Particles of
copper were breathed in by copper workers, whose hair and beards
then turned green. Braziers became deaf. Hairdressers, bakers,
masons, bricklayers' laborers, coal heavers, chimney sweeps, flax
and feather dressers, and workers in leather warehouses suffered
pulmonary diseases. Chimney sweeps also had warty skin cancer from
their bodies being habitually covered with soot and the lethal
cancer of the scrotum. Working with charcoal fires affected
confectioners, chocolate makers, and sail-cloth makers. Tanners,
catgut makers, and tallow-candle makers became nauseous. Heavy
work weakened many bodies and caused hernias. Bending over work
for long hours caused stooped posture and hump backs.
The association between dirt and disease was just beginning to be
made. The principles of infection and hygiene were not well
understood. Bathing every couple of months was not unusual. There
was some theological feeling that cleanliness betokened pride and
filthiness humility. Most houses had a bathtub that could be
placed beside the fire in a bedroom. About 80% of the population
had been getting smallpox, which blinded, maimed or disfigured
many. Deaths from smallpox were only occasional in the country,
but constant in London, where about 13% of every generation died
from it. Making death commonplace, especially in the winter months
when thick, dirty clothes were worn day and night, were typhus,
which was carried by lice; typhoid, which was spread by flies from
horse dung; tuberculosis; and influenza.
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