Medicine During The Elizabethan Era
Medicine During Elizabethan Era
The medicine during the Elizabethan time was painful which caused lots of people’s death during this period. The main reason for this was lack of medical knowledge, speechless beliefs, and medicinal practices. During this time, some significant medical discoveries happened, and people got rid of some false beliefs. However, not all of the false and illogical beliefs were gotten rid of (Lyons 3).
The Elizabethans had many beliefs, and most were strange but some logically made sense. One of the noticeable ideas was about doctors wearing masks with beaks on the top of their face, and they also used to wear boots, gloves, and long robes (Achlin). Their apprehension was so that nothing (ex- bacteria and disease)
could go through everything they wore. Hence, they would not hopefully get sick. Even though this was partially right, the whole concept would not make sense. The doctors also believed that when the stars were not in the correct spots, then diseases were caused (Achlin). So, if particular groups of stars were not in certain positions, then a disease was caused. This idea came from the astronomical discoveries that occurred during the time. The doctors thought that astronomy played a prominent role in the medicine, but they believed that some injuries were curable. These were injuries that supposedly had nothing to do with the astronomy. They did things that were treatable like setting a broken bone or bones, pulling teeth and helping wounds heal but, they rarely performed any surgeries due to intolerable pain (Andrews 98). The pain was unbearable since there was no anesthetic during that time. Consequently, it was likely that the patient would die from pain during the surgery. So, people would get a surgery only if their condition was severe. Due to this unmanageable pain, people attempted to come up with some anesthetic which was followed by another important discovery.
To develop medicine, Elizabethans have introduced Dwale (an anesthetic), and also the Elizabethans realized the importance of hygiene and how it impacted the healing process. During this time, a doctor in England created Dwale, and everyone believed it worked even though it did not work in reality (Lyons 15). People probably thought this due to the decreased amounts of deaths when Dwale was introduced. Later on, in the mid-19th century, an actual anesthetic was made. Later during this period, Ambrose Pare, an army physician who lived in England, discovered that hygiene was a huge deal while the wounds were healing (Ramsey). Therefore, the more the home or the hospital was clean, the faster and the more efficiently the wounds would heal (Ramsey). This was an important medical discovery and changed the way hospitals were maintained. So, from then on, the hospitals were a lot cleaner and more sanitized. This medical advancement affects the way how people think about the medicine and the hospitals forever.
In conclusion, the Elizabethans have shaped the medicine significantly in many ways. Even though they did not find the best solution to the medical problems, they have provided a platform where people would eventually start on and find a better solution. The medicine during this time lacked certain knowledge, anesthetics, and also had a bunch of false beliefs which made the medicine during this time scary and painful.
The medicine during the Elizabethan time was painful which caused lots of people’s death during this period. The main reason for this was lack of medical knowledge, speechless beliefs, and medicinal practices. During this time, some significant medical discoveries happened, and people got rid of some false beliefs. However, not all of the false and illogical beliefs were gotten rid of (Lyons 3).
The Elizabethans had many beliefs, and most were strange but some logically made sense. One of the noticeable ideas was about doctors wearing masks with beaks on the top of their face, and they also used to wear boots, gloves, and long robes (Achlin). Their apprehension was so that nothing (ex- bacteria and disease)
could go through everything they wore. Hence, they would not hopefully get sick. Even though this was partially right, the whole concept would not make sense. The doctors also believed that when the stars were not in the correct spots, then diseases were caused (Achlin). So, if particular groups of stars were not in certain positions, then a disease was caused. This idea came from the astronomical discoveries that occurred during the time. The doctors thought that astronomy played a prominent role in the medicine, but they believed that some injuries were curable. These were injuries that supposedly had nothing to do with the astronomy. They did things that were treatable like setting a broken bone or bones, pulling teeth and helping wounds heal but, they rarely performed any surgeries due to intolerable pain (Andrews 98). The pain was unbearable since there was no anesthetic during that time. Consequently, it was likely that the patient would die from pain during the surgery. So, people would get a surgery only if their condition was severe. Due to this unmanageable pain, people attempted to come up with some anesthetic which was followed by another important discovery.
To develop medicine, Elizabethans have introduced Dwale (an anesthetic), and also the Elizabethans realized the importance of hygiene and how it impacted the healing process. During this time, a doctor in England created Dwale, and everyone believed it worked even though it did not work in reality (Lyons 15). People probably thought this due to the decreased amounts of deaths when Dwale was introduced. Later on, in the mid-19th century, an actual anesthetic was made. Later during this period, Ambrose Pare, an army physician who lived in England, discovered that hygiene was a huge deal while the wounds were healing (Ramsey). Therefore, the more the home or the hospital was clean, the faster and the more efficiently the wounds would heal (Ramsey). This was an important medical discovery and changed the way hospitals were maintained. So, from then on, the hospitals were a lot cleaner and more sanitized. This medical advancement affects the way how people think about the medicine and the hospitals forever.
In conclusion, the Elizabethans have shaped the medicine significantly in many ways. Even though they did not find the best solution to the medical problems, they have provided a platform where people would eventually start on and find a better solution. The medicine during this time lacked certain knowledge, anesthetics, and also had a bunch of false beliefs which made the medicine during this time scary and painful.