In Old Poland, epidemics hit our country much more often than today. Despite the low level of medical knowledge, the people of that time developed many more or less effective ways to fight the plague. See the most interesting of them.
Smallpox, measles, influenza, syphilis, leprosy, cholera, tuberculosis and finally the plague - these are just some of the plagues that have long haunted Europe, even every few or several years, sparing no one - neither the court nor the poor. It is estimated that one of the greatest in history - the "black death" or plague - which ravaged Europe in the mid-fourteenth century, killed almost a third of its population at that time.
Contents:
- Causes of the epidemic
- Old ways of dealing with morema
Causes of the epidemic
The knowledge of ancient and medieval medics was far from today. From the time of Hippocrates (460-377 BC) it was believed that epidemics (also calledplague or pestilence ) were caused byair poisoned with miasms , that is, venom, which disturbs the human body's equilibrium and, as a result, causes disease or death. To make matters worse, most medics have rejected the possibility that these conditions could be contagious however, that is, they could be passed on from person to person.
It was also believed that the diseases sent by God (or gods) werepunishment for sins . According to the followers of Islam, it should therefore be received with humility and even joy.
Fortunately, with time it has been noticed that further infections occur in large groups of people, such as, for example, the walls of contemporary cities.
Old ways of dealing with morem
- Escape- from today's perspective it was basically the most effective method of preventing infection. He did so in 1588, incl. King Zygmunt III Waza, escaping with his family from Krakow from an epidemic that spread across the entire Crown and Lithuania. In former Poland, the nobility and richer townspeople could also escape to areas not affected by the epidemic. The famous "Decameron" by Boccaccio also talks about running away from the city (outside the walls of Florence).
- Quarantine- to limit the spread of the plague, shops were closed, markets were canceled, and places and dates of debates were also changedparliamentary Local quarantines were also appointed, limiting interpersonal contacts.
- Smoke in rooms- this way was practiced already in the Middle Ages. Aromatic medicinal plants such as juniper, wormwood, rue and oak were used for this, as well as gunpowder. Another way was to pour vinegar over the hot bricks or to place barrels of boiling water in the houses. It was believed that the smoke would drive away bad air and save the inhabitants from the plague.
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Special diet- in 16th-century Poland it was believed that it could protect against the plague eating bread every day for breakfast with buttered bread sprinkled with fresh rout (it is a medicinal plant with bactericidal and anti-inflammatory properties). used as a medicine for everything in the old days), as well as a few hazelnuts.
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Medicines- Old Polish medics recommended a treatment with raw or cooked garlic and onion, as well as with oak leaf powder, anise or oman root or leaf with the addition of vinegar. Some also argued that drinking your own urine can protect you from the pestilential air.
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Bloodletting (phlebotomy)- is a standard procedure used in all diseases since antiquity, which only deprived the sick of strength and even accelerated their death.
- In the face of the plaguewarnedalso against: bathing, fatigue, anger, sadness, uncleanness, in places with stale air, drunkenness, gluttony and hunger.Recommendedin turn: taking lemon juice, aloe and myrrh with beer, washing hands with vinegar, as well as prayer and penance.