KQ1 - CAUSES OF ILLNESS AND DISEASE Flashcards
WHAT 4 MEDIEVAL LIVING CONDITIONS ALLOWED FOR DISEASE TO SPREAD ?
Narrow Streets
Poor Housing
Poor Water supply
Poor personal Hygiene
HOW DID MEDIEVAL STREETS AID THE SPREAD OF DISEASE ?
Streets were narrow and dark
Light and fresh air were limited by houses jutting out over the street
Lack of sewage meant waste was thrown onto the streets
HOW DID MEDIEVAL HOUSING AID THE SPREAD OF DISEASE ?
Wattle and daub walls made damp easy, attracting rats and lice
Lack of ventilation meant that fires in homes caused respiratory issues
Houses were built close together meaning that if disease broke out it would spread rapidly between homes
HOW DID MEDIEVAL WATER AID THE SPREAD OF DISEASE ?
Rivers were used as a source of drinking water but also for cleaning dirty clothes and dumping waster, polluted
Waste seeped into wells causing cholera outbreaks.
Contaminated water sources commonplace
HOW DID MEDIEVAL HYGIENE AID THE SPREAD OF DISEASE ?
People washed their hands and face but rarely bathed
The use of soap and hot water were limited to the wealthy
WHAT WERE THE 4 GENERAL CAUSES OF DISEASE IN THE MEDIEVAL ERA ?
WAR
FAMINE
POVERTY
ACCIDENTAL DEATH
HOW DID WAR CAUSE DISEASE IN THE MEDIEVAL ERA ?
Wounds inflicted in battle often became infected
Moving armies and close quarters led to the spread of disease
Sieges meant food supply was limited causing easy infection
HOW DID FAMINE CAUSE DISEASE IN THE MEDIEVAL ERA ?
Famine was a regular occurrence in the medieval era, worse in 1315-17
Lack of food caused malnutrition which led to people being more susceptible to disease
HOW DID POVERTY CAUSE DISEASE IN THE MEDIEVAL ERA ?
Lack of money led people to live in poor quality housing and buy poor quality food. Child mortality rate was high and malnutrition common.
HOW DID ACCIDENTAL DEATH CAUSE DISEASE IN THE MEDIEVAL ERA ?
People often died in accidents, i.e. Maud Fras had a stone fall on her head in Montgomery Castle
WHAT 4 FACTORS DID PEOPLE BELIEVE CAUSED DISEASE IN THE MEDIEVAL ERA ?
God
Miasma
Supernatural
The Four Humours
HOW DID PEOPLE BELIEVE GOD CAUSED DISEASE IN THE MEDIEVAL ERA ?
Religion had influence over almost every aspect of medieval life
People thought that illness was God punishing people for living sinful life
HOW DID PEOPLE BELIEVE MIASMA CAUSED DISEASE IN THE MEDIEVAL ERA ?
People linked disease with bad smells
The mortality rate was higher in cities where it stunk
HOW DID PEOPLE BELIEVE THE SUPERNATURAL CAUSED DISEASE IN THE MEDIEVAL ERA ?
People feared witchcraft and demons. Curses were blamed for illness
HOW DID PEOPLE BELIEVE THE FOUR HUMOURS CAUSED DISEASE IN THE MEDIEVAL ERA ?
The widest held belief including that of doctors was the theory of the four humours
Developed by Galen and Hippocrates
If one of the fours humours was out of balance then you became ill
Blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile
WHAT WERE THE BIGGEST DISEASES IN THE EARLY MODERN ERA ?
Fever
Grip
Consumption (TB)
Griping in the guts
Convulsions
Outbreaks of Plague
WHY WAS DISEASE SO COMMONPLACE IN THE MEDIEVAL ERA ?
People didn’t understand the link between germs and disease
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BUBONIC AND PNEUMONIC PLAGUE ?
BUBONIC - Spread by rats. Puss filled buboes appeared on the body, in the armpits and groin
PNEUMONIC- Attacked the lung, spread by coughing and close contact. Death occurred quickly
WHEN WAS THE GREAT PLAGUE ?
1665
WHEN WAS THE BLACK DEATH ?
1348
HOW DID THE PLAGUE AFFECT WALES ?
Ports like Pembroke hit badly
Cosmeston totally wiped out
HOW MANY IN LONDON WERE KILLED BY THE GREAT PLAGUE ?
100,000
HOW DID INDUSTRIALISATION CAUSE DISEASE ?
Towns and cities grew rapidly without planning
Tenements were overcrowded, families shared homes
Sewage contaminated water supplies
People shared outdoor privies. Emptied into cesspits
Poor quality housing
Diets were poor
Disease was endemic
WHAT DISEASE WERE COMMON IN THE INDUSTRIAL ERA ?
Smallpox
TB
Scarlet Fever
Whooping Cough
WHAT DISEASES WERE CAUSED BY INDUSTRIAL WORK ?
PHOSSY JAW - Matchstick girls were exposed to phosphorus which caused necrosis
PNEUMOCONIOSIS - Inhaling dust in mines caused Pneumoconiosis
SCROTAL CANCER - Chimney sweeps often developed scrotal cancer
Machine accidents were common
WHAT IS CHOLERA ?
A bacterial infection spread by contaminated water. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhoea and death within hours
WHAT YEAR WAS THE JOHN SNOW CHOLERA OUTBREAK ?
1854
HOW MANY DIED IN THE CHOLERA 1848 EPIDEMIC ?
53,000
HOW DID THE 1848 CHOLERA EPIDEMIC AFFECT WALES ?
1,800 died in Merthyr Tydfil
WHAT IS TYPHOID ?
A bacterial infection spread through contaminated food and water
Poor sanitation led to the disease spreading quickly
Rates didn’t fall until a vaccine was created in 1896
Prince Albert died of Typhoid in 1861
HOW HAS CAUSES OF DISEASE CHANGED IN THE MODERN ERA ?
Increase in lifestyle based diseases
Environment i.e. polluted areas linked to disease
Increase travel and two wars continued the spread of disease
WHEN WAS SPANISH FLU FIRST SEEN AND WHY DID IT SPREAD SO RAPIDLY ?
First appeared in 1918, after WW1
Demobilisation led to its rapid spread
HOW MANY DIED FROM SPANISH FLU ?
WHICH AGE GROUP DID IT AFFECT MOST ?
50M died from the Spanish Flu
280,000 died the UK
Most deadly for 20-40 year old
SYMPTOMS OF THE SPANISH FLU ?
Appeared benign cold, headache etc.
WHY WAS IT CALLED THE SPANISH FLU ?
Uk gov heavily censored the disease’s spread in Britain but reported heavily in Spain, hence the name.
WHICH COUNTRY WAS NOT AFFECTED ?
Australia, strict quarantining
WHAT DOES AIDS STAND FOR ?
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
HOW IS AIDS SPREAD ?
Sexual Contact
Sharing Needles with an infected person
Spread from mother to child during pregnancy
WHERE IS AIDS MOST COMMON ?
Africa - 63%
1981 - First cases in the US
WHAT WERE REACTIONS TO THE AIDS CRISIS ?
Some considered it a punishment from God for living a ‘sinful life’
Thought it could be taught by touching
