by Cynthia & Miriam  In those days, the people didn’t know much about hygiene. They were not aware of germs and didn’t bother to wash their hands or dress a wound. They were frightened of catching the dreaded ‘hospital’ disease, which came from a poisonous gas called miasma. It came from the sewers. They thought that the body was ruled by four fluids:
1. Blood 2. Phlegm 3. Yellow bile 4. Black bile  Chinese people used plants and herbs to cure illness’ for 4500 years, it was soon introduced into Europe. Many were awkward things such as:
- A horn from a unicorn
- Bezoar stone (which was claimed to be the tears if a stag turned to stone.)
- Live worms
- Fox lungs (for asthma )
- Spiders webs
- And sculls of executed criminals
 A man called Nicholas Culpeper was an English physician, who linked each herb with a star sign; many plants that he had described really did work.
 A Frenchman called Ambroise Pare discovered how to treat a soldier, was to apply a cold lotion made of egg yolk, oil of roses and a herb called turpentine.
 Many wise women were accused of being witches because their medicines always worked properly. There was soon a law that every (accused) witch had to be put to death.
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Click on the pictures for a closer look - not for the squeamish!
