Ideas about disease

Medicine in the Middle Ages was very basic. There was no understanding of the true causes of disease. Instead, there was a range of explanations e.g.: illness was caused by the humours being out of balance, a punishment from God, the movement of the planets or miasma (bad air).

Treatments

Treatments in the Middle Ages were very simple. Bleeding or purging was used to balance the humours and herbal remedies were common. Prayer and pilgrimage were also tried.

Who treated the sick?
Trained Physicians trained at university, so were men only. Used urine charts and astrology.
Apothecaries were cheaper than a trained physician. They made up medicines and had some training.
Barber-Surgeons performed basic surgery as well as cutting your hair. They would perform bloodletting, lancing boils and dentistry. They might also perform surgery like cutting out bladder stones or even amputating limbs but the death rate was very high.
Wise women had great knowledge of traditional herbal remedies; they could also deliver babies. They might use charms and spells too. Often she was the lady of the manor and would have her own herb garden.

Year 7 Daily Life and Beliefs

Health and Medicine in the Middle Ages