Symptoms
There were many symptoms of the Black Death. At the start it resembled a normal cold (temperature, coughing, fever) but then it developed into something much worse. Within 3-7 days of getting these symptoms, others would begin (including headache, chills, fatigue, weakness and swollen/tender lymph glands or buboes). Bubos is Greek for groin, which is one of the areas worst affected. Buboes (or pus sacks) then grew on your arm, neck or groin, and were about the size of a chicken egg or, sometimes, the size of an apple. They were very warm if you touched them. A rash would also start to appear and there would be pain all down your body so that you were not able to sleep.
Treatments
There weren't any proven cures for the disease but there were lots of invented theories to try and control this great epidemic. Some were:
Vinegar and water treatment: when a person had the disease they were sent straight to bed and then washed with vinegar and rose water.
Lancing the Buboes: the swellings associated with the disease were cut open to allow the illness to leave the body. A mixture of tree resins, roots of white lilies and dried human excrement were applied to the places where the body had been cut open.
Bleed: the veins leading to the heart were cut open. This allowed (people believed) the disease to leave the body. An ointment made of clay and violets was applied to the place where the cuts have been made.
Diet: people didn't eat food that went off easily and smelled bad. For example, meat, cheese and fish. Instead, they ate bread, fruit and vegetables.
Sanitation: the streets were cleaned of all human and animal rubbish. This material was taken outside of the village and burned.
Pestilence medicine: the shells of fresh eggs were roasted. These were then ground up into a powder. Then, petals and marigold leaves were chopped up. These were mixed together in a pot of ale. Treacle was added and this was all heated over a fire. The patient had to drink this every night and morning.
Witchcraft: a living hen was placed next to the swelling to draw the disease from the body. Then the unfortunate patient had to drink his or her own urine two times a day.
Emerald Powder: emeralds were crushed into a fine powder in a mortal and pestle and then fed to the patient.
None of these things actually worked. This was because you can only kill bacteria using antibiotics, and they didn't exist until the 1940s. Lots of these 'cures' may seem disgusting and painful, but people in Medieval Europe tried anything to survive. Whole families and villages were killed.
There were many symptoms of the Black Death. At the start it resembled a normal cold (temperature, coughing, fever) but then it developed into something much worse. Within 3-7 days of getting these symptoms, others would begin (including headache, chills, fatigue, weakness and swollen/tender lymph glands or buboes). Bubos is Greek for groin, which is one of the areas worst affected. Buboes (or pus sacks) then grew on your arm, neck or groin, and were about the size of a chicken egg or, sometimes, the size of an apple. They were very warm if you touched them. A rash would also start to appear and there would be pain all down your body so that you were not able to sleep.
Treatments
There weren't any proven cures for the disease but there were lots of invented theories to try and control this great epidemic. Some were:
Vinegar and water treatment: when a person had the disease they were sent straight to bed and then washed with vinegar and rose water.
Lancing the Buboes: the swellings associated with the disease were cut open to allow the illness to leave the body. A mixture of tree resins, roots of white lilies and dried human excrement were applied to the places where the body had been cut open.
Bleed: the veins leading to the heart were cut open. This allowed (people believed) the disease to leave the body. An ointment made of clay and violets was applied to the place where the cuts have been made.
Diet: people didn't eat food that went off easily and smelled bad. For example, meat, cheese and fish. Instead, they ate bread, fruit and vegetables.
Sanitation: the streets were cleaned of all human and animal rubbish. This material was taken outside of the village and burned.
Pestilence medicine: the shells of fresh eggs were roasted. These were then ground up into a powder. Then, petals and marigold leaves were chopped up. These were mixed together in a pot of ale. Treacle was added and this was all heated over a fire. The patient had to drink this every night and morning.
Witchcraft: a living hen was placed next to the swelling to draw the disease from the body. Then the unfortunate patient had to drink his or her own urine two times a day.
Emerald Powder: emeralds were crushed into a fine powder in a mortal and pestle and then fed to the patient.
None of these things actually worked. This was because you can only kill bacteria using antibiotics, and they didn't exist until the 1940s. Lots of these 'cures' may seem disgusting and painful, but people in Medieval Europe tried anything to survive. Whole families and villages were killed.
A medieval picture of the symptoms of this horrible disease. There are buboes
around their chest's and arms.
http://www.english-online.at/history/black-death/black-death-symptoms.jpg
Flagellates whipping themselves during the time of this disease.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Flagellants.png/220px-Flagellants.png
A person with the Black Death eating crushed up emeralds.
http://i0.wp.com/listverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Screen-Shot-2013-01-21-at-5.56.49-PM.jpg