1920s Medicine Essay

Advancements of Medicine in the 1920’s
Medicine had a huge advancement in the 1920s. Many scientists had discovered medicines, but it was hard for them to purify them and give them to people. Because of the discovery of penicillin, insulin, Band-Aids, and vitamins, the lives of the American people were greatly changed.
Band-Aids were invented in 1920. An employee at Johnson and Johnson, Earle Dickson, made a way to help his wife with the various cuts that she would get throughout the day. He made the Band-Aid. He put square cotton gauze on strips of tape of fabric called crinoline. People finally realized that there was a safe and effective way to heal cuts or scrapes. They were self- applied and sanitary. Band-Aids became very popular and
Vitamins are very important for the human body. They replace deficiencies that the body doesn’t get from food. Thiamin (B1) was one of the first to be discovered (Pharmaceutical). In 1912, Casmir Funk coined the term “vitamin” by using Latin roots. He did this while curing beriberi (Markham 33). There was a rickets epidemic among children. Rickets is a bone disease that is practically fatal (Chara). Bones in the human body become soft and misshaped (Markham 33). People, who experience less sunlight, had the rickets disease progress more quickly (Chara). Gowland Hopkins thought that three diseases, scurvy, beriberi, and rickets, were caused by some type of deficiency (Markham 33). Thiamin deficiency symptoms included spasms, possible paralysis, and depression. Christiaan Eijkman discovered that if someone were to eat unpolished rice, then it would fix the thiamin deficiency (Pharmaceutical). In 1922, Elmer McCollun heated cod liver oil, and there was something left, after the Vitamin A was removed, that cured the rickets. He called it Vitamin D. Vitamin D deals with
The only way to save the life of a soldier, if they were shot in a limb, would be amputation. In most cases, this would cause an even bigger infection (Bankston). Penicillin became the miracle drug on the battlefield (Markham 36). Penicillin is “known to destroy 89 different disease-causing bacteria… [its] one of the most widely used anti-bacterial drugs.” (Markham 37). It cures abscossas, pneumonia, bronchitis, pneumatic fever, burns, scarlet fever, syphilis, influenza, diphtheria, and many others (Markham 37). Thank goodness Alexander Fleming was persistent and messy. Billions of lives have been saved. He discovered the miracle drug and saved the world (Bankston). Many lives were changed and saved because of the great discoveries of penicillin, insulin, vitamins, and Band-Aids. These weren’t the end of the medicine advancements. They were only the beginning. Work Cited
Adler, Richard. "Medicine." The 1920s in America Hackensack, NJ: Salem Press, 2012. n. pag. Salem Online. Web. 19 Feb. 2015. http://online.salempress.com
Bankston, John. “Alexander Fleming and the Story of Penicillin.” Alexander Fleming & the Story of Penicillin (2002): 4. Science Reference Center. Web 19 Feb. 2015.
Brown, David M. "Band-Aids." The 1920s in America Hackensack, NJ: Salem Press, 2012. n. pag. Salem Online. Web. 19 Feb. 2015. http://online.salempress.com
Chara, Paul J. "Vitamin D discovery." The 1920s in America Hackensack,