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Approaches to treatment - medieval - Coggle Diagram
Approaches to treatment - medieval
Bathing
Steam out impurities and ease aching joints
Warm baths helped the body to draw in heat to dissolve blockages in the humours
Blood-letting
Cupping: skin was pierced with a knife or a pin, or scratched with fingernails until it was bleeding. A heated cup was placed over the cuts to create a vacuum which drew blood out of the skin
Leeches: freshwater leeches were collected, washed and kept hungry for a day before being placed on the skin
Cut a vein with a lancet or other sharp instrument
Usually done by barber surgeon and wise women
Theory was bad humours could be released from body by removing some blood
Most common treatment for imbalance of four humours
Purging
Done by vomiting (emetics) or a laxative/enema to clear out anything left over in the body - consisting of strong herbs
Humours were created from the foods eaten, a common treatment was purging the digestive system to remove any leftover food.
Remedies
Different foods prescribed to encourage the balance of humours
Theriaca – spice-based mixture containing up to 70 ingredients
Aloe vera was used to improve digestion
Herbal infusions to drink, sniff or bathe in
Religious
Chanting incantations and using charms
Lighting a candle
Touching holy relics
Pilgrimages
Fasting
Praying for a special mass to be said (bread and wine)
Healing prayers and incantations (spells)
Supernatural
Alignment of planets checked at every stage of the treatment prescribed – herb gathering, bleeding, purging, operations, cutting hair and nails at the right time
Varied according to the horoscope of a patient