There were many symptoms that came with one getting the plague and very little medication to treat it. “The disease was present in two forms: one that infected the bloodstream, causing the buboes and internal bleeding, and was spread by contact; and a second, more virulent pneumonic type that infected the lungs and was spread by respiratory infection” (Tuchman).
The first thing to strike after determining that you were ill was most commonly a headache, occasional chills, and a high fever. In most cases, it was clear that exhaustion was a playing a toll on people who were ill with the disease. Most often things like nausea, vomiting, back pain, soreness in your arms and legs all took place.
Within a day or two after nausea and other symptoms, the swellings appeared (Snell). The swellings were hard and painful, in which also you had burning lumps on your neck, under your arms and on your inner thighs (Snell). Shortly after the lumps appeared on your skin, they started turning black, splitting open and beginning to release pus and blood. The most crucial and life threatening problem came in pretty close to immediately after the lumps started to bleed, which was: internal bleeding, causing bleeding through urine and other server problems as well. It was possible to recover from the plague, but more than likely death would come quickly (Snell)
During these tough times both hardship and misfortune where faced in the medieval ages.
Daily life was occasionally exceedingly hard to fathom. Medicine was immensely limited, but some methods were tested in hopes of finding a secure lead to restoring health. That fact that there were no antibiotics during the middle ages is what turned the hard times into the absolute most difficult times. ...
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Alchin, Linda. "Medicine in the Middle Ages." Medicine in the Middle Ages. Web. 08 Dec. 2013.
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K., Alchin L. "Black Death." Black Death. 16 July 2012. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.
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"Plague." National Geographic. National Geographic, 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
Snell, Melissa. "Death Defined." About.com Medieval History. Web. 10 Dec. 2013.
Tuchman, Barbara. "Description of the Black Death." Description of the Black Death. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.
Although populations in ancient societies suffered attacks, invasions, starvation, and persecution, there was a more efficient killer that exterminated countless people. The most dreaded killers in the ancient world were disease, infections and epidemics. In many major wars the main peril was not gunfire, nor assault, but the easily communicable diseases that rapidly wiped out whole divisions of closely quartered soldiers. Until the time of Hippocrates, in the struggle between life and death, it was, more often than not, death that prevailed when a malady was involved. In the modern world, although illness is still a concern, advances in thought and technique have led to the highest birth rates in recorded history. No longer is a fever a cause for distress; a quick trip to the store and a few days of rest is the current cure. An infection considered easily treatable today could have meant disablement, even death to an ancient Greek citizen.
The medicinal practices and problems of the Elizabethan Era were very important to the people, although they are very different from those of today. There were many different beliefs and diseases, like the Plague. Medicine was not an exact science and was related to Alchemy (Chemistry). Here, some of the many practices and beliefs of the Elizabethan Era will be discussed.
The symptoms would include the usual signs of sickness- fever, vomiting muscular pain and swelling in the lymph nodes. Nobody, physician or doctor knew how the Black Death was occurring or how to stop it. They did all they could to help with the symptoms. In fact, the song Ring around the Rosy was inspired due to the plague. At first, the plague was thought to be sent by the almighty God to punish men for their sins. Simone Buonacorsi, the notary, wrote a ordinances that in no way shall man have contact with those whom are
Alchin, Linda. “Elizabethan Medicine and Illnesses” www.elizabethan-era.org. UK. N.P. 16 May 2012 Web. 17 Jan 2014
No other epidemic reaches the level of the Black Death which took place from 1348 to 1350. The epidemic, better regarded as a pandemic, shook Europe, Asia, and North Africa; therefore it deems as the one of the most devastating events in world history. In The Black Death: The Great Mortality of 1348-1350, John Aberth, compiles primary sources in order to examine the origins and outcomes of this deadly disease. The author, a history professor and associate academic dean at Vermont’s Castleton State College, specializes in medieval history and the Black Death. He wrote the book in order to provide multiple perspectives of the plague’s impact. Primarily, pathogens started the whole phenomenon; however, geological, economic, and social conditions
The Web. The Web. 24 Mar. 2011. The. http://liboc.tctc.edu:2058/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CH1420001374&v=2.1&u=tricotec_main&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w> The "Plague".
In the Renaissance, some aspects of medicine and doctors were still in a Dark Age. Outbreaks of disease were common, doctors were poor, medicine was primitive and many times doctors would kill a patient with a severe treatment for a minor disease! But, there were other sections where medicine and the use of medications improved greatly. This paper is written to illustrate the "light and dark" sides of medicine in the Renaissance.
It was a bubonic plague that came from Asia and spread by black rats infested with fleas. The plague spread like a wildfire because people who lived in high populated areas were living very close to each other and had no idea what was the cause of the disease or how to cure it. The signs of the “inevitable death” where blood from the nose, fever, aching and swellings big as an “apple” in the groin or under the armpits. From there the disease spread through the body in different directions and soon after it changed into black spots that appeared on the arms and thighs. Due to the lack of medical knowledge, no doctors manage to find a remedy. Furthermore a large number of people without any kind of medical experience tried to help the sick but most of them failed “...there was now a multitude both of men and of women who practiced without having received the slightest tincture of medical science - and, being in ignorance of its source, failed to apply the proper remedies…” (Boccaccio). The plague was so deadly that it was enough for a person to get infected by only touching the close of the
The Black Death was associated with three types of plague, which were all caused by Yersinia Pestis. The bubonic plague had a mortality rate of 80 percent. It was “spread through the bite of a flea” (The Black Death, 23). The most noticeable symptom is swelling of the lymph nodes. After the outbreak of the symptoms, death would occur within three to six days. Yet, ten to forty percent of people affected by the bubonic plague would recover. The second type was the pneumonic plague and it had a mortality rate of 90% to 95%. The pneumonic plague it is transferred by “respiratory fluids” (The Black Death, 23). The plague kills its victims in a period of two to three days. The third type is the septicemic plague and it had a mortality rate of nearly 100%. This plague “spread through a direct invasion or poisoning of the blood” (The Black Death,
The plague was spread by fleas, which were not effected by the disease. Fleas first infected the rats, which lived off garbage and sewage. The rats then spread the infection to the humans. Rats were a common sight in the cities, due to the poor sanitary conditions, so no one suspected them (www.tartans.com). In the winter the plague seemed to disappear, but only because fleas were dormant then. Each spring, the plague attacked again, killing new victims (www.byu.edu). The effects of the plague were devastating. After just five years, twenty-five million people were dead - one third of Europe's population. Once people were infected they infected others very rapidly. As a result, in order to avoid the disease, many fled to the countryside where the lower population density helped to decrease the speed at which the disease spread (www.tartans.com). From a person's time of infection to his or her death was less than one week (www.home.nycap.rr.com). The plague became known as "The Black Death" because of the discoloration of the skin and black enlarged lymph nodes that appeared on the second day of contracting the disease. The term "The Black Death" was not invented until after 1800. Contemporaries called it "the pestilence" (Cantor 7).
Women in the Middle Ages (Early 1400’s- late 1500’s). (2004, June 07). In WriteWork.com. Retrieved 18:27. March 06. 2014. from http://www.writework.com/essay/women-middle-ages-early-1400s-late-1500s
"Life in Italy During the Middle Ages." Life in Italy. Life in Italy, 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. .
"Women of History: Medieval Marriage & Childbirth." Women of History: Medieval Marriage & Childbirth. N.p., 29 Aug. 2007. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.
Macdonald, Fiona. The Plague and Medicine in the Middle Ages. Milwaukee, Winsconsin: World Almanac Library, 2006.
Trumbull, Eric W. "Introduction to Theatre -- Medieval Theatre." Introduction to Theatre -- Medieval Theatre. N.p., 16 Nov. 2008. Web. 18 Oct. 2013.