Asthma/ Allergy History

Hardluck Asthma: History of lung disease and treatment
Asthma-like symptoms were described since the beginning of written language.  Nearly every lung disease can be traced back to asthma. The term comes from the Ancient Greek word aazein (άσθμα) which means panting. Homer used asthma to describe short of breath with exertion, and Hippocrates medically defined asthma as anything that causes shortness of breath.  By the 19th century physicians started re-defining lung diseases, and from this we got cardiac asthma (heart failure, CHF), kidney asthma (kidney failure), chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and your other lung diseases.  Through it all respiratory remedies have likewise evolved, taking a huge leap through time in 1900 with the discovery of epinephrine.  Tuberculosis sanatoriums sprung up all over the U.S. in the 19th century, and as TB rates declined, these institutions turned into asthma hospitals.  Stay tuned, as this history will likewise evolve as we travel through time to learning what it would be like to live with a lung disease if you lived prior to the modern world. Stay tuned, because this is a living history.  A minimum of two posts will be published each week ad infinitum. 

Beginning-5000 B.C.:  Prehistoric People 
5000-2700 B.C.:  Ancient Societies (Before history and time)
  • 5000 B.C.: An Egyptians hero think about air (11/6/14)
  • 5000 B.C.: Knowledge wends around the world
  • 5000 B.C.-1700 A.D.: Asthma in America (11/25/14)
  • 5000 B.C.: Gods were the first physicians (12/11/14)
  • 4000-539 B.C. Mesopotamian gods may heal you (10/30/14)
  • 4000 B.C.-1700 A.D.: Mesoamerican gods will cure your asthma (12/23/14)
  • 5000-50 B.C.: Egyptian gods of healing 
  • 5000-50 B.C.: Hebrew health and healing (12/9/14)
  • 5000-50 B.C.: Hebrew Bible influences medicine 
  • 4004 B.C.: The beginning of Time? (8/7/14)
  • 4000-539 B.C.: First civilizations advance medicine (10/16/14)
  • 4000-30 B.C.: Egyptians create a mighty civilization (11/4/14)
  • 4000-3000 B.C.: Sumerian rituals prevent asthma (10/21/14)
  • 4000-50 B.C.: Egyptian priests/ physicians will treat your asthma
  • 3,500-900 B.C: Asthmatic boy in Babylon 
  • 3533-2600 B.C.: The birth of rational medicine 
  • 3000 B.C.: The baru will predict your future (7/29/14)
2700 B.C- 1 A.D.: Ancient Societies (During history, before time)
1 A.D.- 276 A.D.: Ancient Societies (The beginning of time)
500-1600 A.D.: Middle Ages: The dark ages of medicine 
1600-1800 A.D.: The age of reason
1800-1900 A.D.:  The scientific revolution and the age of progress
1900-2000:  The age of results
21sth Century:  The present
Timelines:  Quick journey through time
Other:  
  1. Asthma history lexicon (Complete and updated as of 12/8/12)
  2. Dedication and Acknowledgements (1/6/15)
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)