The History of Hygiene

HOW HYGIENE HAS EVOLVED THROUGH HISTORY ANCIENT BRITAIN 4,000BC 3,000BC LEAD LINED WATER PIPES LEAD MAKEUP AND TANKS ANCIENT EGYPTIANS ANCIENT ROMANS Egyptian women apply galena mesdemet (made of copper and lead ore) and malachite to their Most water systems were made from elm trunks and domestic pipes lined with lead: it also required storage in large lead tanks and often became stagnant. faces for colour and definition. 1,550BC 2,800BC CLEANLINESS BABYLONIAN 'SOAP' ISRAELITES ANCIENT BABYLONIA Moses gave the Israelites laws governing personal cleanliness. He related cleanliness to health and religious purification. Biblical accounts suggest that the Israelites knew that mixing ashes and oil produced a kind of hair gel. Some of the earliest signs of soap were found in clay cylinders during the excavation of Ancient Babylon, dating from as early as 2800 BC. Inscriptions on the side of the cylinders say that fats were boiled with ashes. 1,500BC 1,200BC DAILY BATHING GROOMING ANCIENT EGYPTIANS ANCIENT GREEKS According to The Ebers Papyrus, a medical document from about 1500 BC, the Ancient Egyptians bath regularly. It describes combining animal and vegetable oils with alkaline salts to form a soap-like material. Early Greeks bathed for aesthetic reasons and apparently did not use soap. Instead, they clay, sand, pumice and ashes, applied oil, and scraped off dirt with a metal instrument known as a strigil. their bodies with ocks of 600BC 1,000BC PUBLIC BATHS LEAD MAKEUP ANCIENT GREEKS ANCIENT GREEKS In The Book of the Bath, Françoise de Bonneville wrote, "The history of public baths begins in Greece in the sixth century BC" where men and women washed in basins near places of exercise. Ancient Greeks whitened their complexion with chalk or lead face powder and fashioned crude lipstick out of ochre clays laced with red iron. 500BC 300BC CHAMBER POTS WIPING TECHNIQUES ANCIENT GREEKS ANCIENT ROMANS Used from at least 500 BC by Ancient Greeks. They continued to be used up until around the 18th century. A wealthy Roman's private toilet: often using wool 8 rosewater. Public restrooms: generally a sponge soaked in salt water, on the end of a stick. 19BC 27BC PUBLIC BATHS STAIN REMOVER ANCIENT ROMANS ANCIENT ROMANS Agrippa (Emperor Augustus' right-hand man) built the first public baths called Thermae in the year 19 BC. They increased in number rapidly; at least 170 were operating in Rome by the year 33 BC, with more than 800 operating at the height of their popularity. Ancient Romans believed in the ability of urine to remove stains. Until the medieval period, people used lye, made of ashes and urine, to clean their clothes. 100AD 400AD THE MIDDLE AGES CLEANING YOUR TEETH UK The population had begun various habits to keep their teeth clean. This included rinsing your mouth out with water, or a mixture of vinegar and mint, to remove gunk. Bay leaves soaked in orange flower water were also used, and the teeth would often be rubbed CESSPITS ANCIENT ROMANS Imagine using a septic tank, without the tank, usually in the cellar or garden. In 1183 BC a Roman Emperor's hall floor collapsed, sending dinner guests into the cesspit where some of them, unfortunately, drowned. with a clean cloth too. Barbers had also begun to extract teeth that were rotting or bothering a person profusely. 1100AD 800AD TEETH WHITENING UK WIPING TECHNIQUES One pamphlet recommended that people keep their teeth white by rubbing their teeth with powdered fish bones and then rinsing their mouths out with a mixture of vinegar and sulphuric acid. VIKING AGE Using discarded sheep and lamb's wool was a popular way to wipe oneself clean. 1308AD 1H00AD THE BARBER TREATED YOUR TOOTHACHE! WIPING TECHINQUES UK CHINA If basic treatments didn't fix the problem, the barber would be remove the tooth without the help of anaesthetic. A guild of barbers was established in 1308 teaching barbers surgery skills. The first paper toilet roll designed specifically for the purpose of wiping one's bum! 1560AD 1500AD CLEANING YOUR TEETH LEAD MAKEUP UK EUROPEANS - ENGLAND Ceruse was the foundation makeup Teeth were now being rubbed with the ashes of burnt rosemary while powered sage rub was used to whiten teeth. Vinegar, wine and alum were mixed together to make a mouthwash and after dinner comfits were also eaten to freshen choice for men and women in the Elizabethan era. It contained lead that seeped into the body leading to poisoning. Variants with lead have been used for thousands of years. breath. 1566AD 1596AD WASHING'S BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH! FLUSHING TOILET! SCOTLAND UK King James VI of Scotland wore the same clothes for months on end, even Sir John Harrington invented a valve that, when pulled, would release water from a water closet to 'flush' it. As there were no sewers or running water at the time, it wasn't able to be used practically. sleeping in them on occasion. He also kept the same hat on 24 hours a day until it fell apart! He didn't take a bath as he thought it was bad for his health! 1750AD 1700AD CLEANING YOUR TEETH CLEANING YOUR TEETH SCOTLAND UK The same practices for cleaning were in use, but the 'barbers' (a.k.a dentists) had begun to learn more about dentistry. The first dentures, gold crowns, and porcelain teeth arrived in the 1700s. 1790 brought about the dental foot engine, it rotated a drill for cleaning out cavities. The first dental chair was made in the late 1700's. They used similar methods. A letter from Lord Chesterfield to his son urges the use of a sponge and warm water to scrub the teeth each morning. The recommendation of using one's own urine in France was widely flouted by Fouchard, the French dentist. Gunpowder and alum were also recommended. 1789AD 1834AD MOUSEY EYEBROWS LEAD POSIONING UK UK The 1834 London Medical and People were already fashion-conscious during the 18th century. When their eyebrows did not look fashionable, they often masked them with tiny pieces of skin from a mouse. Poems from as early as 1718 insinuated their use. Surgical Journal describes sharp stomach pains in patients with no evidence of disease. This led them to believe "painter's colic" was a "nervous affection" of the intestines occurring when lead "is absorbed into the body". 1846AD 1837AD PUBLIC BATHS NOSE-GAY UK UK Public baths had been popular since the 13th century. Due to the scarcity of firewood, bathing became an expensive practice. Whole families and friends had to share a bath, or A nose-gay was typically a small bouquet of flowers or a sachet of herbs. It was attached to the wrist on a lapel or simply held in the hand. It would also be held under one's nose many of them would remain dirty. for people walking through crowds. Nose-gays gained popularity during Queen Victoria's reign. 1847AD 1854AD HISTORY OF HAND HISTORY OF CLEAN WASHING DRINKING WATER UK UK A physician called Ignaz Semmelwis found childbed fever occurred in women who were assisted by In mid-18th century England, outbreaks of cholera led to an epidemic. A physician called John Snow observed that cholera seemed to spread via sewage-contaminated water. This was mostly noticed around a water pump in Broad Street, London. John removed the pump handle and the spread was instantly contained. medical students. He found students who assisted in childbirth did so after autopsies. After instituting a strict hand washing policy, deaths dropped by 20 fold within 3 months. 1861AD 1858AD LONDON SEWERAGE MODERN FLUSH TOILET SYSTEM UK UK Thomas Crapper didn't invent the flush toilet, but is understood to have made major contributions towards its development by implanting a modern septic system that pumped soiled waters out of the city. However this particular subject is still heavily debated. Hot weather struck the capital in 1858, drying up the River Thames and leaving pure sewage and other wasted piled up and exposed. This was the start of 'The Great Stink', forcing Parliament to close for the day and eventually initiating a reform of the sewerage systems and cesspits. 1920AD plumbworld Big brands, small prices. www.plumbworld.co.uk LYSOL Sources: ph.ucla.edu discovermagazine.com shakespeare-globe.com historyundressed.com UK Lysol ads proclaimed a host of benefits for every gynaecological need, and was the leading form of birth control from 1930 to 1960. Lysol is actually a caustic poison causing burns and itches after the first drop - most women were applying it to their skin for 30 years. medieval-life-and-times.info whonamedit.com pmmag.com timelines.ws MODERN AGES EARLY MODERN AGES