The Failed Cures for the Plague

"Let's start with the strange and slowly work our way towards the most horrifying things on the list..."

Chapter 1: Four Thieves Vinegar

Legend has it that a group of four thieves would loot and ransack the homes of people who had recently died from the plague. They stayed safe by rubbing a secret potion over their entire bodies. This potion was a mixture of vinegar, garlic, herbs, and spices. Merchants sold it as a preventative for the plague, instructing buyers to apply it on their hands, ears, and temples. If they fell for it, the merchants would upsell them to lather it all over their bodies. Surprisingly, this potion was effective against the Bubonic plague due to containing an herb called mugwort, a natural bug repellent.

Chapter 2: Quack Doctors

When the Black Plague struck, legitimate doctors often fled the cities, leaving a market for quack doctors who peddled all sorts of bizarre remedies. They sold snake oil, fever tonics, miracle elixirs, baldness ointments, and even a tincture that claimed to restore life in the event of sudden death. These quacks would try to sell whatever they could, taking advantage of people's desperation.

Chapter 3: Urine

During the medieval period, urine was thought to have cleansing and healing properties and was used as a treatment for the plague. Healthy people's urine would be collected and sold to the sick, who would bathe in it or even consume it directly.

Chapter 4: Miasma Theory

One of the popular theories during the plague was that bad smells, such as organic waste and decaying flesh, carried contaminated air that could lead to illness. People carried flowers, rose petals, or herbs to their noses, believing the sweet smells would protect them. Plague doctors wore masks filled with flowers and spices, but these fragrances did little to prevent the disease.

Chapter 5: Leeches

Leeches were commonly used for bloodletting, believed to "suck out" the bad blood causing illness. Unfortunately, the leeches themselves could cause infections, and bloodletting was a painful and risky procedure.

Chapter 6: The Vicary Method

The Vicary Method, named after Thomas Vicary, was a peculiar and often misguided attempt at combating the devastating plague that swept through Europe during the Middle Ages. In an era when medical knowledge was still in its infancy, desperate times called for desperate measures.

This method involved an unusual ritual: a live chicken would have its bottom strapped to a plague victim's buboes, which were the swollen and painful lymph nodes characteristic of bubonic plague. It was believed that the chicken, acting as a sort of living sponge, would absorb the sickness from the afflicted individual, believing the chicken would absorb the sickness. If the chicken died, it was seen as a sign that the remedy was working.

Chapter 7: Flagellation

In medieval Europe, people believed the Black Plague was a punishment from God. Some took to vigorously whipping themselves as an act of repentance. This bizarre practice often involved adding nails to the whips.

Chapter 8: Feces

As desperation grew, physicians used a paste made of tree resin, flower roots, and human feces to treat buboes. The paste was stuffed into incisions made in patients and sealed. The result could often be deadly infections.

Chapter 9: Bloodletting

Bloodletting was a popular procedure that involved cutting a patient's arms or neck to drain blood. It was painful and often led to infections due to unsanitary practices.

Chapter 10: Extermination

One of the most extreme measures taken during the plague was the persecution of the Jewish community. False accusations of poisoning wells led to the brutal torture and murder of thousands of innocent people.

"the murders would tragically continue and it wouldn't be until the spread of the plague began to slow down that the murders would too."

This was taking from the channel..... Good Enough on YouTube.