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The sight of one of these medieval doctors wearing a suit like this would have been scary in and of itself. Yet the different components of the outfit served specific purposes. I wonder if the rate of infection for doctors was any lower than the general populace.http://mentalfloss.com/article/49217/anatomy-14th-century-bubonic-plague-hazmat-suits
According to In the Wake of the Plague, the death toll for doctors during the plague was roughly comparable to that of the population as a whole.
I suppose that figures. I thought that the high “boots” they wore around their legs might have decreased the rate of flea bites.
When you essentially spend your life wallowing in filth I don't think high boots would make that much of a difference. can't fleas jump unbelievable distances anyway?
Yes, I think they can, but I figured that any extra covering helped. I imagine, however, that fleas were all over their garments anyways. It is interesting, however, that those bird masks worn by doctors contained vinegar, which is a known cleaning tool even today. I wonder if the fumes helped prevent doctors' contraction of any airborne diseases from patients they came into contact with.
