Poor Hygiene In The Elizabethan Era

During the Elizabethan period (1558-1603) the health of everybody from peasants to the wealthy was extremely poor due to the inadequate hygienic techniques used during the time. None of the people were aware exactly how they became ill, therefore surgeons had much difficulty to cure them. Although they rarely bathed they were oblivious to the fact this may be the source of their problems. Poor hygiene, brought out by infrequent bathing, resulted in illnesses caused by the patients’ and the surgeons’ reluctance to follow basic hygienic practices and superstitions of the day. The people were looking for different ways to steer clear of the deadly illnesses, so they started to frequently wash hands with water and vinegar because it was much
Bath houses were public houses to bathe in and were popular during Elizabeth's rule. The lords and wealthy families would have copper tubs in their house to bathe in. (Knight, 2008)
Most of the cleaning remedies could be made at home, such as the soaps that were made of mutton fat, wood ash, and natural soda. More expensive versions would include oils or flowers. The soaps for bathing were mostly used by the wealthier class because they costed too much. Since there were no toothbrushes like there are now they would wipe their mouths with burnt rosemary and rinse with a mixture of vinegar and water. And to whiten teeth and get rid of plaque they would rub their teeth with powdered sage. (Knight, 2008) Nobody knew bathing more frequently could reduce illnesses and keep germs away, in fact they were not even aware germs existed. Instead they had many theories as to why illnesses existed such as illnesses being a form of punishment from God and that sinful behavior self induces the illnesses and sickness. Others believe that the fluids in our body can cause disease when they become unbalanced. And some people even thought that when the earth is not aligned it could cause sickness. (Trueman,