• merc@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    1·
    3 minutes ago

    It’s interesting how there’s a hint of science here, but so much non-science.

    Like, trying to categorize things is a bit scientific. Trying to distinguish between similar but different things is a bit scientific. At the same time, so many of these causes of death are symptoms not causes. And, there are too many cases where they didn’t bother to try to find a cause, like the “Planet” cases or “Suddenly”. Also, almost all of the deaths are in children / infants, but in those cases they don’t try to figure out the cause of death, they just note the age.

  • merc@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    1·
    8 minutes ago
    Olde Modern Count
    Abortive, and Stillborn Abortion and Stillbirth 445
    Affrighted Fear? Possibly a heart issue? 1
    Ague Malaria, or a disease involving fever and shivering 43
    Apoplex, and Meagrom Stroke and severe headache, migraine 17
    Bit with a mad dog Rabies 1
    Bleeding Blood loss 3
    Bloody flux, scowring and flux Dysentery and cholera 348
    Bruised, Issues, sores and ulcers Bruising, open sores, either as a symptom of something else (hemorrhagic fever) or because they got infected 28
    Burnt, and Scalded Same 5
    Burst, and Rupture Probably an externally visible rupture 9
    Cancer and Wolf Cancer and Lupus 10
    Canker Mouth sores, maybe from herpes? Probably not the underlying cause of death 1
    Childbed Death following complications from childbirth 171
    Chrisomes, and Infants Babies less than 1 month old and Infants 2268
    Cold, and Cough Same (but probably a symptom of something worse) 55
    Colick, Stone, and Strangury Gallstones, kidney stones, and other intestinal and urinary blockages 56
    Consumption Tuberculosis 1797
    Convulsion Seizure, possibly caused by epilepsy 241
    Cut of the Stone Died during surgery to remove kidney / gallstones 5
    Dead in the street, and starved Exposure, hypothermia, starvation 6
    Dropsie, and Swelling Edema, fluid retention, possibly caused by heart failure 267
    Drowned Same 34
    Executed, and prest to death Executed is obvious, “prest to death” is accidental death while being tortured (via pressing) to force a confession 18
    Falling sickness Epilepsy, perhaps “petit mal” seizures vs “grand mal” which went under Convulsion 7
    Fever Same, interesting that it’s distinct from Ague 1108
    Fistula Same, horrific, distinct from childbed – I guess the women lived a bit longer? 13
    Flocks, and small Pox Smallpox and other diseases causing pustules 531
    French pox Syphilis 12
    Gangrene Same 5
    Gout Gout, or inflammatory arthritis, not the underlying cause of death, but a clear symptom 4
    Grief Modern medicine would be more specific but… 11
    Jaundies Jaundice, liver disease 43
    Jawfaln Fallen jaw, lockjaw, tetanus 8
    Impostume Abcess, a symptom of an infection 74
    Kil’d by several accidents Trauma, I assume 46
    King’s Evil Scrofula or Mycobacterial cervical lymphadenitis 38
    Lethargie Chronic fatigue, a symptom of something else 2
    Livergrown Swollen liver, possibly cirrhosis from drinking 87
    Lunatique Lunatic, mental illness – curious about the actual cause of death though 5
    Made away themselves Suicide 15
    Measles Same 80
    Murthered Murdered 7
    Over-laid and starved at nurse A smothered baby, either accidentally or on purpose, starved from lack of milk 7
    Palsie Paralysis, Parkinson’s, similar things 25
    Piles Hemorrhoids, not a cause of death, but a source of infections and an obvious symptom 1
    Plague same 8
    Planet Sudden death thought to be related to something astrological (planet alignment) 13
    Pleurisie, and Spleen Pleurisy (chest infection), apparently it can sometimes be caused by damage to the spleen? 36
    Purples and spotted Feaver Bruising and spotted fever (tick borne disease), distinct from bruising, listed earlier 38
    Quinsie Quinsy, Peritonsillar abscess, can cause many other things 7
    Rising of the Lights Fluid in the lungs, possibly caused by croup 98
    Sciatica Same, possibly caused by spinal disc herniation 1
    Scurvey, and Itch Ye Scurvy dogs! Ye been sailing with yer limes! 9
    Suddenly um… 62
    Surfet Surfeit, overeating, overdrinking, not fatal on its own, but perhaps blamed when it was the underlying reason 86
    Swine Pox Possibly a euphemism for “French Pox”? 6
    Teeth Probably children dying at an age when their permanent teeth were coming in. Similar to “Chrisomes” named for the cloth used when christening a child. Either that or serious tooth infections that led to complications. 470
    Thrush, and Sore mouth Thrush (Candidiasis) could make it hard to eat or drink, or lead to other infections 40
    Tympany Excess gas in the gastrointestinal tract making the belly like a drum, many potential underlying causes 13
    Tissick A wasting disease, often associated with a cough 34
    Vomiting Long term vomiting can cause dehydration, might also have been used for someone choking on vomit and dying from asphyxiation 1
    Worms Ugh. 27
  • NigelFrobisher@aussie.zoneEnglish
    8·
    17 hours ago

    This will make a useful crib sheet for reading the causes of death in the US next year under Health Tsar RFK Jnr .

  • LovableSidekick@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    18 hours ago

    Does “murthered” mean murdered? If so I’m surprised there’s only one. TV and movies make it look like life was cheap in old timey London.

  • captainlezbian@lemmy.worldEnglish
    18·
    1 day ago

    I never thought to combine deaths by cancer and by wolves to save space or because they’re similar enough. I can’t comprehend why they thought it was a good idea either.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldEnglish
    28·
    1 day ago

    You guys are all laughing about ‘planet,’ but I’ll have you know my uncle died of a cerebral hemorrhage when Neptune hit him on the back of the head. And we all thought it was just a glancing blow, but two days later, he dropped dead right in the middle of the supermarket.

    You won’t laugh so hard when it happens to someone you care about.