![]() ![]() Mint is a common soothing tea, as is chamomile. Honey is still used today for its antibiotic properties, as are garlic and onion. 6) What medieval medicines/treatments are still used today? Enemas were not uncommon, because bowel problems were abundant due to improper diet. Mustard, garlic, onion and grease plasters might also be used on chest illnesses. The rich might have access to the amazing foreign plant tobacco which was thought to cure plague. ![]() Horehound was not unknown and was used for cough and sore throat when mixed with honey. Henbane was known to help joint pain when applied topically, mint for stomach aches and many other things, including snakebite. People used these herbs to make tinctures, poultices and drinks. Herbs were the main choice for treating illness. 5) What common medicines would you find in your average medieval home? How about the wealthy? Otherwise, people would clean their teeth and try to freshen breath by chewing herbs like peppermint and rosemary, rinsing the mouth with vinegar or a solution made of herbs, and rubbing the teeth with coarse material like cheesecloth. 4) What did they do for dental care?īarber-Surgeons would extract rotten teeth by first wiggling them loose and then pulling them out with plier-looking forceps. There are some amazing pictures of medieval medical instruments and information here. The instrument used to draw the blood was called a fleam, and it is commonly seen today on many medical symbols. Blood-letting was also used to treat fevers. Leeches were sometimes used to draw the “evil humours” from the patient’s body. Unfortunately, it was common to treat fevers as a “chill” and smother the patient in blankets in a stuffy room with a hot fire in the grate. Common ingredients were mint, licorice root, willow-tree bark (the basis for modern aspirin) and others depending on the area and time of year. Local herb lore was used to find herbs to make a soothing tea or lozenge in most cases. 3) How did they treat infections from a simple sore throat to a major flu? Then the broken limb would be wrapped in flannel strips and sometimes packed in comfrey paste (which formed a hard cast when dried) or casted with dried muds. ![]() A bonesetter would carefully palpate the area first to size up the situation and then draw and pull the limb to align the bones. If broken bones were not properly set, infection could set in and cause early death (King Tut is one example, and possibly Henry VIII with his never-healed jousting wound). Sometimes a Barber-Surgeon did bone setting, but most often it was an art unto itself. Cautery was sometimes used to seal wounds and stop bleeding, especially after amputation.īroken bones-bone setting was an art practiced through generations. Honey, again, might be smeared onto the wound. Ligation (sewing) of the wound was not unknown, and was practiced with regular sewing thread before the invention of cat gut. Major wounds-flooding with water or vinegar (see above), packing with herbs and poultices, then wrapping in strips of cloth. 2) How did they treat severe injuries like major wounds and broken bones? Minor cuts might be smeared with honey (it is now known to have strong antibiotic properties) or have soothing poultices applied made from local herbs and mints. 1) What was basic first aid like in medieval times (minor cuts and bruises)?Ĭommon first aid practices included washing with whatever was handy, including (sometimes dirty) water, beer, wine, vinegar and other common drinks. To help me out, Kathy Kerr, a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist in Georgetown, Texas, and a former member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (a medieval re-enactment group) has graciously agreed to answer a few questions on medieval medicine and first aid. So I began researching first aid and medical care in medieval times, and thought I’d share some of the things I’ve learned with my blog readers. But what would a medieval mom do to patch up an injured child? I needed to learn about medieval medicine and first aid. This of course requires some minor first aid, which reminded me a lot of my childhood. In one of the scenes young Sir Kaye is “accidentally” tripped (by a not-so-nice knight) and on his way down he ends up with a black eye and cuts from broken glass. I’ve also begun coordinating with illustrator Dave Allred to map out possible pictures for the book. I am hard at work on my soon-to-be-released middle grade chapter book The Lost Castle Treasure, the second book in the Sir Kaye series. ![]()
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