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2 that I can think of that were serious enough to die of back in the day: Pneumonia and a blocked ureter (very ouchy!).
That doesn't include the other infections (sore throats, cuts, etc) that needed antibiotics.
Yes but you don't just die from a sore throat or cut. How many people today run to the doctor because they have a sore throat or cut? The vast majority of cuts heal by themselves. Of course they can become infected and you can eventually die from an untreated cut but how rare is that?
The same applies to a sore throat. I'm 58 years old and do you know how many times I went to the doctor in the last 30 years because of a sore throat, zero.
Any kind of ailment has the ability to become worse with time. The vast majority do not. Occasionally or rarely they do. If people 150 years ago died almost every time they had a cut or a sore throat, humans would be an endangered species today.
Umm I probably would have quit getting tonsilitis eventually so
The only time would have been acute appendix at 11. Probably would have died after it burst in the old days. Actually my Dads brother died of this in the old country when he was about 20. There are a couple of maybes, tonsils and walking pneumonia when younger but I could have survived those.
I think thats it. Of course my eyes are so bad I would be functionally blind if it weren't for modern eyeglasses.
Once, for sure, when I was 25 years old. I was in labor, the baby was in distress because she was "stuck" in the birth canal and she was too far down for a successful C-Section. All hell broke loose. I was knocked out and an emergency mid-forceps delivery was performed. Scary. I was later told that my baby and I would have died had this occurred back in the old days.
Just once, maybe. When I was 46, I had a massive and fast-growing tumor that needed to be removed. I don't know if it would have killed me, but if it had kept growing, I might have "exploded". (Gruesome thought.)
I've actually been thinking about this very thing, as I am now taking large doses of two antibiotics for diverticulitis. This condition can be quite serious if there is a rupture, which will lead to peritonitis. So, once for sure, if I assume my diverticulitis would inevitability lead to catastrophic infection. And I would have to assume my death would be neither easy nor pain free.
I got through childhood measles in the 1950s. I am not sure what the treatment was, but surely it was better than in 1867. Measles will make you really sick. It used to kill or lead to rheumatic fever.
Thanks to the vaccines which were available as the 1950s advanced, I escaped having smallpox and polio.
My DH's paternal grandfather died of a heart attack at age 58. DH had quadruple bypass surgery at the same age. He also has had colon surgery for a precancerous lesion. So he has escaped certain death twice, in 1867 terms.
In my family, some of the women have lived longer than their mates, with two exceptions that I know of. My mother's mother died young of TB. But her mother ( my great grandmother) lived a long eventful life. And my other grandmother died in her sixties of a heart attack. Neither woman lived in large cities, but on farms and small towns.
I think modern sanitation and medicine do save lives. It is tempting to look back at an earlier time, romanicising it as healthier and happier. But I am glad I live in this modern period, where TB, syphilis and malaria are not constant companions. One thing seldom mentioned in history books is the prevalence of syphilis. It was quite common. The treatnent was mercury which was ineffective and harmful.
And one thing that I think is lengthening my life is my blood pressure medicine.
I'm not going to get smallpox, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, measles, mumps, or rubella. I was vaccinated for those. I had fluoride on my teeth and got a scaling a couple of times per year so my teeth are good. I ate nutritious food my whole life and had the correct amount of protein, vitamins, and minerals. My water supply was free of bacteria and toxins. My food supply was a bit sketchy since I'm sure I've eaten my body weight in pesticides.
I'm 59. My father made it to his mid-80's. My mother is 85. That's my most likely expiration date. Hopefully, dementia prevention and treatment will improve. My father had vascular dementia and was pretty out of it by age 80. My mother had noticeable short term memory loss by age 81. I probably have 25 years left and with some luck, I'll make it to 80 without a heck of a lot of cognitive impairment.
Measles
Whooping Cough
Chicken Pox
Influenza (how many times?)
Appendicitis
Severe hemorrhage after childbirth that almost killed me in '08
Grand Mall Seizure
Blood Clot
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