Public+Health

P U B L I C H E A L T H A N D M E D I C I N E Throughout the Elizabethan age many people suffered and died from diseases and illnesses that were easily spread and unable to be cured becasue the medicine the doctors used was very basic in comparison to what they were trying to cure.

** Common diseases children caught included... ** ** Causes ** ** Doctors ** ** Medicines ** The medicine was not very advanced at this time, so herbs and homemade potions were commonly used.
 * The most common illnesses the people suffered from included... [[image:Plague.jpg width="151" height="194" align="right" caption="Bubonic Plague"]]**
 * The Bubonic Plague
 * "Black Death"
 * Killed about 1/3 of the population
 * Caused red spots to form which later turned black
 * Very Painful
 * Time span from infection to death was sometimes less than a week
 * Typhoid
 * Very high fever
 * Red rashes formed
 * Easily spread from one person to another
 * Smallpox
 * STD's like Syphilis
 * Influenza
 * The white make-up women applied on their faces contained lead, which killed them if it was used in large quantities
 * Measles
 * Chicken pox
 * Scarlet Fever
 * Diptheria
 * Syphilis
 * Many infants who had this were abandoned by their parents, becuase of fear they would pass it on.
 * Lack of sanitation
 * Open sewers
 * Streets filled with garbage
 * Waste was dumped into close by rivers
 * No running water (obtained it from dirty water pumps)
 * Easily spread in unsanitary places where fleas, rodents, and lice were present
 * Poor living conditions and diet
 * Often didn't know what caused the diseases and how to cure them
 * Their beliefs were based off of ancient teachings of Aristotle and Hippocrates
 * Your doctor depended upon your social class and if you had enough money to pay the fees. (Many cases of the plague and typhod went untreated because the best doctors were too expensive to hire. [[image:doctor.jpg align="right" caption="Elizabethan Physician"]]
 * Elizabethan Physicians
 * Recieved an education from one of the Universities and College of Physicians
 * Only the wealthy were treated by them
 * Usual fee was a gold coin worth (10 shillings)
 * Wore uniforms- covered them from head to toe and had masks to prevent them from breathing the same air as their infected patient.
 * Elizabethan Surgeons
 * Had a bad reputation becuase they were similar to the barbers
 * Belonged to the Company of Barber Surgeons
 * Barbers
 * Part of the Company of Barber Surgeons
 * Only allowed to pull teeth and let blood
 * Elizabethan Apothecary
 * Who people came to
 * Belonged to the Grocer's Guild
 * Sold sweets, perfumes, cosmetics, and drugs
 * The Church
 * Gave comfort to the poor
 * Local "Wise Women"
 * 1st people contacted when the poor needed help
 * Elizabethan Housewife
 * Made homemade potions and medicines from herbs
 * It was her job to make sure the medicines were available to her family.
 * Bubonic Plague
 * Lanced the swollen lymph nodes by applying warm butter, onions, and garlic to it.
 * Also tried using tobacco, lily roots, and dried toads.
 * Headaches
 * Used sweet smelling herbs like rose, lavender, and bay
 * Stomachaches
 * Used wormwood, mint, and balm
 * Wounds
 * Used Vinegar to clean out the wound (thought vinegar killed all diseases inside cuts)

Conditons were terrible during this time and the quality of sanitation and lack medicine/ treatment couldn't keep up with the deadly diseases that were being spread around. [|Medicines & Illnesses] [|Beliefs & Practices] [|Elizabethan Medicine]