Healing

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Back to the Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages
Medical practices in the middle ages did not involve sanitation or hygiene; therefore people got infections more easily. Doctors and surgeons would simply cut into a person to perform a surgery. Illnesses had been spread much easier because no one thought to wash their hands.

**Doctors** Doctors in this era had many differences from doctors today. In the middle ages people believed that there were four kinds of bodily fluid, called humours, which had to be kept in balance, otherwise they would become ill. Each humour represented an element in nature, yellow bile represented fire, black bile represented earth, blood represented air, and phlegm represented water. People believed that illnesses had been caused by God, due to wickedness. Therefore people would often pray, meditate, and go on pilgrimages. Doctors would sometimes look at the stars to find cures for certain diseases but, once they realized that that produced little/no result they checked patients’ diet and examined urine. Physicians had the highest authority in the medical world followed by surgeons, barbers, and apothecaries (middle-ages.org.uk).

**Plagues and Leprosy** During 1348-1350 the Bubonic Plague killed about one third of the population of England. Physicians and doctors realized after the tragedy that it spread through fleas on rats. Since antibiotics had not yet been invented curing the disease after being bitten had not even a possibility. Nobody can say how leprosy had been spread but, they do know that any type of cure had not yet been invented. Most lepers would lie outside on the ground, ringing a bell and shouting “Unclean! Unclean!” so people would not approach them. Some lepers got lucky enough to have a volunteer to take care of and pray for them (medieval-life.com). People had no idea about germs and bacteria so people never washed anything and spread germs everywhere. Hospitals were very small, compared to hospitals today, holding only one thousand patients. Nuns usually ran hospitals and actually somewhat prevented the spread of germs inside of the building(Wood, 36). **Bloodletting** Medical practices during medieval times were not based on scientific principles but instead on superstitions. Bloodletting, releasing “bad” blood from the body, had been as common and popular as aspirin today. Monks bled themselves periodically to maintain a steady humour levels. Bloodletting had been used for most illnesses and usually blood was taken from the arm, leg, or neck. For sometime bloodletting had not been allowed so barbers would put striped poles outside of their shop; the pole represented the patient, white stripes represented bandages, and red stripes represented blood (pbs.org, Starr). Apothecaries are extremely similar to pharmacists, selling drugs. Some apothecaries worked from home but most of them had small shops. Towards the front of the shop would be medicines that got used often, but in the back he or she would make medicines as they were needed. Some were accused of having dark magical powers since there was no explanation behind their medicines.

In conclusion, it’s a wonder anyone even survived the middle ages. Because of the lack of Sanitation and knowledge people suffered unnecessary pain and misery. Only the strongest and healthiest survived.