This total disposable system was partially an attempt to improve hospital sterility – an idea long ago implemented by Joseph Lister – and also an attempt to save labour costs associated with cleaning and folding the previous, reusable-style medical materials. In the early-mid 1900s the medical field was transitioning to a disposable system, in which reusable masks and other products were put aside in favour of items that would be thrown away after one use. Courtesy of the Sir William Osler Collection, Museum of Health Care (Link). Two hundred years later, these standards would appal everyone living in the current era who is accustomed to the cleanliness and sterility enforced by the attire of healthcare professionals. This could have allowed all kinds of infectious diseases to be transferred from patient to patient while the doctors wore the same filthy clothes. Likely, doctors at this time would have travelled from patient to patient in the same clothes, with no sanitation measures in place. During the time of the plague, there were no sanitary precautions in place to ensure that the doctors were sanitizing their uniforms. The largest difference between De Lorme’s Plague Doctor uniform and the current uniform of medical professionals is the acknowledgement and adoption of germ theory. People dressed in the traditional Medico della Peste (Plague Doctor) masks, participating in the Plague Doctor Procession in Piazza San Marco during Carnivale di Venezia in February 2020. The image of the Plague Doctor has become popular in comic books, video games, and as a popular costume during the annual Carnivale di Venezia – a street festival known for people’s elaborate masks celebrating the end of lent. The Plague Doctor uniform provided a physical barrier between the patient and the doctor, as well as serving as an image made for horror movies. The doctor would additionally wear a wide brimmed hat and gloves made of the same materials, a beaked leather mask, and would carry a long stick. The costume worn by the Plague Doctor was designed by Charles de Lorme and described in Jean Jacques Magnet’s 1721 Traité de la peste (Treatise on the Plague) as a uniform consisting of a heavy goat skin coat overlaying a leather shirt tucked into breeches, which in turn was tucked into leather boots. But in many ways, the protective uniform worn by these doctors seems similar to what current medical professionals wear when treating those with infectious diseases. “The Plague Doctor” uniform was quite useless in assisting to protect against the disease, which killed an estimated 200 million people worldwide. In reality, the bubonic plague was actually spread when infected fleas from small animals entered into the human system by a flea bite. The bubonic plague ravaged across Europe and Asia through the 14th to 17th centuries, with the prevailing theory was that it was caused by the miasmic theory of “malignant air”. “But in many ways, the protective uniform worn by these doctors seems similar to what current medical professionals wear when treating those with infectious diseases.”Īt the time when doctors believed that miasmic fumes were responsible for the transfer illnesses, rather than germ theory, medical professionals developed elaborate outfits to protect against the believed noxious air.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |