AND HIS TOYS WERE PAINTED IN CHINA

posted by James Reel

    Viennese forensic scientist Christian Reiter, after analyzing strands of Beethoven’s hair, has concluded that the composer died prematurely because he was inadvertently poisoned by his physician, Andreas Wawruch. Cause of death: lead poisoning:

    A dramatic spike in the concentrations follows each of the doctor's five treatments between Dec. 5, 1826 and Feb. 27, 1827, according to Reiter.
    He theorizes that Wawruch, treating Beethoven for pneumonia that December, administered a medicine containing lead, as many medicines did at the time. Within days, Beethoven's stomach became terribly bloated, leading Wawruch to puncture his patient's abdomen four times in the next two months. Gallons of fluid drained out, some of it spilling into the bedding; Beethoven complained about the bugs and the odor.
    Reiter's suspicion is that the sticky poultices applied to the puncture wounds contained soapy lead salts, as they often did early in the 19th century; the salts would have been absorbed into the bloodstream, spiking lead levels.
    He further suspects that Wawruch did not understand Beethoven's underlying health problems, spelled out in the autopsy: a breakdown of the digestive system and extensive damage to the kidneys and liver, which was "like leather."
    Beethoven, a big drinker at a time when lead was commonly added to wines to increase sweetness, probably suffered from cirrhosis. A lead-laced medicine would have sent his liver "over the brink" and to collapse, Reiter said this week.