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Medicine in the Elizabethan Era
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Medicine in the Elizabethan Era
Elizabethan Doctor
Elizabethan Doctor
The Elizabethan doctor is a plague doctor that wears a bird-like mask and long clothing. This prevents the sicknesses from getting to the doctor. The doctor also has a wooden stick in his hand so that he can point out areas on the person's body that need attention. This way, he doesn't get infected with his hand. Only rich people were able to afford the plague doctor and the peasants had to go to the barber since they had scalpels to let blood out.
Humours
Back then, they didn't know about germs and viruses. They thought their bodies were balanced by the 4 humours: blood, yellow bile, phlegm, and black bile. Each humour was based also on an element. Blood is air, yellow bile is fire, phlegm is water, and black bile is earth.
Humours
Blood (Sanguine)
Yellow bile (Choleric)
Phlegm (Phlegmatic)
Black bile (Melancholic)
Leeches & Cupping
Leeches & Cupping
Medicine was much simpler than what we have now. For most illnesses like blood infection or fevers, they'd use either leeches or cupping to let blood. When they use leeches they'd put them on your veins because that's where a lot of blood is. For cupping, it's a bit different. First, they'll give you a tiny cut so blood starts coming out. Then, they'll put the heated cup down to start sucking the blood out.
What are leeches?
Leeches are blood sucking worms with suction cups at each end. Their bodies are round, wide and thick. As they suck more blood, they become bigger and thicker. They are usually dark coloured, brownish, or sometimes black or dark green. Some have stripes on their bodies and others have no marking.
What are leeches?
What's cupping?
Cupping is a form of treatment where they use these metal or glass cups to creates suction on the skin. They would first make a tiny cut on your skin so blood starts to come out and then they put those suction cups onto your body to suck out the blood. They'd put multiple on your skin for more efficient use. After taking them off, they'd leave red marks and dots on your skin.
What's cupping?
Bubonic Plague
Bubonic Plague
The bubonic plague also known as the "The Black Death" was the greatest fear to people in the Elizabethan era. This occurs when there's an exposure to infected materials through a cut on the skin. The symptoms can include swollen, tender lymph glands that are called boboes, fever, headache, chills, and weakness.
Treatment
They'd use some sweet herbs, or they'd also use onions, garlic, and butter. These treatments wern't very effective and people would still die.
How did they treat it?
Other Illnesses and Treatment
Other Treatments
and Illnesses
Head Pains
Treatment: Sweet smelling herbs such as roses, rosemary, and lavender.
Head Pain
Wounds
Treatment: Vinegar
They believed that vinegar was able to kill the disease with the chemicals inside it.
Wounds
Stomach Pain
Treatment: wormwood, mint, and balm
Stomach Pain
Lung Problems
Treatment: comfrey and licorice
Lung Problems
Sources
Sources
URL: https://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-medicine-and-illnesses.htm
Author: Linda Alchin
Date of Access: 1/23/23
URL: https://guides.lib.wayne.edu/c.php?g=238739&p=2280828
Author: Wayne University
Date of Access: 1/23/23
URL: https://www.history.com/news/a-brief-history-of-bloodletting
Author: Jennie Cohen
Date of Access: 1/25/23
URL: https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/blogs/shakespeare-100-objects-cupping-glass/
Author: Stephanie Appleton
Date of Access: 1/25/23