English 11 - Health Issues of the Elizabethan Time

Sean Morat April 12th, 2005

English 11 Health Issues Of The Elizabethan Time

The Elizabethan era was not only a period of rations medical science, but also a time of great superstition. Medicine remained attached to astrology and other beliefs such as the supernatural. Elizabethan times was the era in which Queen Elizabeth I and Shakespeare lived. However the times were very unsanitary. People threw their trash out the window and if their dog or cat died, they would throw that out the window also. When it rained, cats and dogs would flow down the street. This is where the quote "Raining cats and dogs" derived. Because of all of these things, health was a major concern in Elizabethan England. Poor sanitation and a rapidly growing population contributed to the spread of disease. Medicine and health in the sixteenth century was very different from that of today, however their medical problems were very different from the medical challenges we face presently.

Deadly diseases were the main cause of poor health and fear of dying in Elizabethan times. They (the diseases) were believed to be caused by devils, spirits and demons, and were to be challenged by white magic and prayers. The most famous and dreaded disease in Elizabethan Times was the plague. This disease spread rapidly, had no cure and caused numerous fatalities. "An outbreak in 1593 is reported to have killed 15, 000 people in the London area alone, Even worse than the plague, but fortunately less common, was the so called sweating sickness". Someone with this would suffer a high fever that usually proved fatal within 24 hours." Other major diseases included malaria, spread by mosquitoes; syphilis, which was sexually transmitted; and scurvy, caused by poor diet and particular common among sailors. Epidemic diseases became common during the sixteenth century. Among them were smallpox, diphtheria, and measles. In children there were epidemics of plague, measles, smallpox, scarlet fever, chicken pox and diphtheria. Many children were abandoned, especially the ones with syphilis because it was feared they would pass it on . Smallpox probably caused the most deaths in villages. Most people had no understanding of the disease and those who survived it were often scarred for life. Medicine was not very scientific at this time and often beliefs were relied upon to determine a treatment of disease. The biggest belief was that health revolved around the four fluids; blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile. The amounts of these fluids determined a person's physical or mental health. A person with a dominant presence of blood was supposedly happy and generous. A dominance of yellow bile meant that the person was violent and vengeful. An excess of phlegm resulted in a person being dull, pale and cowardly. Black bile justified someone's laziness. The three main organs in the body according to the Elizabethans were the heart, liver, and the brain. The liver was considered the great blood forming, nutrition-giving organ from which the four fluids arose. It was also considered the origin of the veins which spread throughout the body. Elizabethans believed the heart to be the center of life. The heart was the place of affections and emotions-joy, anger, hope, fear, etc., and the source of the soul. The brain was the place of reason, memory, and imagination.

"Many physicians in Elizabethan England held medical degrees from Oxford or Cambridge University. They studied the works of ancient Greek physicians Hippocrates and Galen. Ancient medical knowledge was high respected, and doctors were warned against excessive experimentation. After completing their studies, every new doctor was examined by the Royal College of Physicians before receiving a license to practice medicine." Back then, physicians were associated with the Catholic Church and they had been forbidden to shed blood. Therefore, practices involving bloodshed, such as surgery, was the responsibility of surgeons. Surgeons would bandage wounds, remove bullets and arrowheads, set broken bones, and pull teeth. They rarely performed surgery in which the body was opened. There was no anesthetic and the patients were fully awake. Many died soon afterward due to infection or from shock to their systems. Elizabethan pharmacists,