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Presidential Medicine: Andrew Jackson [Pure Pedantry]
via ScienceBlogs : Combined Feed by Jake Young none@example.com on February 17, 2008
In honor of President's day I have some interesting Presidential pathology to present. I want to talk about Andrew Jackson and his myriad of diseases.To say that Andrew Jackson had medical problems would be the understatement of the century. Starting with a head wound sustained while a prisoner during the Revolutionary War -- he was only 13 at the time, Jackson's entire life was spent plagued with one malady or another. He was shot at least twice in duels, both leading to chronic injuries. He also very likely got malaria during the War of 1812. This situation was complicated by the fact that the standard treatments for maladies during the 19th century was ingestion of heavy metals (either calomel -- mercurous chloride -- or sugar of lead -- lead acetate) and chronic bloodletting.
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