Preventions

• Prevention of disease in medieval times

  Stopping it happening in the first place rather than trying to treat it once it had occurred
• Causes of disease in medieval times

  • Supernatural
  • Natural
• Prevention methods in medieval times

  • Supernatural
  • Natural
• Supernatural


  Beyond nature, often spiritual or religious, relying on faith or belief in spirits
• Natural


  Ideas based on observations in the real world or common sense, often more scientific
• Method of prevention matched the believed cause of disease in medieval times
• Religious prevention methods in medieval times included:
• Prayer


  Used to ward off disease and show faith in God
• Confessing sins


  Done to gain God's forgiveness and avoid punishment with disease
• Indulgences and tithes

  Offerings made to the church to keep God from punishing the faithful or gain forgiveness for sins
• Flagellants

  People who whipped themselves publicly during crises like the Black Death to show repentance and avoid God's punishment
• Spiritual prevention often had Christian roots but sometimes harked back to ancient ideas
• Examples of spiritual prevention included:
• Spiritual prevention methods

  • Charms and amulets
  • Witch's marks
  • Astrology
• Physicians attempted to balance the humors to prevent disease
• Bloodletting was used not just as a treatment but also for prevention, with healthy individuals voluntarily bled to keep them well
• Physicians attempting to balance the humors

  Use of Galen's theory of opposites, bloodletting based upon phlebotomy charts
• Bloodletting was not just used as a treatment, healthy people would be voluntarily bled in the belief that it kept them well, perhaps on a weekly basis
• Methods used for prevention

  • Sweet smells, fear of bad air or miasmas leading people to value sweet or strong smells, smoke from fires, carrying flowers or sweet herbs, wearing a pomander or a locket filled with strong pleasant smelling herbs
• Prevention methods included common sense practices like basic hygiene, hefty fines for littering, sweeping floors, bathing, and sweating
• Bathing was common in medieval times and public baths were reasonably common, believed to discourage harmful miasmas and balance the humors
• The regimen sanitatus was a rule of clean living, advising moderate exercise, balanced diet, adequate sleep, stress avoidance, and regular bathing
• Advice for healthy living

  • Take moderate exercise, do not overeat, adjust diet to exercise, get enough sleep, avoid stress, keep clean, breathe clean air, live away from animals, avoid excessive cold, heat, dryness, or humidity, stay on friendly terms with neighbors, avoid excessive sex, avoid barking dogs, drunks, and bandits
• Medieval understanding of disease divided between supernatural and natural causes, with prevention strategies following similar logic
• Supernatural prevention methods


  • Prayer, confession, pain for indulgences, amulets, charms, witch marks, star charts, astrology
• Natural prevention methods

  • Bloodletting, avoiding miasmas, hygiene, cleaning, bathing, regimen sanitartis
• Many natural prevention methods were common sense ideas for well-being, even if the underlying reasons were not fully understood