery at that time dated back to a ban on surgery by the early Catholic Church.  It was believed that the human body was created in God’s own image and should not be violated by surgical procedures. As a result, barbers often ended up caring for people by default. They would do everything from cutting hair to pulling teeth and removing limbs. 

Actually, if you were living in the Pilgrim settlement at that time, you might just as well see a barber to have something cut off, when you consider the medical alternatives.  You didn’t have to worry about soaring hospital bills, since there were no hospitals in the Plymouth colony.  All medical care took place in the home, usually at the hands of other family members.  In fact, it was very unusual for anyone to ever see a physician, unless you were very wealthy. 

And just what did your medical dollar buy you in those days? Medical treatments consisted of bleeding, purging, a practice known as blistering and the ingestion of mercury containing compounds.  It’s easy to see how there was little desire to seek out medical attention during the early years of the Pilgrim settlements.

The ladies of the Plymouth settlement spent most of their time either caring for or giving birth to children. At least medical decisions were not needed to experience natural childbirth without drugs. Other than the possibility of a life-threatening Caesarian procedure, the natural way was the only way available at that time. In fact, at the Plymouth colony, physicians were not allowed to attend a childbirth, except as a witness to the event.  Childbirth was a communal activity, attended by midwives and neighboring women.  

Herbal medicine was the closest our Pilgrim ancestors came to modern medicine, since about half of our current medications are derived from herbs. Herbs were plentiful in the New World, and a popular book published in Europe a few years later, in 1652, by Dr. Nicolas Culpeper, “The English Physician” catalogued and described uses for about three hundred different herbs from both the Old and New World. Indeed, modern medications may trace many of their roots to this publication.

Yes, in a couple of days we may all give thanks for the many blessings we enjoy and the wonderful strides that have been made in healthcare since the Pilgrims landed.  However, I’ll admit, if you’re a senior citizen evaluating your choices with the Medicare Part D prescription drug program, blood-letting may not sound all that bad!  Happy Thanksgiving!