What led to illness in Elizabethan times?

Answer 1

Health and hygiene was quite bad in Elizabethan England. Times were hard - people only bathed once or twice a year! Even Queen Elizabeth didn't wash more than twice a year...maybe only once! They didn't have soap, and only rinsed dishes out with water, rather than our modern, much more hygienic habits of using liquid soap.

People washed so little because there was very little running water except from rivers or streams. People used wells; taps were non-existant, so gaining access to clean water was much more difficult then it is today.

This lack of hygiene and living in a close community meant that illnesses spread like wildfire and were very hard to snuff out. People's 'cures' for diseases didn't help either; in fact they usually made illnesses worse...or killed the person altogether.

An example of a disease is the plague (also known as the 'Black Death', although this was during the Medievil Period). Bubonic plague was the most common; people fell in in days and had black boils on their body. Hundreds of thousands of people died from the disease; thousands in London alone every day.

Many people worked outside for a living; on farms or servants for the richer folk. In the country especially, the people lived in close partnership with their animals - which is also not very hygienic.

So, in conclusion, the people in Elizabethan England were not very hygienic at all...

I hope this helps

Love beasle95

Answer 2

Although people were not excessively diseased during normal times, medical treatments of the times were woefully inadequate to address many health concerns. Nutritional needs were barely addressed, leading to many deficiency symptoms. Plague and bacterial diseases such as typhoid were occasionally epidemic, as were common venereal diseases. Sanitary facilities were primitive, even by the early industrial age, and water supplies could easily be contaminated, as were the streets, by sewage and waste products. Anyone who lived to old age could not expect much in the way of treatment for rheumatism, Arthritis, osteoporosis, or other common ailments.

Answer 3

In 1558, physicians had no idea what caused the illnesses and diseases. One of the reasons many people got sick was lack of sanitation. There were open sewers in the streets. This kind of air was the perfect ground for rats, lice, fleas, viruses, diseases, and germs, all of which were common problems. Many people would dump all of their wastes and toxics in the River Thames, which was their only water source. Streets were filled with rotting garbage, and animals were allowed to defecate wherever they wanted. Most people ate pigs and cows, which were known to eat garbage. This led to the attack of the sewage mouse. Sewers were blocked and rivers were contaminated by domestic waste. They had no Plumbing, so they would put their wastes in a bucket and throw it outside. The streets of cities and towns were had cesspools all over The Elizabethan townsfolk had horrible personal hygiene. They only showered one a month and wore the same unwashed clothes. The Elizabethan people only washed the inner clothes to save water. Many people didn't wash their hand frequently. As a result many germs got past around from person to person .Also the diet and what they ate caused many problems. The upper class consumed lots of red meat and very little fruits and vegetables; therefore they lack vitamins and minerals. Also they drank lots and lots of beer and wine, which cause liver problems. The lower classes skipped meals and were malnourished. During this time many explores came brought back lots of spices and wealth, they gave diseases like smallpox and syphilis, diseases that could be passed from person to person by physical contact or drinking or eating after someone.

Answer 4

During Elizabethan times there were diseases going through large cities, like the black plague, dysentery and typhoid. They had various cures for these diseases (what they thought were cures) like tobacco, dried toad, bleed out of the victim and arsenic. Some people died from lack of hygiene. People never washed their hands, rarely ever took a bath and didn't brush their teeth or their hair. Living conditions during Elizabethan times were very poor which led to many diseases and death.

Answer 5

There was the measles, the plague, chlorea and small pox because of bacteria and vermins.

Answer 6

Health was poor and many got the plague - people were still at the stage of throwing their toilet waste out of thir windows!