Ruler | Illness | Symptoms | Treatment | Outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|
King Louis XIV (1638–1715) |
Fistula-in-Ano, the formation of an abnormal track in anus | Infection, perennial discharge, bleeding, swelling | Surgeon Felix de Tassy surgically drained Louis’ fistula on November 18, 1686. | Louis recovered from the operation, and fistulas became a fashionable malady at the court of Versailles. |
Empress Catherine the Great (1729–1796) |
Smallpox, an infectious disease | Rash, fever, pus-filled blisters | English doctor Thomas Dimsdale came to Russia in 1768 to give the then-new inoculations to Catherine and her son. | Catherine and her son avoided getting the disease, and inoculations became acceptable in Russia. |
Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich Romanov (1904–1918) |
Hemophilia, a hereditary blood disorder | Inability to coagulate blood | Mystic healer Rasputin treated Alexei, using hypnotism and prayers, from 1905 to 1916, when Rasputin was murdered. | Alexei survived long enough to be murdered along with the rest of the royal family in 1918. |
Chairman Mao Zedong (1893–1976) |
Trichomonas vaginalis, a sexually transmitted infection | None for men; urinary-tract infections and cervical cancer for women | The chairman’s personal doctor Li Zhisui prescribed Flagyl to infected mistresses in the ’60s while Mao said, “If it’s not hurting me, then it doesn’t matter.” | Mao engaged in sexual intercourse with untold numbers of women, and many of those infected were proud of having the ruler’s disease. |
President John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) |
Addison’s disease, an endocrine disorder | Muscle weakness, low blood pressure, salt craving, hyperpigmentation | A London physician diagnosed Kennedy with the disease in 1947, saying he had less than one year to live, and started him on cortisone therapy. | Kennedy and his staff denied he was sick by using a narrow definition of Addison’s; the hormone treatment made his face rough and pigmentation bronze. |