Family Health Tree.....

[Sobil]

Seems like a good idea to track cause of death and family illness. I recently met up with a cousin who told me his fathers gradual blindness was a condition that ran in the family, something worth testing... And I had no idea that twins ran in the family until my Gynaecologist scanned my eggs.

But when I accuse my mother of dementia or too much sherry (she is loosing her powers of concentration) she assures me it is just the occasional "senior moment" and the odd gin and tonic. Now gin and tonic does run in the family....


Sobil

[Jeans girl]

I also think it is a good idea to record the reasons of death. having just lost a daughter aged 34 to sudden death I went to my certificates to check that i hadnt missed something .
i seem to have a lot of senile decay, cancer of the bowel, and the odd heart problem but nothing the same as my daughter.
It was put down as disection of the Cardiac Artery. apparently known of in women of her age and is not heredity. We all have to be aware of these things. Hence the records are benificial to all.
regards
Margaret.

[AnneM]

Dear Margaret

I am sure that I speak for everyone on the board when I say that I am really sorry to hear about your recent loss and send all sympathy possible to you and your family. It's understandable at such a time to look for explanations but sometimes life just throws something tragic at us. Hoping that you are surrounded by support and people who care for you all.

Anne

[Tracey]

Any doctors in the house ...........What is Phthisis ? 2 of mine had this and i dont like the sound of it ! according to my look ups its anything from TB to an eye infection

[Ina]

Hi Tracey,

Several of my ancestors died of Phthisis. A google search revealed:

Phthisis

1. A disease characterized by the wasting away of the body or a part of the body.

2. Tuberculosis of the lungs

Ina

[Tracey]

Hi Ina

This is the other definition........

What is phthisis?

The following post from the ROP list defines the term "phthisis". The ROP list was moderated by Dr. Scott Richards until August, 2002. The list has closed now. For more information about lists of interest to people with visual impairments, please visit the email list index.

Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1998 From: Scott Richards

Phthisis is an involution of the eye, usually caused by inflammation. After longstanding inflammation, unrepaired retinal detachment, or unusually high or low intraocular pressures, some eyes just seem to "quit". They start to shrink, pull back into the orbit, and may become painful. Usually if you see someone with a whitened, shrunken eye, it is phthisis. Phthisis is more of a description than a true diagnosis - it is the end result of a number of different problems with eyes

[joette]

I think its modern equivalent is a "virus". You go to the Doctor with a variety of symptoms he scratches his head & utters the words "Oh it sounds like a Virus"!
I think it was the polite word for TB but any general wasting of the body where they couldnt give a definite diagnosis was catogrised as this.
May I also send my sympathies to Margeret what an appaling shock- this is an extremely rare cause of death for a woman so young.I have been reading a book this weekend which talks about death not just being the loss of that person but the death of their memories,their laughter & their presence in the World.
As I been finding the Deaths in childhood for ancestors I thought had survived to Adulthood I spent a good part of last week "greeting" my eyes out.Particularly poignant was the concurrent Death entries for two Great-Aunts who died within a few hours of each other from Whooping Cough & the entries for other children in the same area from the same.
Thank God for Immunisation I would send their opponents on a trawl through these records & maybe they would be less inclined to scare people away from this lifesaver.

[Andy]

The Eye condition is Phthisis Bulbi (shrinking or wasting of the eye) different from Phthisis which is just (wasting or shrinkage in Greek).

Characterized by a general wasting of the body Phthisis (the short form of Phthisis pulmonalis - wasting of the lungs), as applied to old death certs, is ALWAYS Tuberculosis.

[DavidWW]

I have pictures of both of my maternal great grandmothers. One is obviously a happy, smiling person, but the other I use to think was a very grim looking person, and it wasn't just the pose as it can sometimes be in such old photographs, - the need to remain rigidly still for as long as several minutes.

And then I caught the big G bug and fairly quickly disovered that she lost her husband at the age of 46 - possibly occupationally related casue of death, - and her younger son aged 6, inside a 6 week period.

David