By late July 1665 , London was a city in crisis . The Royal Familyhad fled , the wealthyhurriedly packedfor their escape , and authorisation collect the idle under the cover charge of night to avoid a panic . “ But , Lord ! How the pestis spreads , ” wrote Samuel Pepys inhis diaryon July 22 .
Pepys , though , was surprisingly serene . Earlier that day he race into a co - worker ’s menage and received a helpful gift . “ My Lady Carteret did this day give me a bottle of plague - H2O , ” he reported . Plague - water , usually some mix of herbs steeped in wine , was one of many unusual and woefully ineffective concoctions intended to fortify the body against the plague . It was one of the more pleasant ones . Here are nine more foreign , gross , or downright grievous historical fashion to ward offthe pestilence .
1. Smoke tobacco.
“ No One matter is so generally Approved of and Recommended by Physicians to foreclose and keep off the PLAGUE or any other infective Distemper , as is the SMOAKING ofTobacco,”saysa 1722 health guide .
2. Drink alcohol …
liquidness were thought to absorb infection from the air and become an easy way to capture disease . “ We must fortifie them , that they may not easily hold the approaches of their Enemy,”wroteThomas Willis in 1691 . “ Wine and trust are a salutary Preservative against the Plague . ”
3. … But don’t drink too much alcohol.
There can , of trend , be too much of a good affair . One of the oldest chip of plague - circumvent medical advice was to play along the example of Socrates , who survived the Athenian epidemic of the 420s BCE . “ Even amid the havoc of that plague,”wroteAulus Gellius , “ by temperate and abstemious habit he is say to have avoided the ill - effect of indulgence . ”
4. Sniff your own farts.
The aviation was thought to be unsafe , so strong smells werebelievedto repel infection . Vinegar , knock-down spicery , and even one ’s own flatus — or , “ prat whids”—which could be storedin jars , were vulgar defence against transmission .
5. Drink your own urine.
leave about an apple a day . Officials in Veniceactually recommendedcitizens fuddle their own urine each aurora to rid the city of plague in the sixteenth C .
6. Make your own herbal supplements.
This one was easy enough provided you had the right ingredients . origin of Virginian - snakeweed , zedoary , contrayerva , and species liberans , were all thatwere necessary . only boil pestilential vinegar , supply your herbs , and “ make all into Lozenges . ”
7. Don’t have sex (unless that’s difficult for you).
In his1481 treatiseAdvice against the Plague , Marsilio Ficinorecommendedone “ abstain from coitus and thoughts of rage ; that is , to the extent that its absence is n’t too burdensome . ”
8. Drink coffee.
It was the historic period of understanding , but Cambridge professor Richard Bradley seemed to forget the eminently reasonable Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim that correlation does not imply causation in 1721 . “ In some parts of Turkey , where the Plague is almost incessant , it is seldom mortal in those Families , who are rich enough to enjoy the detached Use of Coffee , ” hewrote . “ The Poorer Sort , who want that Benefit , rarely escape . ”
9. Build a robust public health infrastructure—without women.
Bradley ’s fellow Royal Society member , Richard Mead , alsorecommendedmeasures to contend plague ground in scientific logical thinking , like contact tracing . “ The Management in former Times neither answers the Purpose ofdiscovering the Beginningof theInfection , nor of putting a stop to it whenDiscovered , ” hecomplainedin 1720 as the plague ravaged Marseille . One solvent : “ rather ofignorant honest-to-god Women , who are generally appointedSearchersin Parishes to inquire what Diseases People die of , That Office should be committed to understanding and persevering Men . ”
Theplaguestruck London anyway . But Mead ’s more thoughtful good word helped build sustenance for modern public health measures . In the 1722 version of his book headvocated forthe world of a “ Council of Health ” compose of scientists , politico , and community drawing card to more effectively manage future pandemics .
