Lucius Rüedi

Lucius Rüedi (* in Igis ( Graubünden ); † 1870 in Alvaneu (Graubünden)) was a Swiss pulmonologist .

meaning

Lucius Rüedi was the first physician to recognize the beneficial effects of the high alpine climate on tuberculosis patients. In May 1844, in a letter to the Zurich spa doctor Conrad Meyer-Ahrens , he reported that children who had been ill with tuberculosis in various degrees of severity could be discharged as cured after his treatment and only had scars on their lungs .

Rüedi's observation shook the prevailing prejudice in specialist circles at the time about so-called "mountain sickness" ( altitude sickness ): the thin air at high altitudes would excessively irritate and ruin the infected lungs, which would soon lead to general physical decline. Doctors therefore preferred at the time to send lung patients to warm areas such as the Riviera , the Côte d'Azur or Egypt for healing .

Professional background

From 1828 to 1830 and from 1835 to 1848 Lucius Rüedi was a landscape doctor in Davos (Graubünden), and from the summer of 1848 a landscape doctor in Alvaneu (Graubünden).

Family and private

Lucius Rüedi was married to Rahel Conrad. The couple had eight children, including six boys. The oldest was called Wilhelm, the youngest Carl.

Several sons, like their father, became doctors. Wilhelm, Paul (* 1844) and Carl (1848–1901) practiced in the USA , among others . The best known was Carl , who dealt with the Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson , among others .

supporting documents

• The Davos Courier , Vol. XIV, No. 14/15, June 14, 1901, no p.
• Davos leaves . Traffic organ for Ragaz, Prättigau, Davos and Engadin; XXX. Vol., No. 25, Davos, June 22, 1901, no p.