Attempts to treat and cure illness and disease

Middle Ages Treatments and Cures (c500-1500)

Theory of the four humours: Predominant medical theory, suggesting balance of four bodily fluids (blood, yellow bile, black bile, phlegm) affects health. Treatment often involved trying to restore this balance.
Bloodletting and purging: Common methods to ‘balance’ the humours and therefore treat disease.
Herbal remedies: Natural ingredients used for treatment based on their supposed effects relating to the four humours.
Prayer and divine intervention: Illness was often seen as a punishment from God, thus religious activities were used as treatment.
Apothecaries: Early pharmacists that prepared and sold medicinal remedies.
Surgery: Used in extreme cases, often without anaesthetic or antiseptics; risky due to high chance of infection.

Continuation of humoral theory: Still a key part of medical understanding, with treatments reflecting this.
Development of paracelsian theory: Belief that illnesses could be cured by chemical remedies; root of modern pharmacology.
Surgeons and barber surgeons: Began to gain more status; key individuals treating disease, despite primitive understanding.
Superstition and folklore: Still influenced many treatments, with people relying on charms and rituals.
Hospitals: Began to be more about medical treatment rather than spiritual care.

Development of anesthesia: Essential for pain management during surgery, beginning with ether and chloroform.
Antiseptics: Use of substances to kill bacteria on wounds and surgical instruments progressed drastically, pioneered by Joseph Lister.
Vaccination: Edward Jenner’s smallpox vaccine became more widespread, alongside development of other vaccines.
Medical profession and hospitals: Emergence of professional doctors and improved hospitals led to better treatment.

Antibiotics: Penicillin, discovered by Alexander Fleming, revolutionised treatment of bacterial infections.
Medical technology: Advances such as X-rays, MRI scans, and ultrasound improved diagnosis and treatment.
Surgery: Techniques improved drastically, with development of heart surgery, transplants, and keyhole surgery.
Cancer treatments: Chemo and radiotherapy became more effective in treating various types of cancers.
HIV/AIDS treatment: Antiretroviral therapy transformed HIV/AIDS from a fatal disease to a chronic condition.
Mental health treatment: Much greater understanding and treatments for mental health conditions, including medication and therapy.
DNA and genetic research: Leading to tailored treatments and potential cures based on individual genetic makeup.