Posted
on September 30, 2013
 |
| The first use of ether as anesthesia was such a big deal that a painting was made commemorating the event... |
So
people had to endure agony!
Or
they kept putting off needed procedures because they feared the
pain...and of course that often led to more pain, and sometimes death.
Many
doctors and dentists used alcohol or marijuana or even hashish to
kill some of the pain—or to make their patients care less about the
pain, at least. But other medical practitioners and chemists began to
experiment with chemicals that might do a better job than whiskey.
One experimenter invented “sweet vitriol,” and another invented
“laughing gas.” At first these experiments were done on animals,
not humans. By the end of the 1700s, people began to experiment on
themselves with these substances.
 |
| This was William Morton's first inhaler. |
Finally,
on this date in 1846, an American dentist named William Morton pulled
a patient's tooth using ether as anesthesia—and the tooth
extraction was completely painless! Morton went further and arranged
a public demonstration of ether on a patient undergoing surgery. That
operation was a huge success, and word spread about this pain-free
medical option!
What
is pain? Find out here.
Also
on this date:
Check
out my Pinterest pages on October
holidays, October
birthdays,
and historical
anniversaries in October.
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