The Doctori information

The plague doctor's

A small teaser, before I update the final chapter. Just a background on the Doctori that I found so you can get a better idea of what you should fear.

A plague doctor's clothing consisted of:

  • A wide-brimmed black hat worn close to the head. At the time, a wide-brimmed black hat would have identified a person as a doctor, much the same as how nowadays a hat may identify chefs, soldiers, and workers. The wide-brimmed hat may have also been used as partial shielding from infection.
  • A primitive gas mask in the shape of a bird's beak. A common belief at the time was that the plague was carried from place to place by birds. There may have been a belief that by dressing in a bird-like mask, the wearer could draw the plague away from the patient and onto the garment the plague doctor wore. The mask also included red glass eyepieces, which were thought to make the wearer impervious to evil. The beak of the mask was often filled with strongly aromatic herbs and spices to overpower the miasmas or "bad air" which was also thought to carry the plague. At the very least, it may have dulled the smell of unburied corpses and sputum from plague victims.
  • A long, black overcoat. The overcoat worn by the plague doctor was tucked in behind the beak mask at the neckline to minimize skin exposure. It extended to the feet, and was often coated head to toe in suet or wax. A coating of suet may have been used with the thought that the plague could be drawn away from the flesh of the infected victim and either trapped by the suet, or repelled by the wax. The coating of wax likely served as protection against respiratory droplet contamination, but it was not known at the time if coughing carried the plague. It was likely that the overcoat was waxed to simply prevent sputum or other bodily fluids from clinging to it.
  • A wooden cane. The cane was used to both direct family members to move the patient, other individuals nearby, and possibly to examine patients without directly touching them.
  • Leather breeches. Similar to waders worn by fishermen, leather breeches were worn beneath the cloak to protect the legs and groin from infection. Since the plague often tended to manifest itself first in the lymph nodes, particular attention was paid to protecting the armpits, neck, and groin.

It is not known how often or widespread plague doctors were, or how effective they were in treatment of the disease. It is likely that while the plague doctor's clothing offered some protection to the wearer, the plague doctors themselves may have actually contributed more to the spreading of the disease than its treatment, in that the plague doctor unknowingly served as a vector for infected fleas to move from host to host.

 

Thank you for reading plauge doctor's, and Happy Halloween!!!

 

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PenguinProductions05
Next updates for this story will be on the 24 of oct for americans and then the 31'st of oct so please anticipate

Comments

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geekybaek
#1
Congratulations!
Iminthezone #2
Congrats
MoksuriDeOnew
#3
This is a brilliantly written story and plot line. Definitely one of my favorites ever!!!
kimwookie
#4
Chapter 16: Hmmm..at least they dont die alone.hahaha.
ninive
#5
I wanted to tell you that the italian word for 'doctor' is actually 'dottore' and plural is 'dottori', 'doctori' may be latin or romanian but certainly not italian. (I'm italian :))
staymine
#6
really awesome story!! amazing!! ♥ i loved it!! ♥
SuperJunior713 #7
Chapter 16: . . . WHAT?! KYU IS STILL ALIVE?! *shivers
HOW?! Yesung died by himself? DDD:
goktaviap
#8
Chapter 16: OMGOMGOMG. at the first chapter i was crying when i read it, then i had a goosebumps all the time, then i scared when i saw the last pict...

why kyu still alive? he should be die with yeye. and what happen with eunhae? ._.
LoveTwentyFour
#9
Chapter 16: Oh dear Shisus Christ! *dies* First they beheaded ZhouRy, then they tried to kill Kyu but it was unsuccessful (BUT HE LIVED?! HELL YOU DUDE!), then Heechul fell from the roof dead and also Hankyung, then KangTeuk died also, AND THEN MY YESUNG DIED ALONE?!?!? HOW DARE YOU! CHO KYUHYUN! NO MORE VIDEO GAMES FOR YOU, PUNK! (Kyu: Yah, I heard that! Me: *sticks tongue out*)

Okay, that gave me the shivers. Oh my gooosh. You killed all of them in the story! AND WHAT HAPPEND TO EUNHAE?! O.o