From Jackson’s drooling problem and Jefferson’s butt boils to Johnson’s, er, johnson, get the dirt on the physical and health issues that have plagued our nation’s presidents.  

We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby   

The presidential race is heating up, and people are turning out in droves for many of the primaries. And while the candidates’ stances on the issues should matter most, oftentimes other circumstances can come into play for the nominees—like looks.

Recent presidential history included athletic types like Gerald Ford, who was a star football player in college (but a clumsy president); Ronald Reagan a swimmer and swimming coach in school; and George W. Bush, well, a cheerleader.

Like any other citizen, presidents have battled all kinds of health issues. But compared to what they had to deal with before the advent of modern medicine, today it’s a walk in the park.

U.S. Presidents have suffered from all kinds of physical deficiencies and travails throughout history. Here are 10 of the more interesting…

George Washington was the father of the country, with the mother of all folk tales - those false teeth. But contrary to popular belief, they weren’t wooden. Dentures at the time were often made from gold, ivory, lead, and human, horse and donkey teeth. But not wood.  

In fact, there was a second myth regarding Washington’s choppers. Paul Revere may have warned his fellow Colonists that the British were coming, but he didn’t craft George’s dentures, as has been perpetuated. 

Painter Gilbert Stuart’s most famous portrait of George Washington, The Athenaeum Portrait, i.e., the image seen on the dollar bill, reveals a tight-lipped and puffy jowl of a man. Accentuating the protruding dentures gave Washington the appearance of being a starchy and stiff fuddy-duddy. But in reality he was an accomplished dancer and horseman.

"Of all the founding fathers, he was the most athletic, the most adventurous and clearly a man of action," said James C. Rees, executive director of the Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens, Washington's home in northern Virginia.

But in the end, death and medical ignorance are the great equalizer. George Washington suffered from a throat infection that ultimately led to his death. Some have speculated that the crude practice of bloodletting - treating patients by purposely bleeding them - played a part in his death, but that has been discounted in recent years.

The general public doesn’t know much about President John Adams. But that could change somewhat after HBO airs its miniseries on the second president of the United States in March.John Adams lived to the ripe old age of 90. But it surely wasn’t as a result of his crude dietary beliefs and sickly ways.

Adams' health often failed him. In fact, to examine his health history, he seemed to be a wreck for someone who lived as long as he did. He had fainting spells, and was even comatose for five days.

He was put on a trendy milk diet. Adams was to avoid meats, spices, and spirits. Instead, he was to favor bread, milk, vegetables, and water. There was apparently some improvement, but he also developed severe heartburn. Adams stayed on this diet for years and sometimes he even purged. 

3. Thomas Jefferson (1801 - 1809) 

Thomas Jefferson is considered one of the most intellectual of U.S. Presidents. He was the principle author of the Declaration of Independence and one of the founders of modern democracy. He was also a student of the Enlightenment, favored reason, and even rejected Biblical literalism. But, when Jefferson developed severe dysentery (bloody diarrhea) in 1802, he didn’t consult a doctor. No, he felt that horseback riding helped the problem. 

In the third week of “taking the waters” at Warm Springs in 1818, Jefferson developed boils on his hindquarters. No matter how much you believe in the healing properties of natural springs, a 50-mile ride on horseback and the typically unsanitary conditions of the time trumps it.  

For several weeks Jefferson conducted his correspondence lying down and didn’t ride a horse for several months. That puts a little chink in the armor of the romantic image of one of the greatest Founding Fathers. 

Madison was the slightest statured president. He was said to have always been frail in appearance, never weighing more than 100 pounds, and measuring about 5’ 3”.

5. Abraham Lincoln (1861 - 1865)

The 6’ 3” tall and spindly Honest Abe has been described as having eyes too small for his face, and suffering from ptosis (drooping eyelids). Top that off with his high cheek bones and sunken cheeks, and the reason for growing a beard becomes clearer.

6. Theodore Roosevelt (1901 - 1909)

During a stop in Milwaukee on his 1912 "Bull Moose" presidential campaign, Theodore Roosevelt was shot at close range by a crazy New York saloonkeeper named John Schrank. The man aimed his pistol at Roosevelt's head, but a bystander deflected his arm.

7. William Taft (1909 -1913)

8.  Woodrow Wilson (1915 - 1921)

9. John Kennedy (1961 - 1963)

Kennedy received steroid treatment for colitis in his early adulthood. It’s thought that this caused his ongoing back problems. And, as fate would have it, those back problems could have been his ultimate undoing.

- A young Andrew Jackson was said to have a slobbering problem.

10. Saving Sex For Last