Medicine2

WHAT WERE THE COMMON MEDICAL BELIEFS, PRACTICES, PROCEDURES, AND MEDICINES IN SHAKESPEARE'S ENGLAND? -HOW WERE THESE DIFFERENT IN NOBLE/MERCHANT/COMMON LIFE? -WHAT, IF ANY, MEDICAL DISCOVERIES OF ADVANCEMENTS WERE MADE DURING SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE TIME? Answer Prepared By: Lisa M. Poor sanitation, vermin, and urban overcrowding were the main causes of high level of diseases and low life expectancies. According to __Daily Life in Elizabethan England__ by Jeffery L. Forgeng on p.120, the most common epidemic diseases in Elizabethan England were smallpox, measles, tuberculosis, stones, and venereal diseases. Influenza and malaria were also included. "During this time leprosy became rare," according to the website, __Elizabethan England__. Influenza lasted from 1557 to 1559 and smallpox in 1562. Surprisingly, small pox struck the upper class hardest of all. All these diseases were due to poor sanitation, vermin, and urban overcrowding. Also in another book with the same title called __Daily Life in Elizabethan England__, though written by Jeffery L. Singman, it states that health conditions worsened due to the rats that carried lice. An example of a disease due to overcrowding unsanitary living conditions on p. 120 in __Daily Life in Elizabethan England__ was Typus. This was found in jails were soldiers and sailors were among them. Speaking of sailors, “scurvy was also common due to the lack of fresh food on board ships"-p. 120 __Daily Life in Elizabethan England__. A common but less serious aliment were toothaches. Many teeth were not cared for and dentistry was not as common compared to the development of medicine. Due to the minimal care, mental illnesses were a well-recognized problem too as well as plagues."Plagues first came to Europe in the fourteenth century and continued to be a problem until the late seventeenth century," according to Singman. The plagues were carried by the flea Xenopsylla Cheopis, which lived on rats (p.52). The plagues were big in London during the years of 1563, 1578-1579, 1582, 1592-93 and 1603. In the sixteenth century Syphilis and Gonorrhea continued to be common. These two diseases were caused by the stopping of baths, meaning personal hygiene. As we can see, these diseases were starting to come across all of England and something had to be done about it.

Jeffery L. Forgang explains that the medical profession had a structure that was all planned out. At the top was the physician, who specialized in diagnosis and prescription of medicines. The person who worked with the physician is the apothecary, who was considered a tradesman preparing the medicines for the physician. Also, "he belonged to one of the most privileged and prestigious trade guilds in England,"-p.121 in __Daily Life in Elizabethan England__. Below the physician was the surgeon, another tradesman who specialized in operations. They could also diagnose illnesses and prescribe treatments to people who could not afford a physician. Below the surgeon was the barber-surgeon, they performed similar things as the surgeon. In the book __Daily Life in Elizabethan England__, "simple barbers also practiced basic form of surgery, including teeth cleaning and dentistry." People who practiced medicine on a part-time basis were called, folk mealers, midwives, and non-specialists. On p. 121 it states that, "women also learned some basic home medicine as part of their preparation for managing a household, and even an aristocratic lady might engage in charitable healing for her poorer neighbors." As we can see, there were many medical jobs in the medical field. These high ranked people performed many treatments to help the people with their illnesses.

There were few major developments in medical theories and medicines during this time period. On p. 122 in __Daily Life in Elizabethan England__, "Physiological theory was based on the ancient idea of the Four Humors, corresponding to the Four Elements, which were believed to make up all physical matter: Melancholy (cold and dry, like the Earth), Blood (hot and moist like Air) Phlegan (cold and moist, like the Water) and Choler (hot and dry, like the Fire)." Lia Ramsey, the author of the website __Elizabethan England__, stated that they believed that too much of these humors caused diseases; furthermore the cures were avoiding such humors and reduced the amount of blood. Prescribing foods and medicines was also another treatment to cure these humors in them. On the __Elizabethan England__ website, medical treatments were quite varied. The most common medical procedures were bloodletting, according to Jeffery L. Forgeng. It was described as the draining of some blood from the appropriate part of the patient; it was believed that it could help restore balance to the humors. "This was either done by an incision on a vein or by applying a leech," says Jeffery L. Singman. Though, the most effective method, mentioned on p. 123, was surgical practitioners. Many of the surgeons had ample experiences and opportunities to develop their skills because surgeries were the best treatment for the body. The first effective one was a plant called cinchona from Peru. In acted quickly and specifically on only a certain type of fever. Fevers were caused by unbalanced humors. For an earache, the treatment was to put a roasted onion in the ear. Discovering these certain types of treatments played a huge part in England.

Children were the main targets for epidemics of the plague, measles, smallpox, scarlet fever, chicken pox, and diphtheria, says Lia Ramsey. Many children, especially infants, were abandoned from their homes and families. Infants were abandoned if they had syphilis; families were afraid that they would pass it on. Also dental disease caused the children to die, as well as blindness.

There have been amazing discoveries in the medical field during the Elizabethan Era. One was by an army physician named Ambroise Pare. According to Lia Ramsey, "he discovered the effectiveness of hygiene on wound healing." While caring for gunshot wounds, he ran out of oil used on the numerous soldiers before and instead cleaned the wounds on the remaining soldiers. He found out that the soldiers who had the oil put on suffered from pain, compared to those who had theirs cleaned and suffered no pain. Jan Baptista Van Helmont discovered that fever was not due to the unbalance humors but a reaction to an irritating part of the body. He used chemical medicines and also improved the use of mercury. These discoveries that were made back in Elizabethan England still exist today in our own medical field. 


 * WORKS CITED**

· Bryson, Bill. //Shakespeare, The World as Stage//. 1st ed. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2007. 23. Print. · Forgeng, Jeffery L. //Daily Life in Elizabethan England//. 2nd ed. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press, 120-123, 236-239. Print · Picard, Liza. //Elizabeth's London//. New York, New York: St. Martin's Press, 2003. 102-109, 278-279. Print · Ramsey, Lia. "Medical Beliefs and Practices." //Elizabethan England//. N.p.,. Web. 4 Apr 2010. []. · Singman, Jeefrey L. //Daily Life in Elizabethan England//. Westport, Ct: Greenwood Press, 1995. 52-53. Print · Stewart, Gail B. //Life in Elizabethan London//. Farmington Hills : Lucent Books, 2003. 69-70, 83-85. Print.