A health librarian at the theatre: The Madness of George III

It ' s been several weeks since I " went " to the theatre, but I have just watched the Nottingham Playhouse ' s production of this Alan Bennett play, on theNational Theatre Live YouTube channel.I saw the film (called The Madness of King George) some years back and I was aware of the idea that the King was not mad, but had porphyria.  The clue was the blue urine, which none of the doctors (in the play) thought was important.But I had not realised that view has been questioned.  There are several articles in the medical literature, many by Timothy Peters of the University of Birmingham (UK).  It is argued in those that the authors who advanced the porphyria theory were rather selective when it came to symptoms, and misinterpreted the ones they did choose, and did not consider the King ' s mental health.There were several things that caught my health librarian eye while watching.All of this is, of course, Alan Bennett ' s portrayal of the characters involved.There were three doctors involved in the King ' s care, before Dr Francis Willis.   All seemed glued to their view of diagnosis and treatment.  One was sure that blistering was the treatment needed to draw out the bad humour that was the cause.  Another based all their diagnosis on the King ' s stools.   The third was set on prescribing a particular thing.   They, and the King ' s servants, noticed the blue urine, but it seems as it did not fit anyone...
Source: Browsing - Category: Databases & Libraries Tags: medical history psychiatry Source Type: blogs