Bubonic Plague Medicine History

        In the Middle Ages, medicine was misunderstood and many cures for the sick did not work. When the Bubonic Plague broke out, doctors searched for a cure. One unfortunate way of treatment was called bloodletting. The victim of the plague would be cut until they bled and was supposed to let the bad blood out. This treatment never worked and sometimes led to death but doctors continued to use it. A way that was thought to prevent disease was wearing a beak shaped mask filled with various herbs. Physicians wore these because they thought that the disease could be spread by odor, so they would smell the herbs instead of the disease. Also, citizens did not bathe as often as they should because many people though that if their pores were clogged then the disease could not enter their body. Prayers were common in trying to fight off disease. Another common disease among everyday people was leprosy. People with leprosy, or lepers, had to live by themselves so they wouldn’t spread the disease to anyone else. When disease spread, few hospitals were around so the family of the sick would take care for them. Since lepers had to live by themselves, they had a much greater chance of dying from the sickness.