31 pages of detailed class notes containing knowledge for the Unit 3b Changes in Health and Medicine, c.1340 to the present day. All the knowledge, facts and statistics you need for an A*! Well organised by headings and colour-coded.
Changes in Health & Medicine
Unit 2 – Attempts to Prevent Illness & Disease
Medieval
Methods of Prevention
1. The Four Humours
− Hippocrates believed that diet, exercise and rest played a huge part in prevention of disease.
− Hippocrates was the first physician to view and treat the body as a whole.
− He believed that to prevent disease, you should keep the Four Humours in balance.
− Romans built aqueducts and had fresh, running water. However, much of this was lost when the
Romans left Britain around AD410.
2.Alchemists
− Alchemists were scientists that tried to turn ordinary metal to gold.
− Many searched for the ‘Elixir of Life’, which supposedly kept you young forever.
− Alchemists made medicine by repeatedly distilling vinegar, which removed impurities from the
body.
− Some medicines contained poisons such as mercury and would make the patient violently sick.
− Some paid alchemists large sums of money for turning lead into gold and for a longer life.
3.Soothsayers
− Soothsayers were local ‘wise women’ who had knowledge of sickness and disease.
− They had powers of prophesy and could supposedly see the future.
− They would collect plants, herbs and special stones, and would carry around a willow basket to
put together charms worn against evil.
− Mother Shipton was known for her prophecies and people crossed the country to see her.
− Her prophecies were first published in 1641. Prophecies believed that the world would end in
1881 or 1891.
4.Medieval Doctors
− There were about 100 medieval doctors in Britain.
− They trained in university in Italy or Oxford for 7 years and learnt about the Four Humours.
− Apothecaries made herbal remedies.
− Barber surgeons carried out surgery and lanced boils.
Industrial
, − During the 1700s, methods of preventions were promoted such as vegetarianism, teetotalism,
bloodletting, fresh air and exercise.
− Some people still encouraged Galen’s ideas, superstitious ideas and refused to accept new
ideas.
Methods of Prevention
1.Cold Water Treatment – Unchanged
− It was believed that water in places such as Llandrindod and Builth Wells promoted good health.
− Visiting Llandudno and Aberystwyth and swimming in the sea was also recommended.
− Some had their own ‘plunge pool’ in their garden.
− Eating ‘cooling’ food and drinking cold water supposedly cleared out impurities in the bowels.
2.Drinking Clean Water – Development
− John Snow plotted a map of all cholera cases in London and found that over 500 deaths
occurred in Broad Street.
− He noticed that brewery workers didn’t catch cholera as they drank beer rather than water.
− Unable to explain why, he noticed a link between the quality of water and rate of cholera.
− -By forcing those on Broad Street to drink elsewhere, he proved this.
3.Washing Hands – Development (not accepted)
− Alexander Gordon was a naval surgeon that worked in London.
− Gordon noticed that women treated in outlying villages by local midwives who treat fewer
patients rarely caught the fever.
− Yet those treated by midwives moving patient to patient were more likely to die.
− He proposed that medical practitioners wash their hands in chlorinated water.
− He published his results in 1795 but was ridiculed by everyone.
− In 1861, when Germ Theory was published, his ideas were finally taken seriously.
Inventions Used to Develop Methods of Prevention
− These methods of prevention were possible due to a series of inventions.
− Microscope (1590) - used to see infections
− Stethoscope (1860s) - used to listen to a patient breathing
− Kymograph (1847) - used for measuring blood pressure
A Case Study: Edward Jenner & Vaccination
Smallpox
− Smallpox is a contagious disease caused by the variola virus.
− It had a fatality rate between 30%-60%, there were 35,000 deaths in 1796 and 42,000 deaths in
1837-40.
− It affected all classes, for example, Queen Mary died in 1694 from smallpox.
, − Before vaccination, inoculation was used by Lady Mary Montagu found it in Istanbul and
brought it to England in 1721.
− A mild form of smallpox was introduced in a scratch between the finger and thumb.
− They developed a mild form of the disease but was immune to the stronger form.
Development of Vaccination
− Edward Jenner heard that a milkmaid survived smallpox as they previously had cowpox.
− Jenner investigated by experimenting on 8-year-old James Phipps.
− Jenner took pus from a cowpox pustule and placed it in an incision on Phipps arm. He developed
cowpox and recovered.
− After infecting Phipps with smallpox, Jenner found that Phipps was immune.
− He submitted a paper to the Royal Society in 1797 about his findings but was told he had no
proof.
− After experimenting on other children, he published his results in 1798 and took the name
vaccine from Latin (vacca for cow).
− In 1802, he was awarded £10,000 by the government and £20,000 in 1807.
− Despite being laissez-faire, the government made vaccination compulsory in 1852.
− Jenners vaccination method would later be used by Louis Pasteur and Robert Kock for TB.
Why Vaccination was Limited
− The church found it repulsive to inoculate yourself with a diseased animal.
− There was an anti-vaccine league set up in 1866 that marched and protested.
− The doctors found their large incomes threatened by the government's free vaccinations.
− Jenner couldn’t explain the link between cowpox and smallpox.
− It was not always successful, and some doctors didn’t carry out the procedure carefully.
− Jenner’s vaccination only cured 1 disease.
− In 1869, Dr Haviland objected to compulsory vaccination in Cardiff.
Why Vaccination was Important
− Jenner worked in a scientific way and did a number of tests, encouraging scientific enquiry.
− Jenner shared his work with others to ensure it was correct and allow others to benefit.
− In 1980, it was announced that smallpox was extinct.
− The remaining samples are highly guarded in laboratories in USA and Russia.
− In 1802, the Jennerian Society encouraged everyone to get vaccinated. 2 years later 12,000 were
vaccinated.
− Napoleon in France and President Jefferson in USA though vaccination was a break-through.
Modern
A Case Study: Vaccination
, − Using vaccination, the World Health Organisation have created vaccination for many diseases,
Whooping Cough (1952), Polio (1955), Measles (1963), MMR (1988), Hepatitis B (1994).
− It also became common to receive antimalarial and anti-yellow fever vaccination when
travelling.
− In 1800, the infant mortality rate averaged 150 per thousand, these days this is 4-5 per
thousand.
− In 1853, the government introduced the Vaccination Act of 1853 and in 1867, the act extended
the age and imposed penalties.
The MMR Debate – Opposition to Vaccination
− The Anti-Vaccination and Anti-Compulsory Vaccination leagues were formed.
− In 1998, Dr Andrew Wakefield reported that there was evidence of a link between the MMR
vaccination and autism, this has been disproved.
− Evidence shows that 1% of children will experience an adverse reaction to vaccination.
− The UK Vaccine Payment was set up to help those badly affected by vaccination and has paid
out 20 times in 10 years.
− Current rates are not high enough to ensure immunity at around 95%.
Unit 3 – Attempts to Cure Illness & Disease
Medieval
Attempts to Cure & Treat
1.Herbal Remedies
− Herbal remedies, some of which were effective, were widely used.
− Books called ‘herbals’ detailed potions and gave advice of when to pick herbs depending on
astrology.
− Some include:
▪ Mint for stomach problems
▪ Coriander for fevers
▪ Garlic for wounds
▪ Lavender for headaches
2.Urine Charts
− Urine charts were used for diagnosis and treatment.
− Urine was checked visually, smelt and tasted.
− Doctors still use urine tests but much more accurate tests.
3.Welsh Treatments
The Physicians of Myddfai:
− Rhiwallon Feddyg were court physicians to Rhys Gryg, Lord of Deheubarth.
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