Medieval Treatments for the Bubonic Plague. Bloodletting. This was one of the many "cures" for the Black Death during the Middle Ages. The idea was to extract the blood from the infected/inflamed areas. This process could be done by leeches if the victim was rich, but had to be done with a knife if it was too expensive.
Full Answer
How was bubonic plague treated in the Middle Ages?
When was the Bubonic Plague?
- When was the Bubonic Plague?
- What is the Bubonic Plague? 2.1 What were the effects of the black death?
- 1347, A Dark Period in Europe’s History
- Bubonic Plague was also called as Black Death
- The Public Panic & Masks used by Doctors
- Attempted Cures for Black Death
- Tried Remedies for Treating Black Death
What cured the Black Death?
- An outbreak of the bubonic plague in China has led to worry that the “Black Death” could make a significant return.
- But experts say the disease isn’t nearly as deadly as it was, thanks to antibiotics.
- The disease pops up every year in multiple countries including the U.S.
What was the treatment for the Black Death in the Middle Ages?
HOW TO TREAT THE BLACK DEATH
- Letting your blood bleed out until no disease bacteria was left
- Drink your own urine
- Wash your body with vinegar
- Swallow crushed emeralds
- Do no exercise
- Have no baths
- Throw sweet smelling herbs on to a fire to clean the air
- Even witchcraft was bought upon infected bodies
What was medicine like during the Black Death?
The Black Death helped cause a shift in medicine toward greater emphasis on practice than there had been before, and intensified the struggle for status between physicians and surgeons. Yet, it did not completely destroy the existing medical system.
What was one form of treatment for the Black Death?
Leeches. Leeches were used as a treatment for the Black Death in much the same way that the fleam was — they were used to draw 'bad' blood out of the patient. This form of blood-letting was used for localized blood-letting (the fleam being used for generalized blood-letting).
How did they protect themselves from the Black Death in the Middle Ages?
Social Distancing and Quarantine Were Used in Medieval Times to Fight the Black Death. Way back in the 14th century, public health officials didn't understand viruses, but they understood the importance of keeping a distance and disinfecting.
What was the most common remedy used to combat the Black plague?
Four Thieves Vinegar is still made and used today in the practice of homeopathic medicine as an antibacterial agent; though no one in the modern-day claims it can cure the plague. The most popular potion among the wealthy was known as theriac.
What methods did plague doctors use?
Methods and tasks Plague doctors practiced bloodletting and other remedies such as putting frogs or leeches on the buboes to "rebalance the humors." A plague doctor's principal task, besides treating people with the plague, was to compile public records of plague deaths.
How were diseases treated in the Middle Ages?
Surgery such as amputations, cauterization, removal of cataracts, dental extractions, and even trepanning (perforating the skull to relieve pressure on the brain) were practiced. Surgeons would have relied on opiates for anesthesia and doused wounds with wine as a form of antiseptic.
Why did plague masks have beaks?
De Lorme thought the beak shape of the mask would give the air sufficient time to be suffused by the protective herbs before it hit plague doctors' nostrils and lungs.
How did the bubonic plague change medicine?
The Black Death helped cause a shift in medicine toward greater emphasis on practice than there had been before, and intensified the struggle for status between physicians and surgeons. Yet, it did not completely destroy the existing medical system.
What were the medical responses to the Black Death?
Most cures for the Plague dealt with balancing body humors, such as bloodletting. Other cures included gold, rose water, and theriac.
Did lancing the buboes work?
Lancing the Buboes Both painful and ineffective, draining the pus from sufferers' sores did more harm than good. First, it could infect the bloodstream and cause septicemia secondly, letting the pus out would make the spread of disease faster.
How was bloodletting done?
Several thousand years ago, whether you were an Egyptian with migraines or a feverish Greek, chances are your doctor would try one first-line treatment before all others: bloodletting. He or she would open a vein with a lancet or sharpened piece of wood, causing blood to flow out and into a waiting receptacle.
What herbs were used in plague masks?
The mask had two small nose holes and was a type of respirator which contained aromatic items. The beak could hold dried flowers (commonly roses and carnations), herbs (commonly lavender and peppermint), camphor, or a vinegar sponge, as well as juniper berry, ambergris, cloves, labdanum, myrrh, and storax.
Did bleeding a patient work?
Did bloodletting ever work? If by “work” you mean ending a disease process, then yes. Most of the people who died after bloodletting perished from diseases that were incurable in their time period — but bloodletting probably didn't help.
What animal is used to cure plague?
The unicorn could not easily be caught and had to be lulled into submission by a young virgin maiden. Doctors who managed to procure the powder of a ground “unicorn horn” used it to treat snake bites, fever, convulsions, and serious wounds and so it was thought to work equally well with the plague. There is no evidence that it did, however, any more than the cures involving the chicken or the snake.
How did quarantine help the spread of the plague?
The wealthy bought their way out of quarantine and fled to country estates, spreading the disease further, while others helped with the spread by ignoring quarantine efforts and continuing to participate in religious services and by going about their daily business. By the time the plague ended in Europe, millions were dead and the world the survivors had known would be radically changed.
How did the Black Death happen?
The name comes from the black buboes (infected lymph glands) which broke out over a plague victim's body. The cause of the plague was the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which was carried by fleas on rodents, usually rats, but this was not known to the people of the medieval period, as it was only identified in 1894 CE. Prior to that time, the plague was attributed primarily to supernatural causes – the wrath of God, the work of the devil, the alignment of the planets – and, stemming from these, “bad air” or an unbalance of the “humors” of the body which, when in line, kept a person healthy.
Why did the plague happen?
Prior to that time, the plague was attributed primarily to supernatural causes – the wrath of God, the work of the devil, the alignment of the planets – and, stemming from these, “bad air” or an unbalance of the “humors” of the body which, when in line, kept a person healthy. Three Doctors Attend a Man with the Plague.
What was the cause of the plague?
The cause of the plague was the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which was carried by fleas on rodents, usually rats, but this was not known to the people of the medieval period, as it was only identified in 1894 CE.
Why was medieval medicine a failure?
The failure of medieval medicine is largely due to the strict adherence to ancient authorities and the reluctance to change the model of physiology and disease the ancients presented.
Where did the plague spread?
A number of the people of Caffa fled the city in four merchant ships which went first to Sicily, then Marseilles and Valencia, spreading the plague at each stop. From these ports, other infected people then spread it elsewhere until people were dying across Europe, Britain, and even in Ireland where ships from Europe had docked for trade.
Why was the Black Death never cured?
Though the Black Death was never actually cures because there was no knowledge that the plague was being transmitted by rats. Many crazy ideas were though out by the doctors thinking that it would cure the plague. Some involved: Unfortunately, none of these healing methods worked.
Why did the plague wander away?
The plague eventually wandered away because people had found out what caused the plague and they had learnt new knowledge about rats and hygiene. The rats began to die off. Servants feeding crushed emeralds their patient. The Middle Ages Plague Doctor.
What happens if the Bubonic Plague isn't treated?
What happens if bubonic plague isn’t treated? Bubonic plague can be fatal if it’s not treated. It can create infection throughout the body (septicemic plague) and / or infect your lungs (pneumonic plague.) Without treatment, septicemic plague and pneumonic plague are both fatal.
How to diagnose bubonic plague?
To diagnose bubonic plague, your healthcare provider will order blood or tissue sample tests. The samples will be sent to the lab for testing to see if Y. pestis is present.
How long does it take for a bubonic plague to go away?
Symptoms usually develop two to six days after exposure. The best recovery happens if you are treated within 24 hours of developing symptoms. You’ll probably feel better after one to two weeks. However, untreated bubonic plague can be fatal.
What are the symptoms of the septicemic plague?
Sudden high fever and chills. Pains in the areas of the abdomen, arms and legs. Headaches. Large and swollen lumps in the lymph nodes (buboes) that develop and leak pus. Symptoms of septicemic plague may include blackened tissue from gangrene, often involving the fingers or toes, or unusual bleeding.
What are the different types of plagues?
The other types of plague are: 1 Septicemic plague, which happens when the infection goes all through the body. 2 Pneumonic plague, which happens when lungs are infected.
How did the plague get its name?
It gets its name from the swollen lymph nodes (buboes) caused by the disease. The nodes in the armpit, groin and neck can become as large as eggs and can ooze pus. The other types of plague are: Septicemic plague, which happens when the infection goes all through the body.
How many people died from the Bubonic Plague?
Yes. Bubonic plague deaths exceeded 25 million people during the fourteenth century. This was about two-thirds of the population in Europe at the time. Rats traveled on ships and brought fleas and plague with them.
Medicine and the Black Death in the Medieval Period
The Greek physician Galen (129-201 CE) popularised a theory about the human body, which stated that it was made up of four fluids called “humors”: black bile, yellow bile, blood, and phlegm. If there was an imbalance of any of these humors, then illness would follow.
1. Vinegar and the Black Death
The Vinegar Merchant, by Abraham Bosse, mid-to-late 17th century, via the Metropolitan Museum
2. Curing the Black Death with Onions
The humble onion was one of the home remedies that desperate doctors and patients alike tried to use to cure the plague, by rubbing chopped raw onion on the buboes (the large pus-filled boils that turned black, hence the name, the Black Death). Not only would the onion draw out toxins, it was thought that onion fumes could combat miasma.
3. Blood-Letting
Going back to Galen’s theory of the four humors, blood-letting was a common medical procedure in the Medieval Period. The idea was to allow some of the excess humors to drain out of the body. It was used as a cure-all for a variety of conditions, including epilepsy.
4. Live Chickens and the Vicary Method
This is one of the more bizarre quack cures for the Black Death. This treatment was named the “Vicary Method” after Thomas Vicary, the doctor who promulgated it. It involved plucking feathers from a chicken’s rump, and then tying the chicken to the patient, so that the chicken’s rump was touching the patient’s buboes.
5. Snakes
The Chinese had been using snakes in their traditional medicine since at least 100 CE, and snake meat was eaten to aid circulation and remove toxins from the body of a patient. During the Medieval Period, physicians would treat the plague by cutting up a snake and placing its parts on the pustules of the sufferer.
6. Leeches
Leeches were used as a treatment for the Black Death in much the same way that the fleam was — they were used to draw ‘bad’ blood out of the patient. This form of blood-letting was used for localized blood-letting (the fleam being used for generalized blood-letting).
What was the effect of the Bubonic Plague on Europe?
Giovanni Boccaccio ’s firsthand accounts during the Bubonic Plague’s rampant takeover of Europe portray the vast destruction to society that it caused. He states that the plague caused people to act out of self-interest and in turn caused people to act selfishly. Likewise, he describes that the idea of survival was based on the idea of “every man for himself”’ It is important to note that Boccaccio believes that the Bubonic Plague forced Europe into accepting more Utilitarian ideas because it made society as a whole realize that they needed to work together in order to prevent major problems like the spread of disease (Boccaccio, 2003).
What is the most well known version of the plague?
The Bubonic Plague is the most well known version of the plague, but the Septicemic and Pneumonic Plagues were also running rampant simultaneously. It was because of these three plagues that major works of literature were produced, and these plagues allowed for the creation of new themes and ideas within literature and, more importantly, in everyday life.
What are the two plagues that have not been talked about?
However, the two that have not been talked about are the Septicemic Plague and Pneumonic Plague. Septicemic Plague causes an infection of the blood and the Pneumonic Plague caused a severe lung infection. While all three types of the plague have different characteristics, they are all caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium which was discovered at the end of the nineteenth century by Alexandre Yersin ( Centers for Disease Control, 2019). While there are three forms of the plague with distinct defining characteristics, it was very common to have multiple forms of the plague all at one time.
How many classifications of the plague are there?
There are three classifications of the plague and they are all contagious through the eyes, mouth, nose, openings, wounds, or bites.
What did medieval doctors believe about sickness?
He believed that the sickness was a sin-guided spirit that was going from body to body.
What is the moral of the Pardoner's Tale?
(Chaucer, 2007) The overall moral of the Pardoner’s Tale is that sin and treachery will lead to death. While this seems like a typical theme for a story, this moral was especially important in the time it was written. At the time this story was released people thought the death from the Plague was due to
How did the Black Death cure the plague?
One of the common methods of cure for the plague was blood-letting. The doctors thought they could drain the plague out of the people by cutting a vein and letting it bleed.
What did doctors wear to treat the plague?
What Doctors Wore. Their uniform when treating a plague victim consisted of: A long, hooded leather coat. Leather gloves.
When did the Black Death hit Europe?
When the black death hit Europe between 1348 and 1350 many doctors had different ways of treating the Black Death. Some Treatments were more effective than others. Most of the treatments were not helpful or effective because of their little knowledge of diseases. Back in medieval times many people had different ways of treating ...
Why is aromatherapy used in bloodletting?
Another common method is Aromatherapy, Aromatherapy was used because it was believed that the disease was caused by the air, and that to cure it they had to smell sweet things.
What is the bubonic plague?
Bubonic plague is an infection of the lymphatic system, usually resulting from the bite of an infected flea, Xenopsylla cheopis (the Oriental rat flea ). Several flea species carried the bubonic plague, such as Pulex irritans (the human flea ), Xenopsylla cheopis, and Ceratophyllus fasciatus.
How can we prevent the plague?
Prevention is through public health measures such as not handling dead animals in areas where plague is common. Vaccines have not been found to be very useful for plague prevention. Several antibiotics are effective for treatment, including streptomycin, gentamicin, and doxycycline. Without treatment, plague results in the death of 30% to 90% of those infected. Death, if it occurs, is typically within 10 days. With treatment, the risk of death is around 10%. Globally between 2010 and 2015 there were 3,248 documented cases, which resulted in 584 deaths. The countries with the greatest number of cases are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, and Peru.
How are the three types of plague spread?
The three types of plague are the result of the route of infection: bubonic plague, septicemic plague, and pneumonic plague. Bubonic plague is mainly spread by infected fleas from small animals. It may also result from exposure to the body fluids from a dead plague-infected animal. Mammals such as rabbits, hares, and some cat species are susceptible to bubonic plague, and typically die upon contraction. In the bubonic form of plague, the bacteria enter through the skin through a flea bite and travel via the lymphatic vessels to a lymph node, causing it to swell. Diagnosis is made by finding the bacteria in the blood, sputum, or fluid from lymph nodes.
What is the plague caused by?
For information about the medieval plague, see Black Death. Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium ( Yersinia pestis ). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop.
What animals die from the bubonic plague?
Mammals such as rabbits, hares, and some cat species are susceptible to bubonic plague, and typically die upon contraction. In the bubonic form of plague, the bacteria enter through the skin through a flea bite and travel via the lymphatic vessels to a lymph node, causing it to swell.
How to confirm a plague?
Ideally, confirmation is through the identification of Y. pestis culture from a patient sample. Confirmation of infection can be done by examining serum taken during the early and late stages of infection. To quickly screen for the Y. pestis antigen in patients, rapid dipstick tests have been developed for field use.
How many people died from the plague in 2015?
With treatment, the risk of death is around 10%. Globally between 2010 and 2015 there were 3,248 documented cases, which resulted in 584 deaths.
How old was the Bubonic Plague?
The accurate model of bubonic plague and its successful treatment are only a century old, while the Black Death began 550 years ago. the medieval physician.
Why did medieval medicine fail?
The failure of medieval medicine stems from stubborn adherence to ancient authorities and reluctance to change the model of human physiology and disease that they presented. The discoveries and inventions that did finally effect this change, however, took place over hundreds of years. Around 1700, a century after development ...
What did the English doctors do in the 1420s?
English physicians, whose training often included study at Padua or Paris, were more like their French cousins, and organized for only a brief time in the 1420s.7 Guilds policed the performance of their members and judged disputes that stemmed from claims of malpractice.
What are the elements of Western medicine?
Western medicine thus began with the interrelationships of the four elements that constitute all natural things, including the body (earth, air, fire, and water), the four qualities that define them (hot, cold, moist, and dry ), the four humors, and the planetary and zodiacal influences on the earth and on individuals.
What was the cultural framework for dealing with illness?
The culture's intellectual framework for dealing with illness was deeply flawed, and therefore the various guesses people made based upon it were flawed. From 1348 to 1500 many physicians, Muslim and Christian, wrote treatises on the Plague, and scores of these survive.
When did the plague hit the West?
When the Plague struck the West in the middle years of the fourteenth century, no one really knew how to prevent or treat the disease. Many thought they did, but no diet or bloodletting or prayers or concoctions proved successful. The culture's intellectual framework for dealing with illness was deeply flawed, and therefore ...
Who was the physician who faced the Black Death?
Medical theory and practice relied heavily upon the imperfectly understood ideas of the fourth-. century b.c.e. Greek physician Hippocrates and philosopher Aristotle and the second-century Greco-Roman physician Galen (see biography).
What were the symptoms of the bubonic plague?
The rats carried fleas that bit humans, transmitting the disease. Early symptoms of the bubonic form of plague included fever, sweating, shaking and weakness. Some caught the pneumatic form, which affected the lungs and caused coughing in addition to the other symptoms.
What was the treatment for bloodletting?
Some treatments were fantastical, such as the use of a potion containing ground unicorn horn. Arsenic and mercury were also believed to bring about a cure.
What was the Renaissance?
The Renaissance was an age of artistic, literary, philosophical and scientific rebirth. New ideas invigorated Europe as it emerged from the Dark Ages. Into this new world of cultural advancements, disease-carrying rats arrived on ships from the East. The Black Death -- or plague -- infected millions, creating a pandemic unlike any that came before.
Where did the plague originate?
The ancient Greeks experienced plague epidemics, as did the Byzantine Empire in the sixth century. Originating in Central Asia, the plague spread to China and India, where it left their ports and arrived in Europe aboard rat-infested ...
How long did buboes survive?
Septicemia, or blood poisoning, sometimes resulted from germs entering the bloodstream after buboes were lanced. Some survived for as long as two weeks before succumbing. About 70 percent of people who contracted the Black Death died.
Arrival of The Plague & Spread
Medical Knowledge
- The physicians of the day had no idea how to cope with the outbreak. Nothing in their experience came anywhere close to the epidemic which killed people, usually, within three days of the onset of symptoms. Scholar Joseph A. Legan notes: None of Galen's works – and little of others' – were available in Latin or Greek to the European doctor who had to rely on Arabic translations which …
Animal Cures
- One of the most popular cures was the “Vicary Method”, named after the English doctor Thomas Vicary, who first proposed it. A healthy chicken was taken and its back and rear plucked clean; this bare part of the live chicken was then applied to the swollen nodes of the sick person and the chicken strapped in place. When the chicken showed signs of illness, it was thought to be drawi…
Potions, Fumigations, Bloodletting, & Pastes
- The unicorn potion was not the only – or most expensive – cure offered to the nobility or wealthy merchant class. Another remedy was eating or drinking a small quantity of crushed emeralds. The physician would grind the emeralds with a mortar and pestle and then administer it to the patient as a fine powder mixed with either food or water. Those wh...
Flight from Infected Areas & Persecution
- Those not wishing to bathe in urine, be smeared with feces, or try the other cures, left the affected region or city, but this option was usually only available to the wealthy. The Italian poet and writer Giovanni Boccaccio (l. 1313-1375 CE) describes the flight of ten affluent young people from Florence to a countryside villa during the plague in his masterpiece The Decameron(written 134…
Religious Cures
- That standard, for the most part, was set by the medieval Churchwhich informed the worldview of the majority of the population of Europe at the time. Religious cures were the most common and, besides the public flagellation mentioned above, took the form of purchasing religious amulets and charms, prayer, fasting, attending mass, persecuting those thought responsible, and particip…
Quarantine & Social Distancing
- The only effective means of stopping the spread of the plague – though not curing it – was separating the sick from the well through quarantine. The port city of Ragusa (modern-day Dubrovnik, Croatia), at that time under the control of Venice, was the first to initiate this practice through a 30-day isolation period imposed on arriving ships. Ragusa's population had been heavi…
Conclusion
- As the plague raged on, other measures were attempted such as washing money with vinegar, fumigating letters and documents with incense, and encouraging people to think positive thoughts as it seemed to become clear that a patient's general attitude greatly affected the chances of survival. None of these proved as effective as separating the infected from the healt…