Læknablaðið : fylgirit - 15.05.1982, Qupperneq 41

LÆKNABLAÐIÐ
39
mannaeyjum 1837—1900. Þjóðskjalasafnið í
Reykjavík.
102 Þjónustubækur presta í Reyniskirkju í Mýr-
dal 1816—1843. Þjóðskjalasafnið í Reykja-
vík.
103 Þjónustubækur presta í Saurbæ í Eyjafirði
1840—1860. Þjóðskjalasafnið í Reykjavík.
104 Þjónustubækur presta á Seltjarnarnesi
(Reykjavík) 1840—1850. Þjóðskjalasafnið í
Reykjavík.
Summary
Trismus neonatorum has been endemic in the
past and still is in some tropical countries. In the
northem hemisphere St. Kilda in the Hebrides
Isles and Heimaey in the Westmann Isles were in
the last Century and earlier badly hit by this
scourge that killed 70-80% of new bome babies
within the first two weeks of life. On these Islands
the natives depended for a great deal for their
livelyhood on the products of the seabirds puffin
and fulmar. This food and mode of life, together
with some unfavourable environmental conditions
were concidered the principal causes of trismus
neonatorum.
A young danish physician Peter A. Schleisner an
envoy of his government succeeded in conquering
the plague in the Westmann Isles before the
middle of the 19th. century. This successful treat-
ment did not reach other parts of the country, and
the St. Kildans had to wait for half a century until
they scored success.
How did dr. Schleisner achieve this spectacular
success?
Scholars had begun to question dr. Schleisners
part in bringing the scourge undercontrol. But the
present author’s inquiry into old and more or less
lost records from little known sources, including
Schleisners own joumals from the Westman Isles
in a german book by J. Thomsen, found in the
Wellcome Institute for History of Medicine, led to
the conclusion, that neither the lying in institution
that Schleisner erected and operatet for 9 months
nor the hygienic conditions which in reality re-
mained unchanced were the causes of success as
was formerly the popular view.
The main point turned out to be a new umbilical
treatment with balsamum copaiba, here for the first
time in Europe used as umbilical oil. Schleisner
apparently had heard of this treatment from
american doctors and then as a part of institutional
care. He did not realize that this treatment also
could be used in the simplest cottage, as was shown
in the Westman Isles, with good results after
Schleisners „Institution“ had been closed for good
and himself gone home 1848.