Introduction
George Washington died on December 14, 1799, at the age of 67. Today, two hundred years after his death, the debate over the reasons for his unexpected departure is still hot. George Washington led his people safely to political independence and contributed to the establishment of a righteous and prosperous nation. He is considered to be one of the most prominent politicians in the history of the United States. Washington is praised as an excellent leader, devoted leader of the nation. His death was unexpected and the national felt left without a father. According to the official records, Washington suffered a sore throat. It started on December 13 when he went to Mount Vernon in freezing rain. The throat worsened, breathing became difficult, and swallowing was painful. An estate overseer proposed bleeding Washington; it was a common medical practice of the day recommended by physicians. Washington was given a mixture of vinegar, molasses, and butter, however, he could not swallow it. Three physicians were summoned to his estate; their diagnosis was inflammatory quinsy; the only treatment was bleeding. The wrong diagnosis and improper treatment caused the early death of George Washington.
Main body
On December 14th, three physicians came to help George Washington. All the medical skills that could relieve the suffering were applied, however, there was no effect. Washington said to one of the physicians, “Doctor, I die hard, but I am not afraid to go. I believed, from my first attack, that I should not survive it. My breath cannot last long” (“George Washington”, p. 1). According to the testimony of the doctor, ten minutes before his death, breathing became easier. His disease progressed in only 30 hours. A day before, he was in robust health promising serene old age. “George Washington bore his acute sufferings with fortitude and perfect resignation to the Divine will” (“The Death of George Washington”, p. 1).
However, there is enough evidence to claim that the death of George Washington was caused by a medical mistake. At that time, the only treatment for the majority of illnesses was bleeding. The youngest doctor of those who came to Washington’s estate proposed performing an immediate tracheostomy – cutting an opening in the throat (“What killed George Washington?” p.1). One of the other physicians agreed while the third argued that the operation would be fatal. As the result, the bleeding was done four times. It could be the case that George Washington died as the result of blood loss. Despite the significant blood loss, Washington was sitting up. He almost choked to death while leaning his head back to swallow the medicine.
At about 10 in the evening, breathing seemed to improve; however, less than two hours later, Washington died. Overall, the illness had lasted only 21 hours. Today, the disease that killed George Washington is treated in a couple of days and the fatal result equals zero. Physicians at the time of Washington lacked fundamental knowledge in medicine and were not empowered to suggest an effective treatment. Continuous bleeding exhausted Washington and left no hope for improvement. Physicians published a statement in which they changed their initial diagnosis to an inflammatory affliction of the upper part of the windpipe (“What killed George Washington?” p. 1).
Physicians responsible for the death of George Washington were attacked by other doctors who were sure that the problem had been croup. They claimed that the disease could be treated in four hours. Others agreed that too much blood was taken. However, none of these assumptions can be checked today because the vital details of the disease, as well as treatment, are not known. The twentieth century was marked with increased attention to the death of George Washington. The researchers wrote that Washington died because of strep throat. Others suggested that death was due to acute epiglottitis caused by an influenza virus. For example, Doctor Heinz Scheidermandel argued that signs and symptoms described by those who attended Washington are consistent with epiglottitis: the rapid onset of the disease, sore throat, difficulty in swallowing, muffled voice, airway obstruction, persistent restlessness, and a short period of improvement just before the death (“What killed George Washington?” p. 1).
When infected, the epiglottis enlarges 1o times its normal size. As the result, the ball-valve effect blocks air from being drawn into the lungs. Washington tried to relieve this obstruction by leaning forward and sitting up. It also explains the fact why Washington’s voice was muffled – it was caused by the enlargement of the epiglottis. Today, epiglottitis is one of the most destructive diseases of children. Notably, in the early twentieth century, this disease was treated the same way as in the last 200 years, with a tracheostomy. However, a croup would never have led to the death of a patient aged 67 years. Thus, the young doctor attending George Washington was right in suggesting tracheostomy, nevertheless, his advice was not followed. The failure to set a proper diagnosis resulted in the death of the most prominent leaders of the United States of America.
Moreover, at the time of George Washington, there was no medical record on file, no personal health history, and no physical examination findings. If this information was available, physicians would be aware that all members of the Washington family were short-lived. George Washington’s personal medical history included a number of serious illnesses including Small Pox, pleurisy, tuberculosis, and malaria (Witt, p.1). In 1755, he had a severe fever; in 1757, he experienced dysentery that persisted for months. Nevertheless, he managed to stay in almost perfect health because his personal habits were good. He arose down, did not smoke, was not given to excessive eating, and regularly exercised in the open air.
On the morning of December 14th, 1799, the diagnosis set by physicians was too vague. At that time, Edinburg was the acknowledged center of medicine and the other two physicians did not dare to doubt the diagnosis set by a more experienced doctor. The two doctors supported the primary diagnosis because it seemed clearly reasoned and based on the evident knowledge of the causes of certain symptoms (Witt, p.1). Even though medicine then was in the pre-scientific era, the treatment chosen by physicians was not effective because the initial diagnosis was wrong. Physicians believed that the more serious the illness, the more copious the bleeding should be. At the same time, physicians knew not enough about the blood volume, and they did not even suspect that the blood replacement process takes weeks instead of hours. George Washington could have died because of blood loss.
In the 1860s, Doctor James Jackson argued that Washington had acute laryngitis. He stressed that loss of blood caused surface vessels to contract and reduced the local swelling, however, it spread the inflammation to surrounding tissues. According to the recent research by Drs. Willius and Keys (1942), all the physicians were wrong because Washington has no laryngitis (it is not fatal), no quinsy (the course of the illness was too short), and not diphtheria (seldom found in a person of 67). They concluded that the death was caused by a septic sore throat associated with acute edema of the larynx (Witt, p.1).
Nevertheless, the debate is not over yet. In 1955, for example, Dr. Marx emphasized that George Washington had been weakened by bloodletting and other accompanying procedures. As the result, his heart had been taxed. Dr. Marx argued that Washington “had succumbed to a streptococcal throat infection and to the medical mistreatment he received” (Witt, p.1). If to judge the actions of doctors through the lenses of their times, Washington’s treatment was still inappropriate. Physicians failed to identify the causes of illness as well as the illness itself. Notably, the youngest doctor attending Washington was very close to the correct diagnosis, however, others physicians were not willing to listen to him.
Conclusion
Finally, there is a need to address the excessive bleeding in more detail. It was calculated that the total quantity of blood taken amounted to 3.75 liters drawn in a period of nine hours (Vadakan, p. 1). Taking into account that George Washington was a physically impressive man, the blood volume was estimated as seven liters. Thus, more than half of his blood volume was taken out. Lack of blood led to hypovolemia, preterminal anemia, and hypotension. Moreover, when Washington stopped struggling before his death, it was the result of profound hypotension and shock. Washington died not as the result of his illness, but rather because of the mistreatment and significant loss of blood.
The causes of Washington’s death have been the subject of debate by numerous medical authorities. However, the extensive evidence supports the assumption that death was caused by a medical mistake. Physicians who attended Washington failed to diagnose diseases. Moreover, too much blood was taken; it resulted in hypotension and shock. Unfortunately, there is no reliable information left to prove any of the discussed hypotheses. The death of the most prominent American President, George Washington will continue to raise numerous questions.
Works Cited
“The Death of George Washington”. The Eye Witness to History 2001. Web.
“George Washington.” Public Book Shelf, Our Country, vol. 2. 2008. Web.
Vadakan, Vibul. “The Asphyxiating and Exsanguinating Death of President George Washington.” Vohs and Lawrence Awards & A Focus on New Products 8.2 (2004): 1-7.
“What killed George Washington? Even death didn’t stop the diagnosing.” FDA Consumer 1985: 1.
Witt, Charles. “The heath and controversial death of George Washington.” Ear, Nose & Throat Journal 2001: 1.