For much of his adult life, Charles Darwin's health was repeatedly compromised by an uncommon combination of

symptom Signs and symptoms are the observed or detectable signs, and experienced symptoms of an illness, injury, or condition. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature than normal, raised or lowered blood pressure or an abnormality showin ...

s, leaving him severely debilitated for long periods of time. However, in some ways this may have helped his work, and

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

wrote "Even ill-health, though it has annihilated several years of my life, has saved me from the distractions of society and amusement." He consulted numerous doctors, but, with the

medical science Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practice ...

of the time, the cause remained undiagnosed. He tried all available treatments, but, at best, they had only temporary success. More recently, there has been much speculation as to the nature of his illness.

Development of illness and symptoms

As a medical student at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, Darwin found that he was too sensitive to the sight of blood and the brutality of surgery at the time, so he turned his attention to natural history, an extramural interest he developed when studying at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

to qualify as a clergyman. On 10 December 1831, as he waited in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

for the voyage on HMS ''Beagle'' to begin, he suffered from chest pain and heart palpitations, but told no one at the time in case it stopped him from going on the survey expedition. During the voyage, he suffered badly from sea-sickness during the eighteen months he was at sea, but he spent much of the three years and three months he was on land in strenuous exploration. In

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

at the start of October 1833, he collapsed with a fever. He spent two days in bed, and then memories of a young shipmate who had died of the fever persuaded him to take a boat down river to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, lying ill in his cabin until the fever passed. On 20 September 1834, while returning from a horseback expedition in the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

mountains, he fell ill and spent the month of October in bed in Valparaiso. This would be consistent with infection with ''

Trypanosoma cruzi ''Trypanosoma cruzi'' is a species of parasitic euglenoids. Among the protozoa, the trypanosomes characteristically bore tissue in another organism and feed on blood (primarily) and also lymph. This behaviour causes disease or the likelihood of ...

''. In his diary for 25 March 1835, while to the east of the Andes near Mendoza, he noted "an attack (for it deserves no less a name) of the Benchuca, a species of

Reduvius Reduvius is a large genus of reduviids or assassin bugs. The masked hunter, ''Reduvius personatus'', is a well-known example of this genus. They measure 8–22 mm. They are the largest predatory insects and one of the largest clades of pre ...

, the great black bug of the

Pampas The Pampas (from the qu, pampa, meaning "plain") are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all of Uruguay; and Brazil ...

". These are associated with transmittal of ''Trypanosoma cruzi'' causing Chagas' disease, but in subsequent days he does not mention the fever characteristic of first infection, which may have occurred in September 1834. After the voyage ended on 2 October 1836, he quickly established himself as an eminent

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

, at the same time secretly beginning speculations on transmutation as he conceived of his theory. On 20 September 1837, he suffered "an uncomfortable palpitation of the heart" and as "''strongly''" advised by his doctors, left for a month of recuperation in the countryside. That October he wrote, "Of late anything which flurries me completely knocks me up afterwards, and brings on a violent palpitation of the heart." In the spring of 1838 he was overworked, worried and suffering stomach upsets and headaches which caused him to be unable to work for days on end. These intensified and heart troubles returned, so in June he went "geologising" in Scotland and felt fully recuperated. Later that year however, bouts of illness returned—a pattern which would continue. He married

Emma Wedgwood Emma Darwin (; 2 May 1808 – 2 October 1896) was an English woman who was the cousin marriage, wife and first cousin of Charles Darwin. They were married on 29 January 1839 and were the parents of ten children, seven of whom survived to adulth ...

on 29 January 1839, and in December of that year as Emma's first pregnancy progressed, he fell ill and accomplished little during the following year. For over forty years Darwin suffered intermittently from various combinations of symptoms such as:

malaise As a medical term, malaise is a feeling of general discomfort, uneasiness or lack of wellbeing and often the first sign of an infection or other disease. The word has existed in French since at least the 12th century. The term is often used ...

vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

dizziness Dizziness is an imprecise term that can refer to a sense of disorientation in space, vertigo, or lightheadedness. It can also refer to disequilibrium or a non-specific feeling, such as giddiness or foolishness. Dizziness is a common medical c ...

, muscle

spasm A spasm is a sudden involuntary contraction of a muscle, a group of muscles, or a hollow organ such as the bladder. A spasmodic muscle contraction may be caused by many medical conditions, including dystonia. Most commonly, it is a muscle c ...

s and

tremor A tremor is an involuntary, somewhat rhythmic, muscle contraction and relaxation involving oscillations or twitching movements of one or more body parts. It is the most common of all involuntary movements and can affect the hands, arms, eyes, fa ...

vomiting Vomiting (also known as emesis and throwing up) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the Human nose, nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like Food-poisoning, foo ...

cramps A cramp is a sudden, involuntary, painful skeletal muscle contraction or overshortening associated with electrical activity; while generally temporary and non-damaging, they can cause significant pain and a paralysis-like immobility of the aff ...

and

colic Colic or cholic () is a form of pain that starts and stops abruptly. It occurs due to muscular contractions of a hollow tube ( small and large intestine, gall bladder, ureter, etc.) in an attempt to relieve an obstruction by forcing content out ...

bloating Abdominal bloating (or simply bloating) is a short-term disease that affects the gastrointestinal tract. Bloating is generally characterized by an excess buildup of gas, air or fluids in the stomach. A person may have feelings of tightness, press ...

and nocturnal

intestinal gas Flatulence, in humans, is the expulsion of gas from the intestines via the anus, commonly referred to as farting. "Flatus" is the medical word for gas generated in the stomach or bowels. A proportion of intestinal gas may be swallowed environm ...

headache Headache is the symptom of pain in the face, head, or neck. It can occur as a migraine, tension-type headache, or cluster headache. There is an increased risk of depression in those with severe headaches. Headaches can occur as a result ...

s, alterations of

vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain un ...

, severe tiredness, nervous exhaustion,

dyspnea Shortness of breath (SOB), also medically known as dyspnea (in AmE) or dyspnoea (in BrE), is an uncomfortable feeling of not being able to breathing, breathe well enough. The American Thoracic Society defines it as "a subjective experience of brea ...

skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other cuticle, animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have diffe ...

problems such as

blister A blister is a small pocket of body fluid (lymph, serum, plasma, blood, or pus) within the upper layers of the skin, usually caused by forceful rubbing (friction), burning, freezing, chemical exposure or infection. Most blisters are filled wi ...

s all over the

scalp The scalp is the anatomical area bordered by the human face at the front, and by the neck at the sides and back. Structure The scalp is usually described as having five layers, which can conveniently be remembered as a mnemonic: * S: The ski ...

and

eczema Dermatitis is inflammation of the Human skin, skin, typically characterized by itchiness, erythema, redness and a rash. In cases of short duration, there may be small blisters, while in long-term cases the skin may become lichenification, thick ...

crying Crying is the dropping of tears (or welling of tears in the eyes) in response to an emotional state, or pain. Emotions that can lead to crying include sadness, anger, and even happiness. The act of crying has been defined as "a complex secr ...

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...

, sensation of impending death and loss of consciousness,

fainting Syncope, commonly known as fainting, or passing out, is a loss of consciousness and muscle strength characterized by a fast onset, short duration, and spontaneous recovery. It is caused by a decrease in blood flow to the brain, typically from ...

tachycardia Tachycardia, also called tachyarrhythmia, is a heart rate that exceeds the normal resting rate. In general, a resting heart rate over 100 beats per minute is accepted as tachycardia in adults. Heart rates above the resting rate may be normal (su ...

insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...

tinnitus Tinnitus is the perception of sound when no corresponding external sound is present. Nearly everyone experiences a faint "normal tinnitus" in a completely quiet room; but it is of concern only if it is bothersome, interferes with normal hearin ...

, and depression.

Water treatment

Darwin had no success with conventional treatments. In 1849, after about four months of incessant vomiting he took up the recommendation of his friend Captain Sulivan and cousin

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

to try the water therapy regimen at Dr James Gully's Water Cure Establishment at

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

. He read Gully's book, which provided case histories and had a price list at the back. Darwin rented a villa at Malvern for his family and started a two-month trial of the treatment on 10 March. Gully agreed with Darwin's self-diagnosis of nervous

dyspepsia Indigestion, also known as dyspepsia or upset stomach, is a condition of impaired digestion. Symptoms may include upper abdominal fullness, heartburn, nausea, belching, or upper abdominal pain. People may also experience feeling full earlier t ...

and set him a routine including being heated by a spirit lamp until dripping with perspiration, then vigorous rubbing with cold wet towels and cold foot baths, a strict diet, and walks. Darwin enjoyed the attention and the demanding regime which left him no time to feel guilty about not working. His health improved rapidly, and he felt that the water cure was "no quackery".Letter 1236 – Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D., 28 Mar 1849
Darwin Correspondence Project, accessed on 11 April 2019. He had no faith in the homeopathic medicines Gully gave him three times a day but took them obediently.Letter 1234 – Darwin, C. R. to Darwin, S. E., 19 Mar 1849
Darwin Correspondence Project, accessed on 11 April 2019. They stayed on until 30 June, and back home at

Down House Down House is the former home of the English naturalist Charles Darwin and his family. It was in this house and garden that Darwin worked on his theory of evolution by natural selection, which he had conceived in London before moving to Down ...

, he continued with the diet and with the water treatment aided by his butler. He followed the rules about rising early and rationing his working time and had the Sandwalk constructed in the grounds for his walking exercise, setting a routine which he continued. In September, his sickness returned during the excitement of a

British Association for the Advancement of Science The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...

meeting, and Darwin made a day visit to Malvern, then recuperated at home. In June 1850, after losing time to illness (without vomiting), he spent a week at Malvern. Later that year he wrote to Fox about the credulity of his "beloved Dr Gully" who when his daughter was ill, treated her with a

clairvoyant Clairvoyance (; ) is the magical ability to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through extrasensory perception. Any person who is claimed to have such ability is said to be a clairvoyant () ("one who sees cl ...

girl to report on internal changes, a

mesmerist Animal magnetism, also known as mesmerism, was a Protoscience#Prescientific protoscience, protoscientific theory developed by German doctor Franz Mesmer in the 18th century in relation to what he claimed to be an invisible natural force (''Le ...

to put her to sleep, John Chapman as homeopathist and himself as hydropathist, after which Gully's daughter recovered. Darwin explained to Fox his wrathful scepticism about clairvoyance and worse, homeopathy, thinking the infinitesimal doses were against all common sense and should be compared against the effects of no treatment at all. Gully had pestered Darwin to subject himself to clairvoyance, and when he saw the clairvoyant, he tried to test her by asking her to read the number on a banknote he had in an envelope, but she scornfully said this was something her maidservant did and proceeded to diagnose horrors in Darwin's insides, a tale he recounted for years afterwards.Letter 1352 – Darwin, C. R. to Fox, W. D., 4 Sept 1850
Darwin Correspondence Project, accessed on 11 April 2019. When Darwin's own young daughter

Annie Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...

had persistent indigestion, he confidently took her to Gully on 24 March 1851 and after a week, left her there to take the cure but a fortnight later was recalled by Dr. Gully as Annie had

bilious fever Bilious fever was a medical diagnosis of fever associated with excessive bile or bilirubin in the blood stream and tissues, causing jaundice (a yellow color in the skin or sclera of the eye). The most common cause was malaria. Viral hepatitis and b ...

. Dr. Gully was attentive and repeatedly reassured them that she was recovering, but after a series of crises, Annie died on 23 April. Darwin was heartbroken at this tragic loss, but surprisingly stayed well in the aftermath, busy with organising the funeral arrangements. Darwin kept records of the effects of the continuing water treatment at home and in 1852 stopped the regime, having found that it was of some help with relaxation but overall had no significant effect, indicating that it served only to decrease his

psychosomatic A somatic symptom disorder, formerly known as a somatoform disorder,(2013) publication of his theory, and he pressed on, overworking, until by March 1857 illness was cutting his working day "ridiculously short". He found a new hydrotherapist, Dr. Edward Wickstead Lane, whose Moor Park hydropathic establishment near

Farnham Farnham ( /ˈfɑːnəm/) is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a trib ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

was only 40 miles from Darwin's home. His condition was much as when Darwin had first seen Gully, and Dr. Lane later wrote, "I cannot recall any

ase Ase may refer to: * Ase, Nigeria, a town in Delta State, Nigeria * -ase, a suffix used for the names of enzymes * Aṣẹ, a West African philosophical concept * American Sign Language (ISO 639-3 code: ase) See also

* Åse (disambiguation) * ...

where the pain was as poignant as his. When the worst attacks were on, he seemed crushed with agony." Darwin arrived on 22 April and wrote to Fox that "it is really quite astonishing & utterly unaccountable the good this one week has done me", deciding to stay on to 5 May. He enjoyed the more relaxed regime, which did not include clairvoyance, mesmerism or homeopathy, as Lane did "not believe in all the rubbish which Dr G. does." Darwin became a complete convert, "well convinced that the only thing for Chronic cases is the water-cure", and wrote, "I really think I shall make a point of coming here for a fortnight occasionally, as the country is very pleasant for walking." He told Hooker he had "already received an amount of good, which is quite incredible to myself & quite unaccountable.—I can walk & eat like a hearty Christian; & even my nights are good.—I cannot in the least understand how hydropathy can act as it certainly does on me. It dulls one's brain splendidly, I have not thought about a single species of any kind, since leaving home." He then contradicted himself by asking about alpine species. He returned to Moor Park from 16 to 29 June and 5–12 November 1857 and from 20 April to 3 May 1858, but this retreat was unavailable when he was shocked by receipt of Wallace's paper on 18 June, as Dr. Lane was put on trial accused of adultery with a lady patient. Darwin was able to resume treatment at Moor Park from 25 to 31 October 1858, as he struggled on to write ''

On the Origin of Species ''On the Origin of Species'' (or, more completely, ''On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life''),The book's full original title was ''On the Origin of Species by Me ...

'' despite repeated health problems. He was able to keep writing thanks to visits to the spa on 5–18 February, 21–28 May and 19–26 July 1859. With the proofs of the book returned to the printers, he was worn out. On 2 October, he left for

Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the ...

and had treatment at Wells House hydropathic establishment operated by Dr. Edmund Smith, a surgeon and hydropathic doctor. Emma brought their children on 17 October, and the family including Darwin stayed in North House, Wells Terrace, which he rented. Reading the first adverse reviews there, his health worsened with a sprained ankle followed by a swollen leg and face, boils and a rash. He had an "odious time", and wrote of Smith that "he constantly gives me impression, as if he cared very much for the Fee & very little for the patient". By 6 November, he felt worse than when he came. Emma and the children went home on 24 November. Darwin stayed on in the establishment, and for the last ten days of the stay, he felt much better. He returned home on 7 December, and under pressure of work, his health slipped back a bit. As arguments continued, Darwin had more stomach upsets, and on 28 June 1860, two days before the famous 1860 Oxford evolution debate, he fled to Lane's new hydropathic establishment at Sudbrooke Park, Petersham, near

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

and recuperated as well as reading reports of the debate. Darwin avoided further hydropathy, perhaps recalling his time at Ilkley, and Lane left the business for a while after selling Sudbrooke Park. In 1863, Darwin's illness worsened seriously, and Emma Darwin persuaded her husband to return to Malvern. His cousin Fox had earlier told him that Gully had suffered a mental breakdown and was unavailable. They arrived on 2 September, but Darwin felt that he was being fobbed off with the supervising physician, Dr. Ayerst. Emma arranged for Dr. Gully to attend and endorse Ayerst's treatment, but by then Darwin's eczema was too raw to bear any water. Darwin had a complete breakdown and on 13 October, left the spa worse than when he arrived. His ill health was the worst he had ever experienced and continued until the start of 1866.

Continuing illness

Darwin desperately tried many different

therapies A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. As a rule, each therapy has indications and contraindications. There are many different ...

, within the limitations of medical science of the time. He took all kinds of medicines, including

bismuth Bismuth is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Bi and atomic number 83. It is a post-transition metal and one of the pnictogens, with chemical properties resembling its lighter group 15 siblings arsenic and antimony. Elemental ...

compounds and

laudanum Laudanum is a tincture of opium containing approximately 10% powdered opium by weight (the equivalent of 1% morphine). Laudanum is prepared by dissolving extracts from the opium poppy (''Papaver somniferum Linnaeus'') in alcohol (ethanol). Red ...

, and even tried

quack Quack, The Quack or Quacks may refer to: People * Quack Davis, American baseball player * Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack (1834–1917), Dutch economist and historian * Joachim Friedrich Quack (born 1966), German Egyptologist * Johannes Quack (b ...

therapies, such as

electrical stimulation Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a technique that uses low-energy electrical pulses to artificially generate body movements in individuals who have been paralyzed due to injury to the central nervous system. More specifically, FES can ...

of the abdomen with a shocking belt. On 16 May 1865, he wrote to John Chapman, who was now a qualified specialist in

, sickness and psychological medicine. Chapman had sent Darwin a book about a therapy for seasickness of applying ice bags to the small of the back, and Darwin invited him to

to try out this therapy. In a manuscript dated 20 May 1865, thought to have been for Chapman, Darwin described his symptoms: In his autobiography of 1876, Darwin wrote of his illness, emphasising that it had been brought on by "the excitement" of socialising:

Possible causes

Medical science has tried repeatedly to pinpoint the

etiology Etiology (pronounced ; alternatively: aetiology or ætiology) is the study of causation or origination. The word is derived from the Greek (''aitiología'') "giving a reason for" (, ''aitía'', "cause"); and ('' -logía''). More completely, e ...

, and many hypotheses were made, such as: *

Asperger's syndrome Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's, is a former neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behav ...

or other

Pervasive developmental disorder The diagnostic category pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), as opposed to specific developmental disorders (SDD), is a group of disorders characterized by delays in the development of multiple basic functions including socialization and co ...

Chagas disease Chagas disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis, is a tropical parasitic disease caused by ''Trypanosoma cruzi''. It is spread mostly by insects in the subfamily ''Triatominae'', known as "kissing bugs". The symptoms change over the cou ...

Chronic fatigue syndrome Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also called myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or ME/CFS, is a complex, debilitating, long-term medical condition. The causes and mechanisms of the disease are not fully understood. Distinguishing core symptoms are ...

Crohn's disease Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea (which may be bloody if inflammation is severe), fever, abdominal distension ...

* Cyclic vomiting syndrome *

Lactose intolerance Lactose intolerance is a common condition caused by a decreased ability to digest lactose, a sugar found in dairy products. Those affected vary in the amount of lactose they can tolerate before symptoms develop. Symptoms may include abdominal pa ...

Lupus erythematosus Lupus erythematosus is a collection of autoimmune diseases in which the human immune system becomes hyperactive and attacks healthy tissues. Symptoms of these diseases can affect many different body systems, including joints, skin, kidneys, blo ...

Mast cell activation syndrome Mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) is a type of mast cell activation disorder (MCAD), and is an immunological condition in which mast cells inappropriately and excessively release chemical mediators, resulting in a range of chronic symptoms, ...

Ménière's disease Ménière's disease (MD) is a disease of the inner ear that is characterized by potentially severe and incapacitating episodes of vertigo, tinnitus, hearing loss, and a feeling of fullness in the ear. Typically, only one ear is affected initial ...

Orthostatic intolerance Orthostatic intolerance (OI) is the development of symptoms when standing upright that are relieved when reclining. There are many types of orthostatic intolerance. OI can be a subcategory of dysautonomia, a disorder of the autonomic nervous sy ...

Panic disorder Panic disorder is a mental disorder, mental and Abnormal behavior, behavioral disease#Disorder, disorder, specifically an anxiety disorder characterized by reoccurring unexpected panic attacks. Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear th ...

with

agoraphobia Agoraphobia is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no easy way to escape. These situations can in ...

Obsessive–compulsive disorder Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental and behavioral disorder in which an individual has intrusive thoughts and/or feels the need to perform certain routines repeatedly to the extent where it induces distress or impairs general ...

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a condition characterized by an abnormally large increase in heart rate upon standing. Symptoms may include lightheadedness, brain fog, blurred vision, weakness, fatigue, headaches, heart ...

Posttraumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...

Psychosomatic A somatic symptom disorder, formerly known as a somatoform disorder,(2013) Tick-borne disease Tick-borne diseases, which afflict humans and other animals, are caused by infectious agents transmitted by tick bites. They are caused by infection with a variety of pathogens, including rickettsia and other types of bacteria, viruses, and proto ...

Psychic causation

Darwin found that his illness often followed stressful situations, such as the excitement of attending a meeting. Having escaped "smoky dirty London" to his country retreat of the former parsonage of

Downe Downe, formerly Down, () is a village in Greater London, England, located within the London Borough of Bromley but beyond the London urban sprawl. Downe is south west of Orpington and south east of Charing Cross. Downe lies on a hill, and ...

, he became increasingly reclusive, actually fitting a mirror outside the house, so that he could withdraw when visitors were coming around the corner. When he left, it was mostly to visit friends or relatives, though he did endeavour to meet his obligations to attend scientific meetings.

Diagnosis of panic disorder and agoraphobia

Barloon and Noyes report that as a young man, Darwin had "episodes of abdominal distress, especially in stressful situations". He had a "premorbid vulnerability" which was referred to as "sensitivity to stress of criticism in his youth". They contend that "variable intensity of symptoms and chronic, prolonged course without physical deterioration also indicate that his illness was psychiatric." Panic disorder usually appears in the teens or in early adulthood with an association with potentially stressful life transitions. The histories of panic disorder patients often include some type of separation from a person who is emotionally important to them, which may be significant as Darwin's mother died in 1817 when he was eight, though apparently Darwin had a happy childhood overall and was encouraged by his siblings. Bowlby suggested that

separation anxiety Separation anxiety disorder (SAD) is an anxiety disorder in which an individual experiences excessive anxiety regarding separation from home and/or from people to whom the individual has a strong emotional attachment (e.g., a parent, caregiver ...

may help cause the development of panic disorder in adulthood and that agoraphobic patients frequently describe parents as dominant, controlling, critical, frightening, rejecting, or overprotective, which matches (disputed) descriptions of Darwin's father as tyrannical (see below). A study by Chambless and Mason says that regardless of gender, the less masculine in trait a person afflicted with panic disorder is, the more likely they are to use avoidance (social withdrawal) as a coping mechanism. Individuals who have more masculine traits often turn to external

coping Coping refers to conscious strategies used to reduce unpleasant emotions. Coping strategies can be cognitions or behaviours and can be individual or social. Theories of coping Hundreds of coping strategies have been proposed in an attempt to ...

strategies (for example,

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

). Bean wrote that while Darwin had great confidence, at the same time he was neurotic, became nervous when his routine was altered, and was upset by a holiday, trip, or unexpected visitor. Colp disputes a diagnosis of agoraphobia, because Darwin dutifully attended 16 meetings of the Council of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

and was away from home about 2,000 days between 1842 and his death in 1882. However, Barloon and Noyes state that Darwin only left home infrequently, usually accompanied by his wife. They cite Darwin declining an invitation: "I have long found it impossible to visit anywhere; the novelty and excitement would annihilate me."

Relationship with father

Rempf imputes a psychic cause based on the theory of

Oedipal complex The Oedipus complex (also spelled Œdipus complex) is an idea in psychoanalytic theory. The complex is an ostensibly universal phase in the life of a young boy in which, to try to immediately satisfy basic desires, he unconsciously wishes to have ...

, proposing that Darwin's illness was "an expression of repressed

anger Anger, also known as wrath or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat. A person experiencing anger will often experience physical effects, su ...

toward his father" (the

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

Robert Darwin Robert Waring Darwin (30 May 1766 – 13 November 1848) was an English medical doctor, who today is best known as the father of the naturalist Charles Darwin. He was a member of the influential Darwin–Wedgwood family. Biography Darwin was bor ...

). Rempf believed that Darwin's "complete submission" to a tyrannical father prevented Darwin from expressing

towards his father and then subsequently toward others. In a similar diagnosis, English psychiatrist Dr. Rankine Good stated, "Thus, if Darwin did not slay his father in the flesh, then he certainly slew the Heavenly Father in the realm of natural history," suffering for his "unconscious

patricide Patricide is (i) the act of killing one's own father, or (ii) a person who kills their own father or stepfather. The word ''patricide'' derives from the Greek word ''pater'' (father) and the Latin suffix ''-cida'' (cutter or killer). Patricid ...

" which accounted for "almost forty years of severe and crippling neurotic suffering." Sir Gavin de Beer disputed this explanation, claiming a physical causation. Darwin's autobiography says of his father, "... ewas a little unjust to me when I was young, but afterwards I am thankful to think that I became a prime favourite with him." Bradbury quotes J. Huxley and H.B.D. Kettlew: "The predisposing cause of any psychoneurosis which Charles Darwin displayed seems to have been the

conflict Conflict may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Conflict'' (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Stuart Paton * ''Conflict'' (1936 film), an American boxing film starring John Wayne * ''Conflict'' (1937 film) ...

and

emotion Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. ...

al tension springing from his ambivalent relations with his father ... whom he both revered and subconsciously resented." Bradbury also quotes John Chancellor's analysis: "... arwin'sobsessive desire to work and achieve something was prompted by hatred and resentment of his father, who had called him an idler and good-for-nothing during his youth." Such

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...

remains controversial, particularly when based only on writings.

Relationship with wife, nervousness about being left alone

Peter Brent writes in his biography of Darwin, ''Darwin: A Man of Enlarged Curiosity'', that Charles and

Emma Darwin Emma Darwin (; 2 May 1808 – 2 October 1896) was an English woman who was the wife and first cousin of Charles Darwin. They were married on 29 January 1839 and were the parents of ten children, seven of whom survived to adulthood. Early lif ...

's "ties to each other were linked to childhood and the very beginnings of memory. They had a common history, a joint tradition. It is hard to think their relationship a passionate one, but it was happy, and the happiness had deep roots." Bradbury—himself a social psychologist—draws on this biography to argue that in Darwin's letters, Emma was "always the mother, never the child, Darwin always the child, never the father." Darwin gave his wife the nickname "mammy", writing, "My dearest old Mammy ... Without you, when sick I feel most desolate ... Oh Mammy, I do long to be with you and under your protection for then I feel safe." Brent states that it is difficult to see that this is a thirty-nine-year-old man writing to his wife and not a young child writing to his mother. Barloon and Noyes quote Darwin's admission to Dr. Chapman of "nervousness when Emma leaves me", which they interpret as a fear of being alone associated with his panic disorder. Like his mother, Darwin's wife Emma was devoutly Unitarian. His father, speaking from experience, warned Charles before he proposed to Emma that "some women suffered miserably by doubting about the salvation of their husbands, thus making them likewise to suffer." Darwin did tell Emma of his ideas at that stage, and, while she was deeply concerned about the danger to his afterlife expressed in the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

, "If a man abide not in me...they are burned", she married him and remained fully supportive of his work throughout their marriage. She read and helped with his "Essay" setting out his theory in 1844, long before he showed his theory to anyone else. She went through the pages, making notes in the margins pointing out unclear passages and showing where she disagreed. As his illness progressed, she nursed him, restraining him from overworking and making him take holiday breaks, always helping him to continue with his work.

Religious tension

Darwin had a complex relationship to religion. The

Darwin–Wedgwood family The Darwin–Wedgwood family are members of two connected families, each noted for particular prominent 18th-century figures: Erasmus Darwin, a physician and natural philosopher, and Josiah Wedgwood, a noted potter and founder of the eponymous ...

were of the Unitarian church, with his grandfather Erasmus Darwin and father taking this to the extent of

Freethought Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods ...

, but, in the repressive climate of the early 19th century, his father complied with the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

Charles Darwin's education Charles Darwin's education gave him a foundation in the doctrine of Creation prevalent throughout the West at the time, as well as knowledge of medicine and theology. More significantly, it led to his interest in natural history, which culminat ...

at school was Anglican, then after in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, he joined student societies where his tutors espoused

Lamarckian Lamarckism, also known as Lamarckian inheritance or neo-Lamarckism, is the notion that an organism can pass on to its offspring physical characteristics that the parent organism acquired through use or disuse during its lifetime. It is also calle ...

materialism Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materiali ...

. He liked the thought of becoming a country clergyman, and before studying at the

, "as I did not then in the least doubt the strict and literal truth of every word in the Bible, I soon persuaded myself that our Creed must be fully accepted." The clergyman naturalist professors there who became his lifelong friends fully accepted an ancient earth but opposed

evolutionism Evolutionism is a term used (often derogatorily) to denote the theory of evolution. Its exact meaning has changed over time as the study of evolution has progressed. In the 19th century, it was used to describe the belief that organisms deliberate ...

which they felt would undermine the social order. He did well at theology and, in his finals, came 10th out of a pass list of 178. At both universities, he saw how evolution was associated with radicals and democrats seeking to overthrow society and how publicly supporting such ideas could lead to destruction of reputation, loss of position and even imprisonment for blasphemy. At Cambridge, he was convinced by

William Paley William Paley (July 174325 May 1805) was an English clergyman, Christian apologist, philosopher, and utilitarian. He is best known for his natural theology exposition of the teleological argument for the existence of God in his work ''Natural T ...

's writings of design by a Creator, but, on the ''Beagle'' expedition, his findings contradicted Paley's beneficent view. On his return, his deepening speculations led to the

inception of Darwin's theory The inception of Darwin's theory occurred during an intensively busy period which began when Charles Darwin returned from the survey voyage of the ''Beagle'', with his reputation as a fossil collector and geologist already established. He was gi ...

, and he increasingly disbelieved in the Bible, gradually becoming what was later termed an

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient ...

. Darwin was clearly worried by the implications of his ideas and desperate to avoid distress to his naturalist friends and to his wife. When first telling his friends, he wrote "it is like confessing a murder", and his writings at the time of the

publication of Darwin's theory The publication of Darwin's theory brought into the open Charles Darwin's theory of evolution through natural selection, the culmination of more than twenty years of work. Thoughts on the possibility of transmutation of species which he recorde ...

suggest emotional turmoil. What is unclear is whether this was anxiety about disgrace and damage to his friends, or about his loss of faith in Christianity, or indeed a rational fear of the harsh treatment he had seen meted out to radicals and proponents of evolutionism.

The Chagas hypothesis

Advanced for the first in time in 1959 by eminent

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i specialist in tropical medicine Dr.

Saul Adler Saul Adler FRS ( he, שאול אדלר; May 17, 1895 – January 25, 1966) was an Israeli expert on parasitology. Early life Adler was born in 1895 in Kerelits (Karelichy), then in the Russian Empire, now in Belarus. In 1900, he and his family ...

from

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

, the hypothesis of

was based partly on the fact that during the ''Beagle'' expedition, Darwin was bitten by the

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

vector Vector most often refers to: *Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction *Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematic ...

of this disease near Mendoza to the east of the

Argentinian Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

while on one of his land exploration trips. He noted in his journal for 26 March 1835:

At night I experienced an attack, & it deserves no less a name, of the Benchuca, the great black bug of the Pampas. It is most disgusting to feel soft wingless insects, about an inch long, crawling over ones body; before sucking they are quite thin, but afterwards round & bloated with blood, & in this state they are easily squashed.

The great black bug of the

Pampa The Pampas (from the qu, pampa, meaning "plain") are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all of Uruguay; and Brazil ...

s is identified by

Richard Keynes Richard Darwin Keynes, CBE, FRS ( ; 14 August 1919 – 12 June 2010) was a British physiologist. The great-grandson of Charles Darwin, Keynes edited his great-grandfather's accounts and illustrations of Darwin's famous voyage aboard into ''T ...

as ''

Triatoma infestans ''Triatoma infestans'', commonly called winchuka or vinchuca in Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay and Chile, barbeiro in Brazil, chipo in Venezuela and also known as "kissing bug" or "barber bug" in English, is a blood-sucking bug (like virtually a ...

'', commonly called ''winchuka'' ''(vinchuca)'', the vector for ''

'' which leads to Chagas disease. It is unlikely that Darwin was infected on this occasion as he did not mention having a fever in the days following the incident, but it is possible that he could have been infected in September 1834 when he recorded being ill but made no note about being bitten by a ''Benchuca'' at that time. Arguments for the Chagas hypothesis were mainly his

gastric The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital organ in the digestive system. The stomach i ...

symptoms and some of his nervous signs and symptoms (caused in Chagas by an imbalance of the

autonomic nervous system The autonomic nervous system (ANS), formerly referred to as the vegetative nervous system, is a division of the peripheral nervous system that supplies viscera, internal organs, smooth muscle and glands. The autonomic nervous system is a control ...

), malaise and fatigue, as well as his ultimate cause of death, which seems to have been chronic cardiac failure (present in ca. 20% of Chagas patients, with

cardiomegaly Cardiomegaly (sometimes megacardia or megalocardia) is a medical condition in which the heart is enlarged. As such, it is more commonly referred to simply as "having an enlarged heart". It is usually the result of underlying conditions that make t ...

and ventricular tip

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also be a nidus (s ...

) accompanied by lung edema. Evidences against the Chagas hypothesis are numerous, however: * Darwin died at a relatively old age for his time (73 years old); * The symptoms abated as he aged, which is not typical for the disease, where age exacerbates the symptoms; * He did not seem to have several of the pathological damages present at chronic Chagas disease, such as

megacolon Megacolon is an abnormal dilation of the colon (also called the large intestine). This leads to hypertrophy of the colon. The dilation is often accompanied by a paralysis of the peristaltic movements of the bowel. In more extreme cases, the feces ...

and

megaesophagus Megaesophagus, also known as esophageal dilatation, is a disorder of the esophagus in humans and other mammals, whereby the esophagus becomes abnormally enlarged. Megaesophagus may be caused by any disease which causes the muscles of the esophagus ...

; * Some of the symptoms, such as

, fatigue and tremors, were already present before the ''Beagle'' voyage; * The numerous partial exacerbations and remissions are unusual in Chagas disease; * The incidence of trypanosome-infested benchucas in Mendoza, Argentina (which has a colder climate), where Darwin reported the bite, is very low; * No other members of ''Beagles crew who accompanied Darwin in his land trip showed signs of a similar disease; Recently, unsuccessful requests were made to test Darwin's remains for ''T. cruzi'' DNA at the

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

by using modern PCR techniques but were met with a refusal by the Abbey's

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

. The attempt was the subject of a recent documentary of

Discovery Health Channel Discovery Health Channel was an American subscription television channel. Launched in July 1998, it was owned by Discovery Communications as a spin-off of Discovery Channel, focusing on health and wellness-oriented programming. In the beginni ...

Ménière's disease

The hypothesis of

has gained some popularity. A diagnosis of Ménière's disease is based on a series of symptoms, some of which were present in Darwin's case, such as

nausea Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. While not painful, it can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the ...

motion sickness Motion sickness occurs due to a difference between actual and expected motion. Symptoms commonly include nausea, vomiting, cold sweat, headache, dizziness, tiredness, loss of appetite, and increased salivation. Complications may rarely include d ...

, continual

and

fatigue Fatigue describes a state of tiredness that does not resolve with rest or sleep. In general usage, fatigue is synonymous with extreme tiredness or exhaustion that normally follows prolonged physical or mental activity. When it does not resolve ...

. The fact that Darwin did not suffer from

hearing loss Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to Hearing, hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to Language ...

, and that "fullness" of the ears is never mentioned, practically excludes Ménière's disease. The definition of this disease is, however, not very solid, and some form of "atypical Ménière's disease" remains a remote possibility. Motion sickness was present throughout his life and became apparent very early, when he suffered horribly from

seasickness Motion sickness occurs due to a difference between actual and expected motion. Symptoms commonly include nausea, vomiting, cold sweat, headache, dizziness, tiredness, loss of appetite, and increased salivation. Complications may rarely include d ...

during the whole ''Beagle'' voyage. Darwin himself had the opinion that most of his health problems had an origin in his four-year bout with seasickness. Later, he could not stand traveling by carriage, and only

horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, Driving (horse), driving, and Equestrian vaulting, vaulting ...

would not affect his health. Psychic alteration often accompanies Ménière's and many other chronic diseases. An argument put forward for a diagnosis of Ménière's is that Darwin hunted a lot when he was young and could have damaged his inner ear with the repeated noise of shooting. While it is not unlikely that the noise damaged the inner ear and caused tinnitus, it could not have caused Ménière's disease. While Ménière's disease patients suffer during vertigo attacks from sickness and vomiting, the

problems of Darwin have nothing to do with it. One of the diagnoses that he received from his physicians at the time was that of "suppressed

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...

"; the idea that this was an early name for Ménière's lacks any ground.

Cyclic vomiting syndrome

The pathologist John A. Hayman of the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

has presented a case that Darwin's symptoms indicate that he suffered from cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS), an illness associated with

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...

abnormalities. His paper on the topic was accepted by the ''

BMJ ''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origina ...

'' and the ''

Medical Journal of Australia The ''Medical Journal of Australia'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 22 times a year. It is the official journal of the Australian Medical Association, published by Wiley on behalf of the Australasian Medical Publishing Company. The ...

'', and was published in December 2009. In a supplement published in February 2012, he proposed that stroke-like episodes of memory loss and partial paralysis which do not occur with CVS are characteristic of the

MELAS syndrome Mitochondrial encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) is one of the family of mitochondrial diseases, which also include MIDD (maternally inherited diabetes and deafness, MERRF syndrome, and Leber's hereditary optic neur ...

. An A3243G mtDNA mutation has been found in 80% of patients with this syndrome, and has also been described in those with CVS. This mutation in

mitochondria A mitochondrion (; ) is an organelle found in the Cell (biology), cells of most Eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and Fungus, fungi. Mitochondria have a double lipid bilayer, membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosi ...

is associated with symptoms of intestinal problems, seasickness and Ménière's disease as well as CVS and MELAS syndrome, thus giving a shared source of the various problems that affected Darwin. Any

mitochondrial disease Mitochondrial disease is a group of disorders caused by mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondria are the organelles that generate energy for the cell and are found in every cell of the human body except red blood cells. They convert the energy of ...

would have been inherited from his mother

Susannah Darwin Susannah Darwin (née Wedgwood, 3 January 1765–15 July 1817) was the wife of Robert Darwin, a wealthy doctor, and mother of naturalist Charles Darwin, and part of the Wedgwood pottery family. Life She was the daughter of Josiah and Sarah Wedg ...

, whose own mother had 8 other children. Some of them had illnesses which could have been related to the same mutation. CVS was also proposed as part of the cause in a 2011 analysis by gastroenterologist Sidney Cohen of the medical college of

Thomas Jefferson University Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the univer ...

in Philadelphia. His study explained the illness as being due to a combination of cyclic vomiting syndrome, Chagas disease, and ''

Helicobacter pylori ''Helicobacter pylori'', previously known as ''Campylobacter pylori'', is a gram-negative, microaerophilic, spiral (helical) bacterium usually found in the stomach. Its helical shape (from which the genus name, helicobacter, derives) is though ...

''.

Other possible causes

Evidence for familial systemic

lactose intolerance Lactose intolerance is a common condition caused by a decreased ability to digest lactose, a sugar found in dairy products. Those affected vary in the amount of lactose they can tolerate before symptoms develop. Symptoms may include abdominal pa ...

syndrome was that vomiting and gastrointestinal symptoms usually appeared two to three hours after meals and that, apparently, Darwin got better when he stopped taking

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

. Food intolerance and lactase deficiency may also be confused with

food allergies A food allergy is an abnormal immune response to food. The symptoms of the allergic reaction may range from mild to severe. They may include itchiness, swelling of the tongue, vomiting, diarrhea, hives, trouble breathing, or low blood pressure ...

. Symptoms include difficulty swallowing and breathing, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. Upon reaching several other organs in the body, allergens can cause

hives Hives, also known as urticaria, is a kind of skin rash with red, raised, itchy bumps. Hives may burn or sting. The patches of rash may appear on different body parts, with variable duration from minutes to days, and does not leave any long-lasti ...

, lightheadedness, weakness,

hypotension Hypotension is low blood pressure. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps out blood. Blood pressure is indicated by two numbers, the systolic blood pressure (the top number) and the dias ...

, etc. This has been proposed as the source of Darwin's illness, but the hypothesis is improbable, because, as with lactose intolerance, its temporal and causal relationship with food is easily established, and this was not always the case. Chronic arsenic poisoning ( arsenicosis) has been considered too. This hypothesis has been advanced by John H. Winslow, who published a book arguing that Darwin took

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, but ...

at low dosages as a remedy and that there was "a very close match" between his symptoms and those of arsenicosis. However, it is highly improbable too, due to the long duration of the illness (40 years), the abruptness of symptoms, the cause of his death, and the absence of many symptoms and signs of this kind of poisoning (persistent

weight loss Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health, or physical fitness, refers to a reduction of the total body mass, by a mean loss of fluid, body fat (adipose tissue), or lean mass (namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon, and other conn ...

and

diarrhea Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin wi ...

, the appearance of dark brown

callus A callus is an area of thickened and sometimes hardened skin that forms as a response to repeated friction, pressure, or other irritation. Since repeated contact is required, calluses are most often found on the feet and hands, but they may o ...

es on the palms and the soles of the feet and of skin, known as

hyperpigmentation Hyperpigmentation is the darkening of an area of skin or nails caused by increased melanin. Causes Hyperpigmentation can be caused by sun damage, inflammation, or other skin injuries, including those related to acne vulgaris.James, William; Ber ...

Barry Marshall Barry James Marshall (born 30 September 1951) is an Australian physician, Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, Professor of Clinical Microbiology and Co-Director of the Marshall Centre at the University of Western Australia. Marsha ...

proposed in February 2009 that the cause of Darwin's illness was the ulcer-causing bacterium ''

''. Marshall, who together with

Robin Warren John Robin Warren (born 11 June 1937, in Adelaide) is an Australian pathologist, Nobel Laureate and researcher who is credited with the 1979 re-discovery of the bacterium ''Helicobacter pylori'', together with Barry Marshall. The duo proved t ...

won the Nobel Prize in 2005 for discovery of the bacterium, states that this was a very common gastric infection of the time which causes ulcers in 10% of infected persons and causes dyspepsia in another 10% or so. He had yet to have a short paper on this accepted for publication.

Combined causes

From a clinical point of view, perhaps Darwin suffered from more than one disease, and had many psychosomatic complications and phobias arising from his debilitating condition. This is known to happen with many patients today, such as in severe cases of panic disorder, usually accompanied by hypochondria and depression. Dr.

Peter Medawar Sir Peter Brian Medawar (; 28 February 1915 – 2 October 1987) was a Brazilian-British biologist and writer, whose works on graft rejection and the discovery of acquired immune tolerance have been fundamental to the medical practice of tissue ...

has supported the diagnosis that Darwin's health problems were part organic, part psychological. Colp concluded that Darwin's illness consisted most probably of panic disorder without agoraphobia, psychosomatic skin disorder, and possibly Chagas disease of the stomach, which he suggested "was first active and then became inactive, permanently injuring the parasympathetic nerves of his stomach and making it more sensitive to sympathetic stimulation and hence more sensitive to the psychosomatic impact of his anxieties. An organic impairment best explains the lifelong chronicity of many of his abdominal complaints." Thus, the psychological aspects of Darwin's illness might be both a cause and an effect of Darwin's illness. D.A.B. Young wrote in a Royal Society journal in 1997 that the psychogenic view of Darwin's sickness "holds the field". The proponent of Chagas disease, Dr. Saul Adler, stated that Darwin may have suffered both from Chagas disease and from "an innate or acquired neurosis". At a conference hosted by the

University of Maryland, Baltimore The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1807, it comprises some of the oldest professional schools of dentistry, law, medicine, pharmacy, social work and nursing in the United States ...

, School of Medicine on the topic of Darwin's ailments, gastroenterologist Dr. Sidney Cohen of

concluded that in his early years Darwin had suffered cyclic vomiting syndrome, but as he had brought up secretions such as stomach acid rather than food, this had not affected his weight and nutrition. He believed that

contracted during the ''Beagle'' voyage was consistent with Darwin's account of his fever at that time and his later gastrointestinal complaints, as well as the heart disease later in life that led to Darwin's death. In addition, ''

'' which often occurs with Chagas would have caused Darwin to have peptic ulcer disease.

Hereditary disease

Many of Darwin's children suffered from similarly vague illnesses for much of their early lives. Darwin himself—concerned with

heredity Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic inform ...

—wondered if he had passed on his generally infirm condition to his children, and was especially interested if their mother

, his cousin, was also responsible. His concerns later in life with the effects of

inbreeding Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders and o ...

were potentially motivated by this personal aspect as well.

Contribution to Darwin's work

Darwin's illness may have contributed to his long and fruitful career in science. George Pickering, in his book ''Creative Malady'' (1974), wrote that Darwin—isolated from social life and obligations of a "normal" scientist, such as administrative and teaching work—had ample time and material comforts for research, thought, and writing extensively, which he did. Despite long periods of unproductivity due to ill health, he produced much research. Darwin often complained that his malady robbed him of half a lifetime, but even so, many believe that his scientific contributions can be compared favorably to those of such figures as

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...

and

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

. Darwin himself wrote about this, in his autobiographical "Recollections of the Development of my Mind and Character" (1876):

Notes

References

*
American Psychological Association Answers to Your Questions About Panic Disorder
* * * ** ** * *

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20050719075058/http://omni.cc.purdue.edu/~sbenning/el102c/Darwin.html Carolyn Douglas – Changing Theories of Darwin's Illness
AboutDarwin.com
* * * * * (''

The Autobiography of Charles Darwin ''The Autobiography of Charles Darwin'' is an autobiography by the English naturalist Charles Darwin. Darwin wrote the text, which he entitled ''Recollections of the Development of my Mind and Character'', for his family. He states that he star ...

'') * * Desmond, A. and Moore, J. ''Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist''. NY: Warner Books, 1991. *
Circumnavigating Darwin – A paper by Dr Robert Gordon and Deborah Thomas
* * * *

* * *

External links

* * Douglas, C

Purdue University.
The Origin of Darwin's Anxiety
''ScienceNow'', 8 January 1997.

The Talk.Origins Archive. Refutation to Claim no. CA131 of creationists that Darwin's illness was caused by feeling guilt of his "sins".

''The New York Times'', 15 June 1989. {{DEFAULTSORT:Darwin, Charles

Illness A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that ar ...

Health by individual History of psychiatry Retrospective diagnosis