 |
|
|
|
 Melissa Sue Anderson, right, portrayed Mary Ingalls in the 1970s NBC TV show "Little House on the Prairie."
February 4th, 2013
10:47 AM ET
The real reason Mary Ingalls went blindIf you watched "Little House on the Prairie," chances are you remember the story of Mary Ingalls. The television show and popular book series drew on the real-life experiences of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Mary, Laura's sister, went blind as a teenager after contracting scarlet fever, according to the story. Now a team of medical researchers are raising questions about whether that's true. Dr. Beth Tarini, one of the co-authors of the paper, became intrigued by the question as a medical student. "I was in my pediatrics rotation. We were talking about scarlet fever, and I said, 'Oh, scarlet fever makes you go blind. Mary Ingalls went blind from it,'" recalls Tarini, who is now an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Michigan. My supervisor said, "I don't think so." Tarini started doing research. Over the course of 10 years, she and her team of researchers, pored over old papers and letters written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, local newspaper accounts of Mary's illness and epidemiological data on blindness and infectious disease in the late 19th century. What they found was intriguing.
Digging deeper, when researchers looked at epidemiological data from the time, they saw that most cases of blindness attributed to scarlet fever were temporary. In addition, newspaper accounts of Mary's illness report "severe headaches" and one side of her face being partially paralyzed. Finally, and perhaps the most important piece of evidence, in a letter Wilder wrote to her daughter, Rose, right before her book "By the Shores of Silver Lake" was published, she makes reference "some sort of spinal sickness". The letter also mentions that Mary saw a specialist in Chicago who said "the nerves of her eyes were paralyzed and there was no hope." Diagnosis by these disease detectives: viral meningoencephalitis, which causes inflammation of the brain and the meninges, the membrane that covers the brain. In severe cases, it can cause inflammation of the optic nerve that can result in a slow and progressive loss of sight. It may not be the biggest bombshell to hit the medical world, but to "Little House" fans, the question remains: why did Wilder change her sister's illness to scarlet fever? The study authors believe it could be because Wilder and her editors thought scarlet fever would be more relatable to her readers. Scarlet fever is mentioned in other books from the period, including "Little Women" and "Frankenstein." But there is also an important wider medical lesson we can learn from this research. Today, about 10% of people infected with strep get scarlet fever, says Tarini. It is easily treatable. But because the cultural reference to scarlet fever is so ingrained in our culture, people assume it is very dangerous. "People read as children that scarlet fever makes you go blind," says Tarini. "Parents look concerned ... so I have to debunk it in the office." The study was published Monday in this week's edition of the journal Pediatrics. soundoff (1,771 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Next »Leave a Reply to Sprinter Repair Costa Mesa
Next entry »Too much TV could damage sperm production
« Previous entry7 weight loss myths (sort of) debunked
|
  About this blog
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love.
 |
|
|
|
buy brimonidine online combigan eye drops generic
I used to be able to find good advice from your content.
https://teacher.piano.or.jp/redirect_link?ptna_id=100017&url=https://ocrvcenter.com/rv-repair-shop-valley-village-california
Excellent blog you have here.. It’s difficult to find quality writing like yours nowadays. I really appreciate people like you! Take care!!
https://ad.sxp.smartclip.net/optout?url=https://ocrvcenter.net/rv-repair-shop-redondo-beach-california
I'm very happy to find this great site. I wanted to thank you for ones time for this wonderful read!! I definitely really liked every part of it and I have you saved to fav to look at new things in your site.
https://www.lnbrb.us/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=http://affordableranking.com
https://home.putclub.com/link.php?url=http://ocrvcenter.com/rv-repair-shop-pomona-california/
A fascinating discussion is definitely worth comment. I think that you need to publish more about this subject matter, it might not be a taboo matter but generally people do not talk about such subjects. To the next! Kind regards!!
http://vpdacha.ru/_snippet/redirector.php?url=http://ocrvcenter.com/airport-bus-collision-repair-shop-near-me
Hi, I do believe this is an excellent site. I stumbledupon it 😉 I'm going to return once again since i have book marked it. Money and freedom is the greatest way to change, may you be rich and continue to guide other people.
http://www.arrowscripts.com/cgi-bin/a2/out.cgi?id=66&l=bigtop&u=https://ocrvcenter.com/rv-ac-repair-near-me
http://www.wikileaks-forum.com/index.php?thememode=full;redirect=http://affordableranking.com
Oh my goodness! Amazing article dude! Thank you, However I am having difficulties with your RSS. I don’t know the reason why I cannot subscribe to it. Is there anybody else having similar RSS problems? Anyone that knows the solution can you kindly respond? Thanx!!
https://www.grantrequest.com/SID_1268/default4.asp?SA=EXIT&url=https://ocrv.art/rv-repair-shop-walnut-california
/
http://chtbl.com/track/118167/ocrvcenter.com/rv-fiberglass-repair-near-me
This excellent website truly has all the information and facts I needed about this subject and didn’t know who to ask.
http://members.ascrs.org/sso/logout.aspx?returnurl=https://ocrvcenter.com/rv-repair-shop-agoura-hills-california/
http://www.lawter-international.biz/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=affordableranking.com
Having read this I thought it was extremely informative. I appreciate you spending some time and effort to put this informative article together. I once again find myself personally spending way too much time both reading and posting comments. But so what, it was still worthwhile!
https://www.tarim.gen.tr/yonlendir.asp?url=affordableranking.com
http://blogideias.com/go.php?http://affordableranking.com
An outstanding share! I've just forwarded this onto a co-worker who had been conducting a little homework on this. And he actually ordered me breakfast simply because I found it for him... lol. So let me reword this.... Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending some time to talk about this topic here on your web page.
https://panarmenian.net/eng/tofv?tourl=https://ocrvcenter.com/rv-repair-shop-bell-gardens-california/
https://horizoninteractiveawards.com/index.php?URL=http://ocrvcenter.com/rv-repair-shop-lawndale-california
There is certainly a great deal to learn about this topic. I love all of the points you've made.
https://navigator.az/redirect.php?url=https://keyword-rank.com/search/phone-repair-shops-near-me
Having read this I believed it was very informative. I appreciate you finding the time and effort to put this informative article together. I once again find myself personally spending a significant amount of time both reading and leaving comments. But so what, it was still worth it!
http://www.shatki.info/files/links.php?go=http://www.affordableranking.com/
https://chloroquineorigin.com/ chloroquine prophylaxis chloroquine side effects chloroquine nz buy chloroquine online canada
https://vse-doski.com/redirect/?go=https://ocrvluxurycoaches.com/rv-repair-shop-national-city-california
https://www.aidenpan.com/home/link.php?url=https://ocrvcenter.com/rv-repair-shop-el-segundo-california/
tadalafil generic https://apcalisetadalafil.com/ – cheap generic cialis for sale buy tadalis tadalafil generic https://tadalafilol.com/
It’s hard to find educated people about this subject, however, you sound like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
/
/
http://www.spacioclub.ru/forum_script/url/?go=http://www.ocrvcenter.com/rv-repair-shop-diamond-bar-california/
brimonidine side effects brimonidine tartrate
http://www.hammer.if.tv/cgi/search/rank.cgi?mode=link&id=5028&url=http://www.affordableranking.com
cialis at canadian pharmacy https://tadagatadalafil.com/ where to get tadalafil cost of cialis what is tadalafil
generic cialis tadalafil https://tadalafilww.com/ – tadalafil goodrx generic cialis tadalafil tadalafil generic https://tadalafilol.com/
cyclosporine eye drops cyclosporine
http://cc.toast.com/cc?a=godo&m=1&pr=pc&pid=&u=http://article.rabia.co.in/110938/how-to-accomplish-study-and-locate-the-very-best-rv-maintenance-near-me/
May I simply just say what a relief to discover a person that genuinely understands what they are talking about over the internet. You definitely realize how to bring an issue to light and make it important. More and more people have to read this and understand this side of the story. It's surprising you're not more popular since you surely have the gift.
/
https://error404.atomseo.com/away?to=http://ruangtani.id/index.php/12954/most-searching-with-these-guidelines-information-number-from
http://nudewwedivas.forumcommunity.net/m/ext.php?url=https://pzskatsp.pl/7005/How-To-carry-out-Analysis-As-Well/serwis.html
Can I just say what a comfort to find somebody that truly knows what they're discussing on the web. You actually realize how to bring an issue to light and make it important. A lot more people must look at this and understand this side of the story. I can't believe you're not more popular given that you certainly have the gift.
/
/
Your style is so unique compared to other people I've read stuff from. Thanks for posting when you've got the opportunity, Guess I will just book mark this blog.
http://www.vpdacha.ru/_snippet/redirector.php?url=https://luftfahrwerk-flügeltüren.de/gaestebuch.html?start=140
Hi there! This article couldn’t be written much better! Looking through this article reminds me of my previous roommate! He continually kept preaching about this. I am going to send this post to him. Fairly certain he's going to have a great read. Thank you for sharing!
https://crimea.rtrs.ru/go/?q=https://uccadia.com/rdc-le-don-de-larmee-a-la-commission-electorale-inquiete/
https://cttadalafil.com/ side effects for tadalafil buy generic cialis online with mastercard buy tadalis tadalafil cialis
http://remontmix.ru/out?t=1&mid=19521&url=postfallsmarketing.com
Good day! I simply wish to give you a huge thumbs up for the great information you have here on this post. I'll be returning to your blog for more soon.
https://www.grantrequest.com/SID_1268/default4.asp?SA=EXIT&url=https://forkliftswildwestlifttrucks.com/mission-viejo-forklifts/
https://53938.measurementapi.com/serve?action=click&publisher_id=53938&site_id=92394&sub_campaign=g5e_com&url=https://forkliftswildwestlifttrucks.com/indio-forklifts
https://motherless.com/index/top?url=http://postfallsfitness.com/
https://singhui.com/uchome/link.php?url=http://affordableranking.com
After I initially commented I appear to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on every time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Is there a means you are able to remove me from that service? Thanks a lot!
https://fantasticfansforless.net/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=www.affordableranking.com
http://www.bbw-library.com/out.php?gid=fa2371&n=41&url=http://affordableranking.com
http://www.xiguaji.com/service/link/?url=http://forkliftswildwestlifttrucks.com/kalmar-forklift-repair-orange-county-california
https://sc.devb.gov.hk/TuniS/forkliftswildwestlifttrucks.com/pape-forklift-repair-orange-county-california/
http://bb3x.ru/go.php?https://forkliftswildwestlifttrucks.com/telescopic-forklift-repair-orange-county-california/