✥ Hello and Welcome ✥
This is just a nice informative thread I am using to warm up on forum posting.
This is a more realistic look on things, putting magical healing and the lore diseases aside, and discussing injuries, diseases, medicinal treatments and surgeries that occurred in the medieval time period. Along with using a little personal knowledge of emergency medicine, for those of you who are curious on how injuries and diseases would have worked in this time period.
✥ Conditions ✥
Disease in this time period most likely thrived, especially if you live in places like the poor district of Regalia.
Maiars, in all reality would easily face death and disease in Regalia, due to the pollution, bodies, and fecal matter/urine in canals.
One could die or become extremely sick from a simple cough, in fact at one point, in not so ancient times, diarrhea was actually deadly!
This is making a point that human immune systems were much weaker in these times. Lack of regulations on conditions could often leave many frail or sick depending on your social status/regals to your name.
These conditions, also add salt to your wounds if your character becomes injured. Say they were a wanted criminal, and realistically couldn't be seen in public getting healed, without extremely careful treatment, it would be very likely for them to fall ill to infections and disease.
✥ Illnesses ✥
A lot of the diseases we have today were common in this era.
Some include:
This is just a nice informative thread I am using to warm up on forum posting.
This is a more realistic look on things, putting magical healing and the lore diseases aside, and discussing injuries, diseases, medicinal treatments and surgeries that occurred in the medieval time period. Along with using a little personal knowledge of emergency medicine, for those of you who are curious on how injuries and diseases would have worked in this time period.
✥ Conditions ✥
Disease in this time period most likely thrived, especially if you live in places like the poor district of Regalia.
Maiars, in all reality would easily face death and disease in Regalia, due to the pollution, bodies, and fecal matter/urine in canals.
One could die or become extremely sick from a simple cough, in fact at one point, in not so ancient times, diarrhea was actually deadly!
This is making a point that human immune systems were much weaker in these times. Lack of regulations on conditions could often leave many frail or sick depending on your social status/regals to your name.
These conditions, also add salt to your wounds if your character becomes injured. Say they were a wanted criminal, and realistically couldn't be seen in public getting healed, without extremely careful treatment, it would be very likely for them to fall ill to infections and disease.
✥ Illnesses ✥
A lot of the diseases we have today were common in this era.
Some include:
- Measles- Most know what this is.
- Plague- Several forms of plague existed in this time period, although this isn't necessarily a worry, unless the staff were to declare a plague outbreak, due to the fact on how easily it spreads.
- Mumps- Involves the swelling of the glands that produce saliva. Typically causes headaches, swelling of mouth, fevers, and loss of appetite.
- Flu- Most know what this is.
- STD's- Most know what this is.
- Cancer- Most know what this is.
- Leprosy- An infamous infectious disease known to cause disfigurement due to lumps forming on/under the skin and discoloration.
- Ergotism- A deadly disease if not treated. Spread through fungi in grains; it causes hallucinations, extreme burning sensations and severe pain, along with skin bruising and turning black/ blackening of veins and sores.
- Dysentery- Diarrhea
- Various fevers- Various fevers existed, usually having different effects and mortality rates.
- Many more! If you are interested, look it up
✥ Common treatments ✥
- Wounds were often cleaned with ale, vinegar, myrhh, mint, and other natural cleaning agents.
- Cauterization, or burning a wound until it is sealed shut was also an effective, and painful method to stop bleeding.
- Several creatures, such as maggots, tapeworms and leeches were used for various treatments.
- Does your character have lung issues? Likely treatments involved herbs such as licorice and comfrey.
- Simple cures to aches and pains involved cough syrups (Yes, they did exist, just primitively.) Mint, balm, wormwood, lavender, sage, rose, and many other herbs.
✥ Surgeries ✥
- Trepanation was a horrid way of getting a patients skull open, often involving a pick and hammer... Lets just say they weren't so good at getting Humpty Dumpty back together again usually.
- Amputation was usually performed by giving the patient a strong alcoholic beverage, pinning down the patient, and sawing a brand-worthy saw through the limb to cauterize it.
- Equipment was typically sterilized with ale or vinegar, and while it was sterile, the fact that dirt was a factor in health was not as known, meaning mortality rates from surgery were rather high.
Then a French doctor came and said, "This man knows nothing about treating them." He then said, "Bring me a sharp axe." Then the doctor laid the leg of the knight on a block of wood and told a man to cut off the leg with the axe, upon which the marrow flowed out and the patient died on the spot.
He then examined the woman and said, "There is a devil in her head." He therefore took a razor, made a deep cross-shaped cut on her head, peeled away the skin until the bone of the skull was exposed, and rubbed it with salt. The woman also died instantly.
I asked them if I was needed any more, and when they said not I came home, having learned of their medicine what I knew not before."
Usama ibn Munqidh, 'Autobiography' (c.1175) (Usama ibn Munqidh was a Muslim doctor)
✥ Mental Disorders ✥
Mental disorders were often treated much differently from how they are now. In the real world, they were viewed often as the Devil at play. (Perhaps it would be viewed as the void, Baver, Demons, etc. In Aloria?)
- At the time, mental disorders were often "treated" by cutting open the skull.
- It was so often viewed as the cause to be from an angry god, demon, spirit or curse.
- When the skull was opened, it was believed that the "cause" would be freed from the patients head. (In my opinion that makes the doctor more crazy than the patient c
The following is a list of various mental disorders.
(This can be extremely useful for playing a Qan Ata or a generally insane characters)
I am mainly delving into personality disorders, as I find this more likely to be used.
(This can be extremely useful for playing a Qan Ata or a generally insane characters)
I am mainly delving into personality disorders, as I find this more likely to be used.
- Antisocial Personality Disorder- Often observed as Sociopathy or Psychopathy, APD is often characterized in late childhood or teen years. Often the subject is prone to ignoring social norms and manners. Viewed as rude and deceitful, showing a lack of the ability to convey emotions to or sympathize with others.
- OCD- Obsessive compulsive disorder is a common mental disorder, although severity can vary. It is characterized as the need for perfection and control over their surroundings.
- Schizotypical Disorder- This is characterized by the disability to create and maintain personal relationships. They are often extremely uncomfortable with forming and bonding in relationships. Along with this mental lack, they also face issues with severe paranoia, belief in magical beings and properties. (In Aloria, this varies do to magics strong existence.) Odd thinking and beliefs, extremely odd and inappropriate behavior, and visible anxiety.
- Multiple personality disorder- This disorder is often characterized by having two or more different views of the world or social norms, different personalities, etc.
- BPD- Borderline Personality Disorder shows the subject having low self esteem, self harming behaviors and mental instability and unstable self image. Their changes in relationships can often extremely affect their personality and self image.
Thanks for reading, enjoy!
(hug)
