Cholera "limpamų ligų" kontekste: prevencijos ir gydymo rekomendacijos Lietuvoje XX amžiaus pirmojoje pusėje

LTLietuviška spauda (knygos, laikraščiai, žurnalai, kalendoriai etc.) XX a. 1–4-uoju dešimtmečiais intensyviai švietė savo skaitytojus užkrečiamųjų ligų prevencijos ir gydymo klausimais. Vis dėlto nurodytu laikotarpiu dažnos įvairios epidemijos kelia klausimą, ar ši informacija pasiekdavo adresatą, ypač kai provincijoje, kaip rodo tautosakos šaltiniai, tebebuvo smarkiai kliaujamasi liaudies medicina. Straipsnyje šis klausimas sprendžiamas kaip pavyzdį pasirinkus choleros ligą. Lietuviškoje periodikoje ir specialiuose leidiniuose pateikti apsisaugojimo nuo šios ligos bei jos gydymo metodai yra lyginami su archyvuose surinktais liaudies medicinos tekstais. Analizuojant surinktą medžiagą, taip pat išryškinama liaudiškoji limpamos ligos samprata (taip tuo metu vadintos užkrečiamosios ligos), galėjusi turėti įtakos XX a. pirmosios pusės gydytojų rekomendacijų recepcijai plačiojoje to meto visuomenėje. Pagrindiniai žodžiai: visuomenės sveikata, sveikatos švietimas Lietuvoje XX a., liaudies medicina, cholera, užkrečiamosios ligos. [Iš leidinio]

ENIn the first half of the 20th century, the number of people suffering from infectious diseases in Lithuanian society was high. Cholera, all variations of typhus (louse-borne typhus, relapsing fever, typhoid fever), smallpox, diphtheria, tuberculosis, scarlet fever, dysentery, influenza, malaria, venereal diseases and trachoma were the main infectious diseases that plagued the Lithuanian population during this period. These and several other illnesses were also classified as limpamos ligos (communicable diseases) by folklore collectors who were interested in folk medicine and compiled lists of diseases in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The press of the period contains no shortage of information on how quickly these diseases spread, the reactions of those in the health system, and the behaviour of the community. However, the spread of the diseases was also due to other problems, such as a shortage of doctors, which was compensated for in the provinces by ‘traditional’ healers, such as spell-casters, herbalists, sorcerers, and the like. An attempt was made to bridge the gap between urban areas and the provinces with literature promoting medical knowledge. By 1922 alone, more than 200 publications had come out in Lithuanian. The books and brochures were not only aimed at health education and the importance of hygiene in the home, but also at informing people about various diseases, their causes, their causative agents, the course of illnesses, and methods of treatment. The aim of this paper is to examine closely the relationship between the descriptions and treatments of infectious diseases found in the press on one hand, and what is found in folk medicine on the other. To this end, the article chooses one disease, cholera, which is examined here as an example.In the early 20th century, this infectious disease, first described in Lithuania in 1831 and recorded until 1921, had already been responsible for several pandemic waves of high mortality worldwide. Various information publications had been published since the middle of the 19th century to inform the public and help them protect themselves from contracting cholera. They explained the causes, symptoms and course of the disease, recommended treatment, and gave advice to home carers and how to deal with the death of a sick person. When cholera epidemics broke out in urban areas, efforts were made to inform the public rapidly, isolate and quarantine those in contact with the sick, disinfect premises and courtyards, and initiate vaccination against the disease. However, according to Lithuanian folklore records from the first half of the 20th century, in Lithuanian villages, cholera was usually treated with plants such as garden angelica (Angelica archangelica), popularly known as dzingelis or cingelis in Lithuanian. The root of the plant was soaked in vodka for the relief of the symptoms, crushed leaves were scattered on the streets, and pieces of the root were worn as amulets. In fact, wild angelica (Angelica sylvestris) may also have been called dzingelis. Bulbous chervil (Chaerophyllum bulbosum), another plant similar to garden angelica and wild angelica, is also mentioned in folklore records as an effective treatment for cholera. People also used blueberries. In addition, other plants are mentioned which are difficult to identify. Sometimes dangerous, even poisonous substances, such as carbolic acid, may also have been used to treat cholera. There are several possible reasons why the information given in the press in the first half of the 20th century on how to prevent cholera and folk medical knowledge recorded at a similar time do not overlap.Firstly, the lack of doctors in the provinces may have limited the dissemination of up-to-date information in rural communities. Secondly, economic inequality prevented some from seeking professional help. Thirdly, the dissemination of medical knowledge may have been hampered by literacy levels: according to the first general population census in 1923, the literacy rate in Lithuania was 35.1% of the total population, while the semi-literacy rate (those who could only read) was 20.8%, thus the total literacy rate was 55.9% (in 1897, the literacy rate plus the semi-literacy rate was 41.9%). Therefore, although useful information was being printed and disseminated, it was not accessible to everyone. Fourthly, there was a difference between concepts of illness, and more specifically, a difference between medical systems, official and populist, whereby illness was perceived as a sovereign being in the popular imagination, occupying a high place in the hierarchy of mythological beings. That this attitude persisted into the first half of the 20th century is evidenced by beliefs recorded in the period between the two world wars. The continued association of disease with the supernatural is also evidenced by the fact that even during the epidemics of the Second World War, crosses continued to be erected and special cloths continued to be woven, a method that was used until the 18th century to defend against the plague, and was later adapted to cholera. It could be argued that, for all the above-mentioned reasons, folklore records do not reflect the transfer of information from the press. Keywords: public health, health education in 20th-century Lithuania, folk medicine, cholera, infectious diseases. [From the publication]