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1		For the very poor, life expectancy was short; even for the rich, there were many health threats. At the beginning of the Victorian period, medical help was limited, whatever the budget. Life expectancy had declined in some cities as more people crowded in to find work. More In the rapidly expanding cities, poor families were crowded together in filthy slums. The filth and pollution encouraged pests such as fleas and lice, as well as skin and lung diseases. The professionals and factory owners had better housing and life expectancy was longer.
2		Epidemics of diseases caused thousands of deaths. This was especially true in the growing cities. It was one threat no Victorian could ignore, as the diseases affected rich and poor alike; even if you had money there was no cure to buy. More Cholera, typhus, typhoid, yellow fever, diphtheria and small pox all took a high toll in human lives, in both poor and middle class areas of cities. There were some very bad cholera outbreaks in the early years of the Victorian period.
3		In 1855, London doctor John Snow, showed that cholera was carried in water. This was a major breakthrough, made by tracing a number of infections to a single water source. It led to great improvements in public hygiene. A board of health was set up in 1848 to promote public hygiene. Laws were passed to improve water supplies and sanitation. More As the link between health and hygiene was established, new laws saw city corporations providing parks, refuse disposal points, drains and public baths. There were no serious outbreaks of cholera after 1865.
4		The work of Pasteur and others saw epidemics and infections slowly begin to be brought under control. In the 1860s, French chemist Louis Pasteur showed that contamination in liquids (e.g. milk) was caused by microorganisms (e.g. bacteria) that could be killed by heat. Pasteur also realised that germs infected animals and humans too, leading to the identification and control of many diseases. More A German scientist, Robert Kock, building on the work of Pasteur, identified the bacilli that caused TB and cholera. This new understanding of how diseases spread meant that, for the first time, people could start to take effective action to prevent infection.
5		The use of antiseptics saw more people survive operations. At the beginning of the Victorian period, illnesses or injuries that needed surgery usually resulted in death from gangrene or other infections; then Joseph Lister suggested stopping the entry of germs into the body, by using antiseptics. Joseph Lister’s discovery made the chance of surviving an operation much greater. More At the time, most people thought infections were caused by chemicals or bad smells (miasma) in the air. It was not even considered necessary for the surgeon to wash his hands, and wounds were left uncleaned. Building on the work of Pasteur, Lister realised that micro-organisms were causing gangrene. Lister carried out experiments to get rid of the micro-organisms by spraying surgical instruments, wounds and incisions, as well as dressing with carbolic acid (phenol). He also made surgeons wear clean gloves and wash their hands in carbolic acid solutions before operating. It was successful. As the germ theory of disease became more widely accepted, people understood that cleanliness could prevent infection. This led to the rise of sterile surgery.
6		Hygiene greatly improved in hospitals. In hospitals, new working practices (based on those of Florence Nightingale), which placed an emphasis on orderliness and hygiene, were gradually introduced. There were properly trained nurses and hospitals became places where people went to recover, not just to die. More Florence Nightingale was an English nurse and writer whose most famous contribution came during the Crimean War, when she insisted on adequate lighting, diet, hygiene and activity for the men, improving recovery rates. On return she began collecting evidence linking the deaths to poor conditions. She wrote many letters to important people to try and get hospitals changed for the better and set up a training school for nurses at St Thomas's Hospital. Wards were scrubbed and sheets regularly cleaned. Patients were made to wash and also kept clean to prevent cross-infection. These techniques were eventually employed in other hospitals.
7		At the beginning of the period, many people had little faith in doctors. At the beginning of the Victorian period, only a few treatments were available to doctors and these had not changed very much since the Middle Ages. The same medicines (herbal cures, cod liver oil and purgatives) were given, regardless of the ailment. Diagnosis was poor. More Many diseases, that would be treatable today, were put down as ‘failure to thrive’.
8		Throughout the period there were great advances in medical science. There was a new understanding about how the body worked and knowledge about how illnesses could be treated. Towards the end of the Victorian era, in 1895, the first medical X-ray was taken; this had a great effect on medicine and diagnosis over the next century. More In the Victorian period, the foundations of modern medical science were laid; in turn, diagnosis and treatments also improved. Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen took the first "medical" X-ray, of his wife's hand, on 22 December 1895. The X-ray was presented to Professor Ludwig Zehnder of the Physik Institut, University of Freiburg, on 1 January 1896. Rontgen coined the name X-rays to show that it was an unknown type of radiation.
9		More medicines and treatments were available in chemist shops. As understanding improved, chemist shops became full of new medicines. Not all of these, however, were very useful and there were still some that probably did more harm than good. More Treatments, both in hospitals and on sale, were based on a better knowledge and understanding. Treatments to prevent illness, such as antibiotics, however, were still a long way off.
10		The period also saw the introduction of anaesthetics in operations. At the start of the Victorian period there was little pain relief, and those who did not die from infections often died from the trauma (shock) of the operation. The use of anaesthetics (ether) was first demonstrated in America in the 1840s and, by the end of the Victorian era, anaesthetics were in widespread use. More Before anaesthetics, patients requiring operations were strapped to the operating table, given opium or whisky to dull the pain, and the surgeon worked as quickly as possible. The use of anaesthetics was first demonstrated by Dr. Crawford Williamson Long, in1842, to physicians in Georgia, but he did not publish his findings until 1849. In September 1846, William Thomas Morton (who had been introduced to anaesthetics by Dr. Charles T. Jackson) performed a painless tooth extraction, after administering ether to a patient, and published an account of this. A surgeon, Henry Bigelow, arranged for a demonstration of ether on October 16, 1846 at the Massachusetts General Hospital. At this demonstration, Dr. John Collins Warren painlessly removed a tumor from the neck of a patient, seeing the birth of the use of anaesthetics. By 1888, aspirin was also available for pain relief.
11		Childbirth remained dangerous, regardless of wealth, although improvements were made. Several advances were made in childbirth practices: professional midwifes were trained and Queen Victoria helped popularise the use of chloroform in labour. Mothers were also encouraged to cuddle their babies, rather than leave them to cry. However, childbirth often saw the death of the mother, child or both. More Mrs Isabella Beeton is a good example of the risks that both mother and child faced. She died after the birth of her fourth child. In her book on household management, Mrs Beeton included a section on health but even she could not escape the problems of the time. Her first child died at only three months, the second at three years and Mrs Beeton herself died at just 28, from a fever contracted during the birth of her fourth child in 1865.
12		Gradually houses and people became cleaner as more products became available. There were few cleaning agents during the early part of the period but things gradually improved. Drains were disinfected with chloride of lime and all animal and food refuse was burned. Towards the end of the period, there was carbolic soap to wash with. It was used for its anti-bacterial properties. More At home, books such as "Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management" offered tips on hygiene and cleanliness. However, there was no washing powder, only soap, and polish had to be made from beeswax and turpentine.
13		A lot of food was still stored in very unhygienic conditions. Technologies, such as refrigeration and processed foods, made a little improvement in the condition and storage of food. More The impact of these was low, as their use was still very restricted
14		During the Victorian period, people worked very long hours. However, industrialization saw a more set pattern of work and, with it, the introduction of fixed holidays and leisure time (although very limited). More The Factory Act of 1850 obliged textile mills to close at 2pm on Saturdays and 1871 saw the first holidays for bank workers (bank holidays). In the 1870s, the British railway companies gave seven days paid holiday, to encourage leisure pursuits such as taking the waters and spas; other industries soon followed.
15		Railways allowed people to go away for seaside holidays for the first time. There developed an interest in ‘the healthy lifestyle’, and the day-trip to the seaside or countryside became popular. More From the mid-18th century, doctors such as Richard Russell and William Hutton advocated the therapeutic powers of sea water and seaside air, and fashionable seaside resorts grew.
16		New sport and leisure activities were also developing. For women, exercise was still restricted by tight corsets but, for the first time, they began to join in with some sporting activities and walking became popular again. More People began to combine health and self-improvement with leisure. After the 1870s, lawn tennis offered middle class women new sporting freedom. This was followed by golf, archery and, the most ladylike sport of all, walking, with strolls through the countryside or walks on the pier or promenade.
17		A big change came about through the invention and refinement of the bicycle. Every Sunday, the new railways, offering special cheap fares, would take thousands of young cyclists from the city to the countryside to explore the lanes and villages. This form of exercise was available to more people, including women. More The bicycle had a big effect on the amount of exercise richer people had. Men and women both rode bicycles, allowing the freedom to explore further than just the countryside surrounding the home. It was also a very healthy, if at first uncomfortable, mode of travel.
18		Grinding poverty restricted the poor from benefiting from lifesyle improvements. Household improvements, holidays and leisure time, were only aspirations for the very poor. Towards the end of the era, reformers from many groups wanted to change the terrible conditions many people lived in. More Towards the end of Victorian era, reformers from many Christian groups became concerned about the terrible conditions many people lived in. This led them to champion church or charity schools and better housing, as well as the Gospel. They were joined by socialists and philanthropists from the new urban, middle class (clerks and small business men) as well as some millionaire industrialists and financiers.
19		Schooling was made compulsory in 1880. Pupils learnt the "three Rs"- Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic (counting) by rote (reciting out loud). Girls were also taught how to sew and boys were taught woodwork or crafts. There was PE or 'Drill' to ensure pupils kept fit. It soon became apparent that malnourished children could not learn and some School Boards began to make cheap or free school meals available. More People began to realise the benefits of education in maintaining health. Schooling was finally made compulsory in 1880 and, in 1889, the London Schools Board established a School Dinners Association, one of the first to offer cheap, or free, school meals to ensure children were adequately nourished.
20		Despite Britain's overall wealth, many children went to bed hungry each night. By the end of the era, children, particularly, were no healthier than they had been at the beginning. The problem was poverty. Low wages meant that living conditions for many were still overcrowded and that they could not afford to buy sufficient food to feed the family. Many children were malnourished. More Despite the Victorian's achievements in combating disease and their efforts to improve conditions through public health measures, housing and education, there was not the improvement in health expected. Over 150 babies in every 1000 still died before their 5th birthday.

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