The Role Of Medicine In The Elizabethan Era

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. They often nursed the sick using home remedies that were passed down from generation to generation.

Medicines were based on the “theory of opposites”. For example, if someone had a fever and felt hot, they were given a medicine made from a cold plant like lettuce to cool them down. Many pains were treated with certain things because they had similar appearance. For instance, ivory was used to treat a toothache because they looked alike. When a patient was given home remedies, it was said to restore balance back into their body. Head pains were treated with herbs such as rose, lavender, sage, and bay. Stomach pains were treated with

The usual fee was a gold coin worth 10 shillings. The very wealthy would receive care from Elizabethan physicians. In order to become a physician, a person would have to attend a university. Physicians were usually covered in clothing from head to toe to protect them from coming down with serious illnesses. They wore long, dark robes with painted hoods, leather gloves and boots, and a mask with a long beak that contained special oils that allowed them to breath the same air as the patient without becoming sick. Majority of the people living during the Elizabethan Era never consulted physicians, because there were very few in number and they were very expensive. Because poor people couldn’t afford to pay the fee, churches often provided care for them. They would visit the local “wise woman” or the Elizabethan