what illnesses did george washington suffer from?
Malaria Smallpox Tuberculosis
entailment
 In 1757 Washington renewed attempts to cultivate relations in the army in the hopes of getting a commission . He wrote flattering letters to the new commander in chief , the Earl of Loudoun , and even named one of Virginia 's frontier forts after him . However , Loudoun was only in command for one year , and was recalled after a failed expedition against Fortress Louisbourg . Later in the year , Washington again suffered a serious bout of dysentery ; he was bedridden for much of the winter of 1757 – 58 , and even suggested to the Virginia Burgesses that he be replaced since he could not properly do his duty as colonel of the regiment . 

entailment
 U.S. Presidents George Washington , Andrew Jackson , and Abraham Lincoln all contracted and recovered from the disease . Washington became infected with smallpox on a visit to Barbados in 1751 . Jackson developed the illness after being taken prisoner by the British during the American Revolution , and though he recovered , his brother Robert did not . Lincoln contracted the disease during his Presidency , possibly from his son Tad , and was quarantined shortly after giving the Gettysburg address in 1863 . 

entailment
 A total of three physicians were sent for , including Washington 's personal physician Dr. James Craik along with Dr. Gustavus Brown and Dr. Elisha Dick . Craik and Brown thought that Washington had " quinsey " or " quincy " , while Dick , the younger man , thought the condition was more serious or a " violent inflammation of the throat " . By the time the three physicians finished their treatments and bloodletting of the president , there had been a massive volume of blood loss — half or more of his total blood content was removed over the course of just a few hours . Recognizing that the bloodletting and other treatments were failing , Dr. Dick proposed performing an emergency tracheotomy , a procedure that few American physicians were familiar with at the time , as a last @-@ ditch effort to save Washington 's life , but the other two doctors disapproved . 

entailment
 The diagnosis of Washington 's final illness and the immediate cause of his death have been subjects of debate since the day he died . In the days immediately following his death , Craik and Dick 's published account stated that they felt his symptoms had been consistent with " cynanche trachealis " , a term of that period used to describe severe inflammation of the structures of the upper airway . Even at that early date , there were accusations of medical malpractice , with some believing that Washington had been bled to death . Various modern medical authors have speculated that Washington probably died from a severe case of epiglottitis which was complicated by the given treatments ( all of which were accepted medical practice in Washington 's day ) — most notably the massive deliberate blood loss , which almost certainly caused hypovolemic shock . 

entailment
 A notable and well @-@ documented case in the 19th century was that of young Theodore Roosevelt ( 1858 – 1919 ) . At that time there was no effective treatment . Roosevelt 's youth was in large part shaped by his poor health partly related to his asthma . He experienced recurring nighttime asthma attacks that caused the experience of being smothered to death , terrifying the boy and his parents . 
