Treatment of chronic enterocolitis in the first half of the XIX century: Beethoven’s mineral water intake

Abstract

The great German composer of the First Viennese School Ludwig van Beethoven suffered from hearing impairment and diseases of the digestive system for most of his life. His health status strongly influenced both his life and creativity. The use of mineral waters in the first half of the 19th century was an important part of the therapeutic arsenal of physicians; it was actively used in the Beethoven’s treatment. Balneotherapy is one of the least‑studied aspects of the composer’s medical history. The purpose of the research was to study the use of mineral water in the treatment of Ludwig van Beethoven. Beethoven’s letters and works of his most authoritative biographers were analyzed with a view to revealing information about the use of mineral waters in his treatment. Scopus, WebOfScience, MedLine and PubMed databases, electronic archives were searched without time restriction for information on the use of mineral waters in European spa resorts in the first half of the 19th century. Since 1796, Beethoven suffered chronic enterocolitis and progressive hearing impairment, since 1820 — portal cirrhosis of the liver. Mineral water intake was an important part of Beethoven’s treatment from 1799 until his death in 1827. The medicine of its time was mainly empirical, the diagnosis was based only on the data of a survey and examination of the patient, methods of physical research have not yet received wide application. Beethoven’s treatment meets the advanced achievements of balneology at the end of the 18th century. The composer annually took mineral water at spa resorts (Baden, Teplice, Carlsbad, Franzenbrunn) during the season (up to 6 months) and continued to receive bottled mineral water in Vienna. Spa therapy (and, in particular, mineral water intake) became part of Ludwig van Beethoven’s life.