Ep 75. Medieval Medicine and Afflictions

Life in the middle ages was difficult to say the least. Peasants lived in damp cold houses, food was scarce and work was hard. Life as a noble in a castle was better, but still not great. Castles could be just as damp and cold, and very stuffy and moldy due to the stone architecture. Waste lined the streets and polluted the rivers, and in general it was a pretty dirty time in history. Infant mortality rate was outrageously high at 50% and if you made it past one year old, average life expectancy was still only around 40 years old. Due to the harsh conditions, the odds were stacked against your health and wellbeing. Most people would die young due to disease and injury and some even died from the “treatments” of these diseases. Today we will dive into the background of medicine in the Middle Ages and some of the afflictions you might have been diagnosed with if you lived in that time. 

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