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Essay / The Black Death of 1348, the greatest biomedical disaster in world history
The Black Death of 1348 was the greatest biomedical disaster in world history. In just three years, the bubonic plague killed a third of Europe's population (Cantor, p. 6). Due to the lack of general medical knowledge, the plague was able to easily spread to countries like Europe and Asia, leading to terrible warning signs of infection. The bubonic plague was a widespread pandemic whose terrible symptoms will forever be part of history. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Basic hygiene was rare and vaccinations were centuries old. So what could we do? Lee states: “...Even though there was not much distance between the doctors' advice and the old woman's stories. » (pg181) Medieval physicians followed the theories of the second century Greek Dr. Galen, who attributed illness to an imbalance in bodily conditions. The main method of diagnosis was practically to make an educated guess about the color and consistency of the urine. The main medicine for disease involved the restoration of so-called bodily balance using enemas or bloodletting. By cleansing the intestines, an expected curative effect was obtained. Until the 19th century, drawing blood from a sick patient was considered a reputable treatment. Medieval medicines of the 19th century brought antiseptic surgical treatment, anesthesia, and smallpox vaccination, but in the face of a rampant epidemic they were not much better off than the physicians of 14th century England. (Cantor) His treatments were much like what others had written: "the room should be ventilated with charcoal fires in stone pots in the middle of the rooms rather than in the city chimneys where this chance of extinguishing the plague would be lost, the chimney; in addition, “put on your fire a small quantity of incense, juniper, dried rosemary or bay leaves.” The rosemary wants to be soaked and boiled and the strong vinegar in the vapors should “rise to the middle of each piece”. The angelica road had to be chewed, and the sorrel soaked in vinegar was eaten "in the morning on an empty stomach, with a little bread and butter, the sorrel sauce is also very healthy on the other hand the same" . The advice... Was 'drafted by a learned physician for the health of his country'" (Lee, p. 182). To prevent the spread of the health problem in every home, all hygienic measures are essential, which consists of proper sanitation, purity of water supply, isolation of the sick, disinfection clothing and bedding and disinfection of the room, and any unnecessary contact with patients to be avoided. (Wyman) Kelly says, "It can't survive very long on surfaces like chairs, tables, and floors, and it only works optimally within a narrow climate range: air temperatures between 50 and 80°F and humidity greater than 60% and 80%” (page 36). Nowadays, bubonic plague can be prevented by having clothing inspected or burned to remove all fleas. Humans infected with this disease must be quarantined for at least three days after being put on antibiotics. During the plague epidemic, many rodents die, forcing hungry fleas to look for another source of blood. The bacteria is spread through bites from contaminated fleas, bites or scratches from infected animals, or through direct contact with contaminated animal carcasses. (Cantor, p. ».2).