The Bubonic Plague: The Black Death

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Black Death The Bubonic Plague, also commonly referred to as the Black Death, killed over twenty five million people from 1347 to 1352 in Europe alone (The Black Death: Bubonic Plague). The disease first arrived in Europe through Genoese trade ships after an extensive journey across the black sea, which was commonly used for trade. Before these ships had even arrived in Messina port, rumors of a “Great Pestilence” were spreading through Europe and were inciting fear across the country due to the severe symptoms, the insane cures, and the confusion of the doctors. Although stories had been told about the tragedies occurring in places such as China, India, Persia, and Egypt, no one was prepared for the immense devastation that was soon going …show more content…
The Black Death had an extremely short incubation period and symptoms occurred in as little as three to seven days, commonly resembling flu-like symptoms (Medicine Net). The Bubonic Plague was a direct attack at the lymph node glands, causing an extremely rapid decrease in immunity and severe swelling of the lymph nodes. Once the disease reached the lymph glands, it would spread to your blood stream and cause internal bleeding which lead to the commonly known black boils seen on victims of the epidemic, which adopted the name “buboes”. These boils would leak blood and pus, which further aided in spreading the disease. The Bubonic Plague could also develop in to other variations such as the Pneumonic Plague, which targeted the lungs and rapidly filled them with blood, or the Septicaemic Plague that destroyed your blood stream (Medicine Net). Both of the variations were thought to kill you quicker than the original Bubonic plague, often resulting in death before any buboes appeared on the …show more content…
The doctors were scared of working with the patience due to the infectious manner of the disease, so they created a protective wardrobe in hopes of keeping themselves safe from the air-born disease. Easily one of the most iconic symbols of the plague, doctors came equipped with robes, pants, boots, and gloves that were completely coated in wax. The doctors also had a black hood with a curved, beak shaped mask filled with fragrant herbs securely fastened to the doctor’s head with a leather strap in hopes of preventing any air-borne pathogens from entering the airway. These fragrances included things such as mint, cloves, camphor, or anything with an extremely strong scent. In some cases, the herbs may be caught on fire in hopes of creating a thick smoke to further ward off the disease (Rosenhek). The attire came with a long wooden stick as well, so that the doctors can lift sheets and clothing without coming in contact with the patient. As far as treatment goes, the medical practices were unsanitary and often severely worsened the disease. Popular treatments include bloodletting and boil-lancing, which were accepted as ways to drain the disease from the body. Bloodletting involved cutting a vein, commonly in the neck or forearm, to lower the blood supply that was thought to be too high (Cohen). Often, bloodletting would further weaken the individual and speed up the patience path to death.
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