Public Health (43-1350)

Beliefs

Roman Beliefs for Public Health and Medicine

Miasma theory - avoided swamps
Supernatural causes - many prayed at the Temple of Asclepius
4 humours
Galen improved the understanding of the anatomy of the body - but there were many errors in his work

Middle Ages Beliefs for Public Health and Medicine

The Church punished people who looked for new medical ideas - Roger Bacon was inprisoned
Parish priests controlled what people thought and believed
The Church dominated medical thinking and ensured that Galen's ideas remained the only accepted one - preventing any new ideas or understanding developing
Miasma theory
Illness was a punishment from God for commiting sins
The 4 humours were used to explain why people became ill
Astrology was used to explain illness and recommended the best time for cure

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Roman Treatments

Middle Ages Treatments

Herbal remedies - Bald's Leechbook (9th Century) contained many, some of the remedies would fo worked as Plantain would have acted as an antibiotic
Bloodletting was the most common treatment
People prayed to Saints for cures
The Black Death caused people to whip themselves, burn jews and carry lucky charms
Doctors used urine charts

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Roman Healers

Some doctors treated the poor for free
There were some women doctors - Antiochus
Parents used herbal remedies
Doctors took the Hippocratic Oath whiched ensured care for their patients and to keep their details private
There was no official medical training - anyone could claim to be a doctor

Middle Ages Healers

The Christian Chruch emphasised the care for the souls of the sick and not on curing their illnesses
Doctors trained medical departments in universities such as Padua and Salerno and could not practice unless they had this qualification
Very few doctors - only the rich could afford them

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Water pipes only went to the houses of the rich or to the army forts
Roman towns suffered from regular outbreaks of disease - Gloucester has mass graves after 'Galen's Plague'
After using the toilet they would clean themselves with sponges, then disinfect them in vinegar
Most sewers were made from timber and didn't have water that flowed quick enough
Water pipes were made from timber or lead
They built toilets - London had 200 public toilets
Most ordinary people had to get water from public water tanks or wells which were not always clean
Bath houses weren't as clean - water was only changed once per week
Bath houses were built in towns - in Lincoln 5000 people used them each week
The public health improvments mainly benefitted the rich people in towns or soldiers in forts
Water pipes transported water to towns - Dorchester's pipe was 8km
Reservoirs were built to store water
Forts has water supplies, hospitals and toilet blocks
They built settlements away from swamps due to the belief of Miasma
Most people in towns visited the baths every day
The Roman government was rich from taxes and strong enough from it's army to ensure good public health was maintained

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1200 hospitals were set up
Laws were passed to improve hygiene (1281 Pigs were to be banned from London's streets) - but the government was to weak to enforce theses laws
Aqueducts and public baths fell into disrepair and were abandoned
Toilets were located above rivers or streams
Butchers regularly slaughtered animals in the streets
Human and animal waste was common in streets
The Black Death (1348-50) wiped out a third of Europe
Monasteries were built to have a fresh water source and to keep toilet waste away from the living areas - Canterbury Catherdral
Governments were too weak and poor to provide public health facilities like baths
Rich people sometimes had good standards of hygiene - bathing tubs, privies (toilets) and lead water pipes
Lepers had to live in seperate colonies and wear bells to warn people they were coming
London only had 12 public toilets
St Leonards hospital had 200 beds but most hospitals were small with only a few beds

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