The Story of our Health Message

One of the Earliest Instances

One of the earliest recorded instances of the use by Seventh-day Adventists of rational methods in the treatment of serious illness was during an epidemic of diphtheria in the winter of 1862-63. A local newspaper in Illinois was quoted as saying: SHM 73.1

“The diphtheria has been raging throughout the country to an alarming extent, and seems, to a great extent, to baffle the skill of physicians. It is confined almost exclusively to children, and when once under headway, death is almost certain to be the result. It will pass through whole towns, missing scarcely a family, and in some instances whole families of children have been swept away by it.”—The Rock Island (Illinois) Argus. Quoted in The Review and Herald, January 13, 1863. SHM 73.2

The anxiety of Elder and Mrs. White can be imagined, when, during that same winter, two of their children “were suddenly and severely attacked with sore throat, hoarseness so that they were unable to speak, and high fever.” By good fortune, Elder White’s attention was called to a current newspaper, in which was printed a letter addressed to the editor by Dr. J. C. Jackson, of Dansville, New York, giving directions for the treatment of diphtheria. (Yates County Chronicle, Penn Yan, New York, January 15, 1863.) SHM 73.3

The doctor wrote regarding wrong habits of living and eating, which were contributing factors in causing the disease, and then gave his own method of treatment without drugs. He used methods that could be applied by parents in the home, such as hot baths, cooling packs, moderation in feeding, and that only of liquid foods, copious drinking of soft water, thorough ventilation, rest, and careful home nursing. He claimed that when he could treat the patient before the very advanced stage of the disease, he never lost a case. SHM 73.4

The reading of this article led Elder and Mrs. White to decide to follow the directions, giving the treatment at home to their sick children. The results were very gratifying. A few days later Mrs. White was sent for to come to the home of a neighbor, where a six-year-old boy was suffering with the same alarming symptoms that her own children had manifested. Again she gave the treatment recommended by Dr. Jackson, with satisfactory results. SHM 73.5