Health & The People: Public Health In Towns Flashcards
What is the definition of public health?
Refers to the health and well-being of the population as a whole
Where did people get there water supply from?
Local spring wells or rivers
What was the negative of getting water from the rivers and springs?
They were often polluted by cesspits (a tank that collects and stores sewerage)
What did people tend to drink instead of water?
Beer
What did they do to improve the water in towns?
Installed pipes (made from wood or lead) to ensure a clean supply of water
Why was there a lack of sanitation in towns?
Lack of knowledge of germs & disease
How did people believe diseases were spread?
Bad air
What was the problem with streets in towns?
Unpaved streets become muddy when it rained and open draines (used to carry away water) overflowed
What did they do to improve streets in towns?
Employed teams of rankers to remove animal dung from streets
What was the problem with leather tanners?
Used dangerous chemicals - smelt awful
What was the problem with butchers?
Created waste products (blood,guts) which was often dumped into rivers
What did the do to improve problems caused by butchers?
Ordered butchers to use segregated area for butchering animals - blood and guts were no longer thrown into the street/water supply
What did people use rivers and streams for?
To remove their sewage and other waste
Dispose of toilet waste
What did towns put in place to keep it cleaner?
Introduced a fine for throwing litter in streets
Homeowners living next to streams built latrines over the streams
