Medicines and ideas

• What traditional ideas remained?


  • God - although less believed God was the cause, many still did
  • Astrology - the alignment of Jupiter and Saturn blamed for the 1665 plague
  • Four humours - less people believed it, but used with Charles II
  • But urine charts no longer used
• What was direct observation?


  Making notes on symptoms rather than using textbooks to diagnose patients
• What was the most common idea in the period?

  Miasma
• Even those who believed in direct observation still believed in miasma
• What two methods remained popular?

  Bleeding and purging - even King Charles II was bled and purged
• What supernatural ideas were used turning this time?

  Magical charms
• What type of medicine remained popular?

  Herbal remedies
• What more exotic ingredients for herbal remedies became available?

  • Opium - used as an anaesthetic
  • Tobacco - thought to cure plague
  • Quinine - used to cure malaria
  • Lemons and limes - used to cure scurvy
• How many drugs did King Charles II receive when he was ill in 1685?

  58 drugs
• How many chemicals did the College of Physicians suggest?

  Over 122 chemicals to treat 2140 illness