Shocking treatment: Electricity in 19th-century medical treatment

A crowd of curious people in one of Seoul's busy streets in the winter of 1883-1884, perhaps shocked at their first encounter with a camera (or possibly the American cameraman). Robert Neff Collection

By Robert Neff

In the summer of 1877, a new type of medicine was introduced into Korea. Dr. Yano, a Japanese naval surgeon, established a hospital in Fusan (now part of modern Busan) where he treated not only the Japanese residents of the enclave but also Koreans from the surrounding regions. At first, many Koreans distrusted this foreign doctor and his new medicines, but, upon hearing glowing testimonies from their peers who had received treatment, their reluctance faded away and the hospital was soon frequented by those in desperate situations.

According to one observer:

"The Coreans are most astonished, and think that there must be something supernatural in the treatment."

Sometimes these treatments came in the form of potions and ointments. A Korean official who complained of having "rather weak eyes," was given "a bottle of the Seikisui eye-medicine" and was very impressed with its results and made his satisfaction well-known to those around him. Subsequently, the medicine acquired a great reputation and a large quantity of this wonder drug was requested ― some orders were even received from Seoul.

However, not all of the doctor's treatments were derived from ingredients that could be found in a well-stocked pharmacy ― some were administered through the mysteries of modern technology.

An elderly Korean gentleman, whose arm was paralyzed from many years of severe rheumatism, beseeched Dr. Yano to help him. The physician brought out a strange box and attached wires from it to the elderly patient's arm and then "passed a current through [the] arm by means of an electrical machine, and the limb which had been useless for so many years recovered its powers again." The astounded patient exclaimed Dr. Yano was the rebirth of Shennong (Sinnong) ― the Chinese god of medicine ― and, "in the excess of his joy," almost became mad raving about the powers of the doctor.

Many people feared electricity. Superstitious people (in Korea as well as the United States) feared it was evil or a tool of the gods, while others more scientifically inclined feared it for its potential to kill those who were careless with its use. It is interesting to note that some of the earliest Westerners residing in Korea were using electricity to treat their medical conditions.

From 1883 to 1884, Lucius Foote, the first American Minister to Korea, had a "small dynamo electric machine" that he may have used on himself and his wife as they both tended to be physically unhealthy; in fact, Mrs. Foote died shortly after she returned to the United States. In 1885, the "small dynamo electric machine" was passed on to Dr. Horace N. Allen, the Footes' physician. It isn't clear if Allen ever used it to treat his patients at his hospital in Seoul but it certainly is possible.

An image of Shennong by Guo Xu in 1503. Public domain image taken from Wikipedia

In the winter of 1893-1894, Clarence Greathouse, an American advisor to the Joseon court, used an electrical battery on his elderly mother's aching back. In her diary she wrote:

"The General [her son's nickname] brought up his battery and gave some shocks hoping it would relieve the pain in my back, which I am inclined to think it will. At bedtime now, I feel better and if it should succeed in getting me ease I will let him repeat it."

A few days later she wrote: "Last night my son used the battery on me again and this morning. [I] think I can recommend it. [He] says he wants to use it every night; that it could be good for [my] health, anyway, I am almost a believer in electricity, to some extent anyway."

Mrs. Greathouse had a penchant for describing her aches and pains in her diary so her failure to mention the electrical treatments in a negative manner makes me suspect they were relatively painless. Apparently, the treatments worked and she never mentioned them again in her diaries.

Electricity was also used in dentistry. Some dentists in the United States declared it was one of their greatest tools. I suspect they meant for powering their equipment, lights and X-rays. Western dentists in Japan quickly adopted it for their own practices.

In October 1896, John Sill (the American Minister to Korea), his wife (Sallie) and her sister (Lily) traveled to Nagasaki, Japan, on vacation. While in Nagasaki, Lily ― who was plagued with bad teeth ― visited one of the city's American dentists who proposed "to fill and extract teeth without pain with the aid of electricity and cocaine."

Electric mouth battery purported to be "beneficial in many diseases common to mankind, especially catarrh, deafness, weak eyes, headache, various nerve disorders, stomach and lung troubles and diseases of the mouth, reducing inflammation, arising from regulating the teeth." Chicago dentist, L.L. Funk's testimony in an advertisement from 1895. Public domain

In a letter home, Sallie wrote, "One cannot escape the nervous excitement that always accompanies any work done to the teeth," but Lily seemed quite pleased with the treatment she received and declared it to be painless. That all changed the following morning when she was staggered by an intense headache from the previous day's torment in the dentist chair. Adding to her suffering was the unenviable knowledge that she would have to undergo treatment again the following week.

In her letter, Sallie asked her son, "Do dentists in Michigan make use of electricity and cocaine to deaden the pain so that they can fill teeth without causing any suffering?" She then gushed (apparently, forgetting the pain her sister had suffered just the previous week): "It is a wonderful discovery and a great blessing to those who have sensitive teeth."

There were others who shared her sentiment. A clipping from The Dental Cosmos (1896) reveals Dr. William J. Morton happily proclaiming to his peers: "Already painless dentistry is within your grasp by aid of electricity and simple anesthetics, and now the X ray more than rivals your exploring mirror, your probe, your most delicate sense of touch, and your keenest powers of hypothetical diagnosis."

It is kind of hard to quantify "painless" especially considering not all of the hurt was physical. Not only did Lily have intense headaches from her treatment but she also suffered from the high price of the dental bill.

I wonder if Sallie Sill was aware that the inventor of the electric chair was Alfred P. Southwick, a dentist in Buffalo, New York. On August 6, 1890, William Kemmler ― a 30-year-old alcoholic who had murdered his common-law wife ― was the first person to be executed by the electric chair. His execution lasted nearly eight minutes and was described as "an awful spectacle, far worse than hanging." Southwick, however, seemed quite pleased with his invention and declared: "We live in a higher civilization from this day."

Something to think about the next time you are sitting in the dental chair.

Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books, including Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.