Hygiene in the Middle Ages: customs that are difficult for a modern person to believe

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Not so long ago, and by historical standards practically yesterday, people had no idea about hygiene, and their methods of caring for their health are perceived by us as something completely barbaric. Imagine using dead mice to treat a toothache, and chicken droppings to freshen breath. It's amazing how humanity managed to survive, despite such wild customs.

In the early days of dentistry, doctors believed that toothache was caused by worms living inside the tooth. The patient's mouth was filled with candle smoke in order to expel non-existent worms.

In the old days, leeches were an incredibly popular method of treatment, as most diseases were believed to be caused by excess blood.

Lush wigs in the portraits of noble people of the 15-18th century look majestic, but in fact they were infested with lice. During the meal, these noble persons did not take off their hats so that the lice would not fall into the plate.

Medical guidelines from the 17th century recommend the use of chicken droppings to treat hair loss, infertility, bad breath, lice, and even chest pain.

Moxibustion was one of the most severe methods of stopping massive bleeding (for example, during amputation) in the Middle Ages. A piece of hot metal was applied to the wound, which really stopped the blood and the spread of infection, but at the same time caused unbearable pain.

For centuries, pallor has been considered a sign of nobility, while tanned faces have been the lot of the lower strata of the population. In order to beautify themselves, medieval women brightened their faces with flour or white lead, sometimes containing significant doses of arsenic.

Sometimes urine was used as an antiseptic. This is probably not such a crazy idea considering that urine is sterile.

Cutlery became widespread in Europe only in the 16th century, and until that time everyone, including noble persons, ate with their hands. In the American colonies, forks and knives came into use even later, in the 17th century.

Washing in the Middle Ages was an extraordinary event that happened no more than 1-2 times a year. A mixture of urine, alkali and river water was used as a detergent.

Often the same person combined the roles of dentist, doctor and hairdresser. He cut and pulled out bad teeth, and healed the wounded soldiers.

A highly toxic metal like mercury has been used to treat a variety of skin conditions, as well as syphilis and even leprosy.

A diet rich in sweets often caused premature tooth loss in noblemen. To mask this defect, medieval women of fashion used artificial teeth made of porcelain or ivory. However, most of all were valued "live" teeth, which could be bought from the poor.

The ancient Egyptians believed that dead mice were an excellent remedy for toothache. The minced mouse body was mixed with other ingredients and applied to the sore spot.

It was only in 1846 that the Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis discovered the importance of clean hands in medical procedures. Prior to this, surgical operations were performed with dirty hands, which often became the cause of secondary infection and death.

Usually in medieval houses the role of a toilet was played by a chamber pot. When it was full, its contents were simply thrown out into the street, outside the window.

Some medieval women of fashion, dissatisfied with the density of their eyebrows, made artificial eyebrows from hairs from mice they had caught with their own hands.

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