The three main diagnostic methods used by physicians were astrology, uroscopy, and pulse-taking. Europeans realized the contagious nature of the disease, but many Muslims refuted the notion of contagion.
These physicians prescribed what were believed to be protective concoctions and plague antidotes, witnessed wills, and performed autopsies—and some did so while wearing beaked masks. Charles de Lorme, a plague doctor who treated 17th century royals, is often credited with the uniform.
Some believed it was a punishment from God, some believed that foreigners or those who followed a different religion had poisoned the wells, some thought that bad air was responsible, some thought the position of the planets had caused the plague.
To stop the pandemic was born the plague doctor, who were doctors specializing in care for those infected by this disease. These doctors were hired by the villages, and they took care of citizens of all social classes, rich and poor.
Short answer: NO. We see in the media many people wondering if the plague doctors were evil or bad. So we want to clarify it definitively. This may be due to their terrifying masks and outfits, but they were doctors!
Rosemary, tansy, lavender, carnation, and feverfew was a popular combination. People carried their posey with them to quickly deploy under their nose should they come across a foul smell that might carry the miasma of the plague.
Not Just Any Doctor
A plague doctor's salary could range from a few florins a month to full room, board, and expenses – but it meant the doctor had to treat even the poorest patients, who wouldn't have been able to pay on their own, and couldn't refuse to go into a plague-stricken home or neighborhood.
Many doctors still got sick by breathing through the nostril holes in their masks. However, some forms of plague only spread through bites from fleas and rodents. The doctor's uniform did help protect them from this hazard. However, it was largely the coat, gloves, boots, and hat that did so—not the bird mask.
A plague doctor was a physician who treated victims of bubonic plague during epidemics mainly in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Black attire was, and is, considered formal (e.g., today's tuxedo). Consequently until about 1900, physicians wore black for their patient interactions since medical encounters were thought of as serious and formal matters.
People thought impure air caused the disease and could be cleansed by smoke and heat. Children were encouraged to smoke to ward off bad air.
Antiserum. The first application of antiserum to the treatment of patients is credited to Yersin [5], who used serum developed with the assistance of his Parisian colleagues Calmette, Roux, and Borrel.
The clothing worn by plague doctors was intended to protect them from airborne diseases during outbreaks of bubonic plague in Europe. It is often seen as a symbol of death and disease.
The 17th-century court doctor Charles de Lorme rose to fame by inventing the all-enveloping “plague prevention costume” to protect doctors from infectious patients. But his career was dogged by criticism and a controversial treatment that became his speciality.
They used wooden canes to point out areas needing attention and to examine patients without touching them. The canes were also used to keep people away and to remove clothing from plague victims without having to touch them.
The first mention of a plague doctor dates back to 1619, during the plague outbreak in Paris. It was found in the written work of royal physician Charles de Lorme, who was serving King Louis XIII of France at the time.
Within just hours an individual could be in agony from a number of these symptoms, if not all of them. The Black Plague, in all forms, is a relatively fast death, but an astonishingly painful one.
Because most people who got the plague died, and many often had blackened tissue due to gangrene, bubonic plague was called the Black Death. A cure for bubonic plague wasn't available.
It was, in fact, a mask with a purpose. It was actually worn by doctors and physicians as a medical uniform, under the supposition it would have protected them from disease when they visited people infected. The theory was that it would isolate the physician and prevent direct contact with the bodies of plague victims.
Today, modern antibiotics are effective in treating plague. Without prompt treatment, the disease can cause serious illness or death. Presently, human plague infections continue to occur in rural areas in the western United States, but significantly more cases occur in parts of Africa and Asia.
In 1619, de Lorme had an idea for a head-to-toe protective garment that would shield doctors working with plague patients from infection. The garb included boots connected to breeches, a shirt tucked in at the waist, and gloves, with an overcoat worn over the entire outfit.
Dark colors (mainly black) were used to hide blood stains, vomiting and mud. Under the tunic, the Plague Doctors wore a thin leather blouse with short sleeves, always tucked in the pants to make it more hermetic. Gloves: The gloves, also made of waxed leather, were essential to avoid contact with the sick.
Even though the Plague killed many, it had beneficial effects on medicine, especially in Europe. Doctors began to question Galenic medicine, they relied more on observation, and they paid more attention to anatomy. There were also improvements in medical ethics, public health, and hospitals.
Swiss-born Alexandre Yersin joined the Institut Pasteur in 1885 aged just 22 and worked under Émile Roux. He discovered the plague bacillus in Hong Kong. A brilliant scientist, he was also an explorer and pioneer in many fields.
“People had no real understanding of how to fight it other than trying to avoid sick people,” says Thomas Mockaitis, a history professor at DePaul University. “As to how the plague ended, the best guess is that the majority of people in a pandemic somehow survive, and those who survive have immunity.”