The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1884-05-30
THE LONGEVITY OF DOCTORS.

THE LONGEVITY OF DOCTORS.
Judging from the great age of the survi.
vors of the battle of Waterloo, participation
In that battle was the surest means of longev-
ity which an Englishman of that day could
take. OF course this resource is no longer
open to persons desiring to live beyond three
score years and ten but such persons can &C.
complish nearly as much by becoming doctors.
Twenty-six eminent physicians and surgeons
have died in England during the last four
years, all of whom were over 80 years of age,
and nine of whom were over 80. The two
who had attained the greatest age died at 95,
and began their profession as army surgeons
These two may possibly have laid the founda-
ton of their longevity at the battle of Water
loo but however this may be, the fact that
English medical men live to a great age is
sufficiently established.
The popular idea of doctors life is that
he Is exposed to dangers that ought to cut
him off at an early age AS medical stu
dent he is believed to undermine his consti-
tuition with tobacco and spirits and to run the
risk of inhicting fatal wounds upon himself
with the dissecting knife. When in active
practice he is supposed to be dragged out of
bed at all hours and in all weathers to attend
to his patients and to be constantly exposed
to the danger of contracting infectious and
contagious diseases. The wonder is that
man engaged in such profession ever lives
to middle age, whereas, as the statistics above
quoted show, he has an excellent chance of
living to be 80 or 80.
The facts undoubtedly are that in doc
tors daily life there are conditions which are
eminently favorable to longevity. First
among these is the fact that doctor never
takes his own medicines. Men who are not
doctors take large quantities of medicine,
and it has been computed that the average
Englshman takes seven quarts of liquid med
icine, three pounds of powders, and two
hundred pills annually from the time of his
birth until his death. About a third of this
enormous quantity of medicine is taken with
out the advice of physician, and the remain
ing two-thirds are given by medical advisers.
Now, doctor not only never takes his own
medicines, but he very seldom calls in an
other physician to prescribe for him, we'll
knowing that medicines are to be taken only
when their use cannot be avoided. This gives
the doctor an immense advantage over ordi-
nary men, in spite of his greater liability to
contract contagious and infectious diseases.
Then, too, doctor takes a great deal of
exercise. 1t is true that he takes little exer-
else in the course of his Office practice but his
Does to hurry from one house to another and
to climb innumerable stairs, gives him the
exercise which men of other professions fail
to obtain. Then, again, he sleeps more
soundly than other men. Knowing that he
may be called up at any hour, he goes to bed
with the resolution of COMPRISING as much
sleep as possible into the brefest time; and
the concentrated sleep thus obtained does him
more good than many hours of light and IN
easy slumber.
10 these healthful features of a doctors
life may be added the pleasures which his pro-
fession yields The surgeon meets with
constant succession of delightful amputations,
aud is liable to be agreeably surprised every
day of his life with unusual assesses and
novel tumors, upon which he can exercise his
ingenuity and his knife. The physician
meets with quantities of interesting diseases.
and is always hoping to be the first to de-
scribe some new disease to which his name
will be forever attached, like the popular dis
eases discovered by Messrs. Bright and Cox,
respectively If the doctor is successful, as
nearly all doctors seem to be, there flows in
upon him constantly increasing stream of
fees, and lucky pestilence or a fortunate
series of explosions and railway collisions
may at any time make the physician or sur
geon a rich man.
1t is thus easy to understand why members
of the medical profession live to great age.
Almost as easy, in fact, as it is to understand
why their patients seldom rival them in lon
gevity.