Why did TB patients go to Colorado?
People also came to Colorado for the restorative benefits of its “clean air and sunshine.” Starting in the 1860s, when tuberculosis (TB) was a worldwide problem, physicians in the eastern United States recommended that their patients go to Colorado to regain their health.
Does mountain air cure tuberculosis?
However, even though Trudeau thought he had cured himself of TB, he died of the disease in 1916. The Trudeau Sanatorium closed in 1954 as antibiotic treatment of TB became established. In retrospect, there is very little evidence that breathing mountain air, diet, or exercise had any effect on TB.
Why does high altitude help tuberculosis?
Although their beliefs about TB were not entirely medically sound, they were kind of right in this regard: Fresh air does prevent TB from spreading, and the high altitude stops TB bacteria from spreading as rapidly through the lungs.
Did sanatoriums cure TB?
Rest and good food may be pleasant for the patient; but they are not necessary for his recovery.” Though sanatoriums had no effect on curing tuberculosis, according to Lee B.
Is there a tuberculosis clinic in Denver Colorado?
In an effort to eliminate Tuberculosis in Colorado, the Denver Metro TB clinic collaborated with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to develop a TB Elimination Plan .
When did the tuberculosis epidemic end in Colorado?
The Colorado legislature even debated a law to require TB patients to wear bells around their necks. Eventually, the TB epidemic—and the heyday of the consumption sanatorium—came to an end when, in the 1940s, antibiotics became an effective treatment for the disease. By then, tuberculosis had transformed Colorado.
What was the name of the tuberculosis hut in Colorado?
Tuberculosis huts at the Nordach Sanatorium in Austin Bluffs, Colorado. These resort-like health spas were places to relax, rest and often die. They had names like Montcalm, Sunnyrest and Cragmor.
Where was the first TB treatment facility built?
Beginning in the 1860s, ill people began pouring into the future state to take the fresh air cure. Denver’s first facility for tubercular patients was built in 1860, just two years after the city was founded. Colorado Springs and Boulder soon followed suit, and entire cities began to spring up around TB treatment facilities.
