Dealing with disease Flashcards
Renaissance Britain
How did people treat disease during the Plague of 1665 - old methods ?
Old methods:
- Bleeding and purging
- Herbal remedies
- Prayer
- Treatments based on superstition
What are the new methods of treating disease during the plague of 1665 from abroad ?
European explorers brought back new treatments from around the world:
- Rhubarb
- Quinine
- Tobacco
Why was bleeding a purging used to treat disease during the
plague of 1665 ?
Bleeding a purging were still the most common treatment. Doctors continued to believe that illnesses were caused when the humours in the
patient’s body were out of balance
Why was Herbal remedies still used to treat disease during the plague of 1665 ?
The invention of the
printing press led to the widespread publication of ‘herbals’ (books with ingredients for herbal remedies)
Why was Prayer still used as a form of treatment for disease during the plague of 1665 ?
Many
people still believed that God had sent disease to punish them for their sins. During the plague of 1665, the government ordered days of public prayer and fasting so that God would
show
mercy
Why was treatments based on superstition
still used to treat disease during the plague of 1665 ?
People continued to wear ‘lucky’ or ‘magical’ charms. Superstition beliefs continued.
For example, over 90,000 people visited King Charles 11, believing that if he touched them, they would be cured of scrofula
Why was Rhubarb used as a method to treat disease during the Plague of 1665 ?
Rhubarb from Asia was widely
used to
purge the bowels
Why was Quinine used as a method to treat disease during the
plague of 1665 ?
Quinine (extracted from the bark of the cinchona tree from south America) was used to treat fevers. In Britain, it helped many people suffering from Malaria.
why was Tabacco
used as a method
to treat disease during the
plague
of 1665 ?
Tobacco arrived from america and came
to be seen as a ‘cure-all’. It was recommended for everything from toothache and joint pains to protection from the
plague (one schoolboy commented that he was beaten for not smoking enough during the plague of 1665)
Who were the quacks ?
Quacks were travelling salesmen. They went from
town to town sleeping pills. They had no medical qualifications.
What treatments did the Quacks offer ?
Men like Joshua Ward made a lot of money from selling ‘cure-all’s’. All these pills did was make people
sweat a lot.
James Morrison also made a lot of money selling his ‘vegetable pills’. These contained strong purgatives and caused many swathes due to excessive bowel movements
When did Quacks become popular ?
They became very popular in Renaissance Britain
What happened after the Black death ?
It never completely disappeared and after the outbreak in
London in 1665 it killed around 100,00 people (over a quarter of the population)
What is one of the reasons why the plague spread so much in London ?
The living conditions were dirty and unhygienic
What did the mayor do to stop the plague from spreading ?
- Victims were ship up in their homes and watchmen stood guard to stop anyone going in or out
- Households were ordered to sweep the street outside their doors
- Pigs, dogs and cats were not allowed inside the city
- Plays and games were banned to stop large crowds gathering
Why did the methods the mayor of london used to prevent the plague from spreading not work?
- Not enough men could be found to
work as watchmen. More than 20 watchmen were murdered by oriole escaping from houses that had been shut up - Parliament refused to turn the orders into the laws because MPs refused to be shut in their houses
- The government did not see it as its responsibility to stop the
spread of the plague.
How did
hospitals changed by who ran them during Renaissance Britain ?
Medieval hospitals were part of monasteries; they closed when
Henry v111 shut the monasteries in the 1530s. Some were taken over by town councils or local charities
How did hospitals change based on who they treated during Renaissance Britain ?
Patients are mainly
the
poor and the elderly. Rich
people
preferred to
pay for a nurse or a doctor to treat them at home.
How did hospitals change based on who treated the patients during Renaissance Britain ?
Nursing sisters treated the patients with herbal remedies. They had no medical training
How did hospitals change based on how patients were treated during Renaissance Britain?
Bleeding and purging were common treatments. People with
infectious diseases were not allowed in
How did hospitals change based on how many hospitals there were during Renaissance Britain?
The number of hospitals increased in the 1700s. By the 1800s, most larger towns had a hospital. However, only a small percentage of the populating was treated or cared
for inna hope. Most people were cared for by a family member or local wise women.
What was the training and status of surgeons and physicians like during the 1500s and 1600s ?
Most university- trained physicians followed the Theory of the Four Humours and the work of Galen.
How did the training and status of surgeons and physicians change during the 1700s ?
- Dissections were encouraged and the work of Vesalius and Harvey became accepted
- Medical equipment was improving, for example, better microscopes became accepted
- In few hospitals, physicians were trained on the wards
