Health In 16th Century England

In 16th-century England, health was at an all-time low, diseases were spreading fast, and medicine was extremely limited due to the fact the people had little to no knowledge about the human body.

The underlying cause of the 16th-century illnesses was the extreme lack of sanitation and hygiene, especially in large cities such as London. rather than rural areas (Pearson, 409). These cities had all the conditions to sustain epidemic diseases, filth, squalor, massive numbers of people packed together in small dwellings as well as being infested with rodents (Pearson, 413). Streets were filled and rivers were contaminated with rotting garbage, there was no running water and most people only took baths once or twice a year as they believed water was evil and would cause you to become severely ill if

Bloodletting, also known as venesection, became the standard treatment used by doctors and physicians for alleviating symptoms of a disease. Using leeches that would ingest about 5 to 10 ml of blood, or using a special tool known as a fleam, they would cut or pierce the patient and then drain several ounces of blood until the patient fainted. Bloodletting charts indicated the best place for draining the blood according to the patient’s astrological sign and specific complaint. Bloodletting had little impact on medical practice (yesnet.yk.ca)

Due to the lack of hygiene and sanitation in major cities In 16th-century England, health was at a very low point. Many of the worst pandemic diseases known to mankind broke out, were being spread extremely fast and were not being cured because the doctors and physicians did not know the real reason for them, therefore, the medicine used and procedures being done were ineffective, killing