red inhalations were common treatments as early as 1830, when sulphuretted hydrogen and coal gas joined the list of iodine and seaweed vapours. By the 1860's, entire rooms were constructed to allow patients to lie down, breathing gas, oxygen and vapours. Not all subscribed to the wealth of chemical paraphernalia used in 'cures'. Dr. George Bodington of Great Britain argued against the starvation, bleeding, purging and terrible blistering of the afflicted (Keers 68-69). He proposed instead removal to clean, open air, a light, healthy diet and exercise--describing what would later take form as the ideal sanitorium environment.
In a review of health conditions in 'old New York' prior to 1898), Drolet and Lowell note that only the vaguest notions of sanitary conditions prevailed (1-2). Childhood diseases such as diptheria and scarlet fever were thought due to "climatic conditions, to fear, or to the will of God", and superstition prevailed over any kind of germ theory. Very few tenements had water closets in the house. When found, they were usually too few in number, often not connected to main sewer line, instead overflowing into the streets. Between รก1804-1808, nearly 25% of the death rate was assigned to 'consumption'. By 1850, the death rate had nearly doubled, with tuberculosis again the leading cause.
The rapid growth of populations in major cities of the world resulted in similar conditions; over-crowded, poorly maintained housing which aided the spread of communicable diseases. Tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in European a
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