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Why the Bronte sisters may have died so young (2019)

yorkshirepost.co.uk

41–50 of 55 posts

Re: Why the Bronte sisters may have died so young (2019)

#41
post #8

I'm a scifi guy but have read Jane Eyre three times. I don't think I can define the appeal. Or why I connect Jane with Beth Harmon and perhaps Lisbeth Salandar.

Also a lover of sci-fi/fantasy

I watched the 2011 film and wondered if I might enjoy reading the book now I know what will happen. But you've convinced me to give it a go.

I know it's not quite the same but I'm Reading through the Anne of Green Gables series and thoroughly enjoying it.

Re: Why the Bronte sisters may have died so young (2019)

#42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no relation between universal healthcare and house visits. I live in a country with universal healthcare where house calls don't exist.

I believe the parent commenter was noting that with universal healthcare the relation to poverty and not being to see the doctor was not longer a problem.

That is not completely true either, most countries have a form of free basic care: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_Medical_Treatment_an...

Re: Why the Bronte sisters may have died so young (2019)

#44
post #16

Many years ago, I lived in a trailer for a few months. My health went to hell and the experience was nightmarish. While living there, I swore to myself I would never live in a trailer again and stated "I would rather live in a tent." Which I did, in actual fact, do for some years at a later date. I got healthier while sleeping in a tent and desperately poor. Doctors used to take their little black bag and do house ca…

Doctors still do house calls, but if you’re poor then you’re lucky to be seeing a doctor at all. Neither of these things have changed.

My Dad was a doctor, so technically we got a house call everyday. But the reality was that we never saw a doctor at all. If we needed a physical for school sports my dad would just look at us and say "Eh, you look healthy" and sign it. I was in my early 30s before I got a real checkup from a doctor for the first time since I was born.

Re: Why the Bronte sisters may have died so young (2019)

#46
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s saying (poorly) that women afflicted by hyperemesis gravidarum couldn’t keep fluids down- today, IV fluids bypass this problem, and are extremely effective. The sad thing is there are also very successful oral fluid replacement regimes, but they are hard & not intuitive.

What are those techniques? I'm quite intrigued by 'not intuitive'.

With vomiting, you can administer a spoonful of sugar water or salt water every 2-3 minutes, no more. You must do this for at least an hour.

It works because the fluid is absorbed through your mouth, throat, and esophagus before it reaches the stomach- and in many cases once you are rehydrated the vomiting improves.

Good tool at 2AM for parents of small children.

Re: Why the Bronte sisters may have died so young (2019)

#47
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doctors still do house calls, but if you’re poor then you’re lucky to be seeing a doctor at all. Neither of these things have changed.

My Dad was a doctor, so technically we got a house call everyday. But the reality was that we never saw a doctor at all. If we needed a physical for school sports my dad would just look at us and say "Eh, you look healthy" and sign it. I was in my early 30s before I got a real checkup from a doctor for the first time since I was born.

Did your dad also administer immunizations himself?

Re: Why the Bronte sisters may have died so young (2019)

#49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Additives put tuberculosis in milk? Are you sure it wasn't the cows that had TB?

I assumed they meant that the additives made it difficult to detect that the milk had gone off and so it was easier to get sick from it. To you point however, I don't understand how that could have increased the transmission of TB as that is caused by cows infected with Bovine TB and (AFAIK) that can't simply be detected by taste or smell.

[deleted]

Re: Why the Bronte sisters may have died so young (2019)

#50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Additives put tuberculosis in milk? Are you sure it wasn't the cows that had TB?

I assumed they meant that the additives made it difficult to detect that the milk had gone off and so it was easier to get sick from it. To you point however, I don't understand how that could have increased the transmission of TB as that is caused by cows infected with Bovine TB and (AFAIK) that can't simply be detected by taste or smell.

Watching the video, it seems they assumed TB grew in milk, but according to growth requirements[1], it seems unlikely, and an unwarranted conclusion.

Still, it seems boric acid could have caused irritation, directly helping TB infect people. Also it reduced acidification, which would change bacterial population (for better or worse), and increasing bacterial loads of "spoiled" milk could weaken human defences, or not ..

I wouldn't blame Bovine TB on boric acid added to milk without further study.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycobacterium_bovis#Growth_req...

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