medicine factors: superstition and religion

Question 1

medieval: medicine

Answer 1

Medicines and Cures:

• Asthma: swallow young frogs
• Rheumatism: wear donkey skin
• Ringworm: wash hair in male urine
• Belief in the DOCTRINE OF SIGNATURES. Thought that God had created illness, as well as creating the the right herbs/ plants to cure them. You just had to identify the correct one.
• For example, Saxifrage breaks up rocks as it grows so it must be perfect for treating kidney stones.

Question 2

early modern: medicine

Answer 2

Lady Johanna St John:

• typical Lady of the Manor’s’ role of healing
• lived at Lydiard House
• compiled a recipe book of cures
• She grew many herbs she needed in the walled garden of Lydiard House

Question 3

19th century: medicine

Answer 3

Opposition to Anaesthetics:

- people objected to the use of painkillers as they said it was unnatural

Question 4

20th century: medicine

Answer 4

Alternative Medicine:

• Refers to anything that isn’t mainstream, doctor-dispensed scientific medicine.
• Controversies like Thalidomide case made people distrust normal medicine so they became interested in alternative or holistic medicine.
• Included hydrotherapy (water based), aromatherapy (using essential oils from plants), hypnotherapy (therapist hypnotises patient and uses power of the brain to heal) and acupuncture.
• Many were based on herbal remedies rather than using chemicals.
• Acupuncture was a traditional Chinese method by sticking needles into patients to help the flow of energy
• these ideas weren’t fully supported and the British Medical Association described homeopathy as witchcraft and nonsense.
• however, 1 in 10 doctors prescribe alternative medicines now.