Tag Archives: alienists

Tonics and Restoratives

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Coca-Cola as a Health Aid

Coca-Cola as a Health Aid

When the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians first opened, its medical care was in line with what was available elsewhere in a custodial facility. Many of Canton Asylum’s patients suffered several health issues, along with whatever mental distress they endured. Canton Asylum’s doctor, John F. Turner, was not an alienist (see 3/11/10 and 3/28/10 posts) so he concentrated on addressing physical issues.

He prescribed tonics and restoratives for his patients, and unless he concocted his own, they probably contained a potent dose of alcohol at the very least. Beef and Iron Wine tonic (made from beef juice, iron citrate and medicinal wine) was considered a powerful blood tonic, and may have actually held a bit of nourishment. Other tonics in the early 1900s contained cocaine, opium, herbs and barks, and plenty of alcohol.

The pictures included here are representative only, and not necessarily what Turner gave his patients.

Dr. Teacher's Syrup

Dr. Teacher's Syrup

Beef and Wine Tonic

Beef and Wine Tonic

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Building Places of Madness

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Dr. Thomas Kirkbride, courtesy National Institutes of Health

Dr. Thomas Kirkbride, courtesy National Institutes of Health

In the early part of the 19th century,  moral treatment (see May 18, 2010 post) included the idea that patients’ surroundings could contribute to their treatment and healing .

Dr. Thomas S. Kirkbride (July 31, 1809-Dec. 16, 1883), one of the founders of the Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane (which later became the American Psychiatric Association), developed a building plan that he felt would improve the asylum experience for patients. It consisted of a centralized administration building with a wing on either side, one for males and one for females.

Kirkbride believed that careful building design could help with treatment. Each ward was set back a little from the previous one so that every room would have fresh air and sunlight. Grounds were lushly landscaped, and the buildings themselves were set in rural environments to give nature a chance to heal tired minds.

Unfortunately, these huge buildings became victims of overcrowding, which then led to many abuses. They fell out of favor by the end of the century. Below are two examples of the “Kirkbride Plan” for asylums.

St. Elizabeths, (1909-1933?) courtesy Library of Congress

St. Elizabeths, (1909-1933?) courtesy Library of Congress

Danvers State Lunatic Hospital

Danvers State Lunatic Hospital

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Early Alienists

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Luther Bell

Luther Bell

One early alienist was Luther V. Bell (1806-1862) . He was only 30 years old, and Superintendent at McLean Asylum, when the Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane first met. Bell observed many cases of insanity at McLean, and wrote about a new form of mania which had formerly been associated with typhoid fever.

Patients were unable to sleep, paranoid in the extreme–often believing their food was poisoned–and frantically violent. Most of the sufferers were strapped into beds so they wouldn’t attack anyone. Bell observed that the patient’s recovery was often as quick as the onset of the condition had been. Most people were well within 3-4 weeks.

Though this condition may seem like a pure example of pseudo-psychiatry as practiced in the early days of alienists, Bell’s Disease has never been dismissed as an erroneous observation. In1981 the term excited delirium was introduced in the Annals of Emergency Medicine to describe this state.

In my next post I’ll describe some of the ways that alienists devised to keep patients quiet when they were in a excited state.

Insanity and the New Century

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Among Other Ingredients, This Patent Medicine Contained Bromides, Chloroform, and Alcohol

Among Other Ingredients, This Patent Medicine Contained Bromides, Chloroform, and Alcohol

At the time Canton Asylum opened, insanity was still rather fluid in both its diagnosis and treatment. Alienists (the early term for mental health professionals) didn’t really know what caused insanity or how to cure it, and the U.S. was by no means on the cutting edge of research. Alienists thought that anything from sudden shocks, masturbation, epilepsy, female troubles, overwork or too much study, and a myriad of other factors could bring on mental troubles.

Treatment could be pretty much anything doctors wanted to try, and there were few protections for patients. Doctors routinely gave patients compounds of arsenic and mercury, and just as routinely shocked, shackled, and force-fed them. Outside the asylums, citizens self-medicating for “nervous” problems could imbibe various cocaine, opium, or cyanide-laced tonics, sip on Hostetter’s Bitters (32% alcohol), or down Sensapersa tablets (containing cannabis).

Americans were anxious to relieve mental suffering, but didn’t know enough to do it effectively and safely. Even with the best of intentions, medical men could wreak great harm on their patients.

Read this interesting article from 1902, which gives advice on how to advertise patent medicine.

A New Life in Canton

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Three Teepees, courtesy of the Library of Congress

Three Teepees, courtesy of the Library of Congress

Canton Asylum’s first patient, a 33-year-old Sioux man named Andrew Hedges, arrived at the facility on December 31,1902. The entire asylum staff turned out to greet Hedges. They were nearly as excited as the townspeople, who believed that the insane asylum would put the bustling little city of Canton on the map. Both groups were sure that this asylum—new, beautiful, and unique—would be a Mecca for prominent alienists (the early term for mental health professionals) from around the world.

The Land of the Atsina, circa 1908, courtesy of the Library of Congress

The Land of the Atsina, circa 1908, courtesy of the Library of Congress

The facility would have been impressive enough anywhere, but it was especially imposing in such a sparsely populated area. Two stories tall and surrounded by lushly planted trees and bushes, it had all the modern conveniences—electric lights, coal-stoked boilers, and a sewage system. However, no architect or landscaper could dress up the fact that its inmates were hundreds—if not a thousand—miles away from home. The distance was too great to allow relatives and friends to visit.