Common Disease In Elizabethan England

medieval Europe suffered from many diseases and health problems as they had extremely poor hygiene and lack of basic medical knowledge. One of the most devastating disease they suffered from was the black death, which killed over one third of the population of England. There were also many illnesses occurring due to poor diet . Anaemia was common as well as arthritis, rheumatism, tuberculosis and dysentery. Sexually transmited diseases such as Syphilis, were also prevalent.

Medicine Medicine during the Elizabethan Era was extremely basic. The knowledge most people had about medicine came from their ancestors through many generations. The Elizabethan Era was a time when terrible illnesses such as the Black Plague were killing nearly one-third of the population. The cause of many illnesses during this time was lack of sanitation. Back then, women played a major role in medicine.

Physicians, and Medicine During the Elizabethan Time The Elizabethan time period was from 1558 through 1603 known as the Renaissance. During the Renaissance there was not any running water, so people would have to throw their waste in the streets. With people’s waste in the street came many illnesses including The Plague. Even a minor scrap could kill you in the next minute.

They would sell herbs and spices for their illnesses. There was no formal training. The fees were low so it would make it popular for the poor (Woolf 11). This was important to the Elizabethan Era because almost everyone could afford herbs and spices. Today, the doctors would prescribe prescription drugs and the people would receive the medicine in a pharmacy.

“In the late 1800 and early 1900's, infectious diseases were the most serious threat to health and well being.” Until the late 1900’s the leading cause of death was communicable diseases. As doctors gain more knowledge about medicine the death rate of those disease has substantially decreased. The three main illnesses of the 1800’s-1900’s were scarlet fever, tuberculosis, and chicken pox, yet a positive outcome from these horrendous sicknesses were antibiotics, remedies, and vaccines. Scarlet Fever was one of the many illnesses in the 1800’s.

Many people do not realize how fortunate they are to have the medical advances and medical technology we easily have the right to use. People from many years ago did not have specialized doctors and medicine to cure their diseases that we easily have access to today. (Ramsey) Many civilizations used what they thought to be alleviating processes, but medical experts today know now were pointless and dangerous. Among these people were the Elizabethans. (Chamberline) The Elizabethan Era was a time of accusations. People believed certain procedures were curing people when in fact they were killing them. (Ramsey) They also blamed mysterious acts they could not explain on innocent people, creating a handful of superstitions we know and use today. Unexplainable events and hazardous medical customs sparked the era of the Elizabethan Age. (Elizabethan Superstitions)

Before the Black Death swept over Europe, doctors were

Doctors used leeches which are segmented worms that are blood suckers. They also carried knives and lancets. They believed they could cure metal illness issues. The doctor would cut the patients veins and allow the patient to bleed out to get rid of the infected blood. The bleeding had no positive effect and increased the chances of death.

When the people of the 16th century head pains now known as headaches were treated with sweet-smelling herbs such as rose, lavender, sage, and bay. This was a treatment that was used but the only the wealthy could afford it the poor could not really afford medicine. Other treatment was you could put roasted onion in your ear for a earache. Simple wounds were treated by vinegar like cuts or scraps.

Europe in the fifteen hundreds was a dangerous, local, hierarchic, tradition-bound, slow moving, and poor filled with the tasks of providence, salvation and community. Europe during the fifteen hundreds were a dangerous place; disease, famine, and violence all prevented the population of the era to live a long life. One of the major killers during the time was disease. Disease and plagues killed major parts of the population, the bubonic plague, for example, claimed the lives of perhaps a third of Europe’s population in five years.

Introduction The black plague was a terrible crisis throughout the whole world and it affected many people, but it affected mostly the people of Europe. It killed thousands of people just in Europe and across the world as it killed many more. This was a feared disease in Europe because it was really contagious, and came from fleas on rats. The Plague was feared by many people because it was deathly, contagious, and made them feel awful.

The 16th century wasn’t one of the brightest for the people of the Elizabethan Era. The Black Plague can be at fault for this horrific tragedy. The Black Plague was one of the worst diseases to be ever known to the people in the Elizabethan Era. The main culprit of the spread was the poor hygiene, however, the real species that are the cause of this potential wipeout, are the rats and other infected rodents that resided in the area. In the year of 1563 alone, 20,000 people had died in London, essentially wiping out over two-thirds of its population in a single year.

One being the Bubonic Plague, also known as the Black Death, was the deadliest disease in 1346-1353. However, there were a few outbreaks since then. This disease had spread across Europe. The symptoms of the bubonic plague were quite severe. People suffering from this disease, “died quickly-sometimes overnight-and in great agony, coughing up blood and oozing pus and blood from ugly black sores the size of eggs” (Tignor 407).

This was the dark force of misinformation and lack of information. People back then had little to no idea about the many different kinds of illnesses that would have been afflicting them during those simple

No one knew how to take care or treat a disease, some of these odd treatments they used actually worked. a. Mint tea could sometimes soothe an upset stomach. b. Some treatments were useless as “Wearing a leather shoestring around your neck to cure a cough.” 3.