Post by Katie on Jul 6, 2020 20:54:28 GMT -5
Medieval Medicine
Medieval doctors held strange ideas about biological and healthcare. Their ideas about how our bodies functioned were completely incorrect. They believed that disease was caused by an imbalance in what were called the humors or liquids in the body that regulated our health.
There were four humours in all – blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm. In a healthy body these were carefully balanced. Treating many illnesses revolved around restoring what a doctor thought was an imbalance in the humours. While this sounds somewhat ludicrous it dominated medical thinking well into the 19th century.
However on occasion they discovered effective remedies by accident. For example for thousands of years Crane-trepanation-img_0507_cropour ancestors have practiced a form of brain surgery – trepanation (right). While this was effective in releasing pressure on the brain they did not understand how or why it worked.
There are also many natural remedies which are effective for example clove oil is still used on sore teeth today. Unsurprisingly once the pain relieving properties of opiates were discovered this was not easily forgotten.
Opium based painkillers
The ancient Greeks had discovered the powerful properties of opium as pain reliever by the second century B.C.E. Over the following centuries opium was imported into Europe from Western Asia and used as a medicine.
While it was consumed orally in many forms – theriac was the most common. Theriac was a mixture of multiple ingredients. Some of these ingredients had medicinal properties but others were included to balance the humours. The use of alcohol and wine may have helped to increase the potency of opium as a sedative, however the inclusion of pepper and rose water had a limited impact.
By the late medieval period theriac was generally regarded as the most potent of cure available. Such was its effect some considered it to be imbued with magical properties. In the 14th century it was widely regarded as one of the best treatments for the Black Death. However while it might have eased the pain it can have done little to determine whether a patient lived or died.
Theriac was addictive given the opium in the substance and was regulated in the Kingdom of France perhaps for this reason. The potential for people to become addicted was limited given its rarity. Indeed most could never afford afford the numerous rare and dear ingredients that were used to make theriac. While I have not found a reference to theriac from late medieval Ireland given the island’s trade with Europe during this period, its inconceivable it was not used here.
VAMPIRES AND DRUGS
Alcohol: The vampire subtracts one from Dexterity and Intelligence dice pools for every two drinks' worth of alcohol in his victims' blood. This effect fades at the rate of one die per hour, as the alcohol purges itself from the bloodstream.
Marijuana: The vampire experiences slightly altered perception of time, as well as a one-die reduction to Perception dice pools. Difficulties of frenzy rolls are decreased by one, due to the calming effect of the drug. The effects last for about an hour.
Hallucinogens: The vampire lowers all dice pools by one to three (inability to concentrate). He suffers effects similar to the Level Two Dementation power The Haunting. Depending on the precise nature of the "trip," he may gain extra dice in one particular Ability or find his Auspex Discipline raised by a dot or more. The effects last for (8 minus Stamina) hours.
Cocaine/crack/speed: Vampires with the Celerity Discipline gain an extra level of the Discipline for (10 minus Stamina) minutes after drinking. Difficulties to resist frenzy are increased by one.
Heroin/morphine/barbiturates: The vampire subtracts two from Dexterity and all Ability dice pools for (10 minus Stamina) minutes, and experiences a dreamlike state for (12 minus Stamina) hours. Difficulties of frenzy rolls are decreased by one.
Salmonella (food poisoning): The vampire becomes nauseated, unable to consume more blood (roll Stamina, difficulty 6, to overcome), and suffers one health level of bashing damage. The effects last about a day.
Poison: The vampire subtracts one from all dice pools and takes from one to three levels of normal damage per scene or even turn, depending on the intensity of the poison. Few poisons have any real effect on the undead, and most inflict a fixed maximum amount of damage before wearing off. The vampire may purge the blood at a normal expenditure rate, and the effects heal automatically within minutes to hours after purging the blood.
Medieval doctors held strange ideas about biological and healthcare. Their ideas about how our bodies functioned were completely incorrect. They believed that disease was caused by an imbalance in what were called the humors or liquids in the body that regulated our health.
There were four humours in all – blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm. In a healthy body these were carefully balanced. Treating many illnesses revolved around restoring what a doctor thought was an imbalance in the humours. While this sounds somewhat ludicrous it dominated medical thinking well into the 19th century.
However on occasion they discovered effective remedies by accident. For example for thousands of years Crane-trepanation-img_0507_cropour ancestors have practiced a form of brain surgery – trepanation (right). While this was effective in releasing pressure on the brain they did not understand how or why it worked.
There are also many natural remedies which are effective for example clove oil is still used on sore teeth today. Unsurprisingly once the pain relieving properties of opiates were discovered this was not easily forgotten.
Opium based painkillers
The ancient Greeks had discovered the powerful properties of opium as pain reliever by the second century B.C.E. Over the following centuries opium was imported into Europe from Western Asia and used as a medicine.
While it was consumed orally in many forms – theriac was the most common. Theriac was a mixture of multiple ingredients. Some of these ingredients had medicinal properties but others were included to balance the humours. The use of alcohol and wine may have helped to increase the potency of opium as a sedative, however the inclusion of pepper and rose water had a limited impact.
By the late medieval period theriac was generally regarded as the most potent of cure available. Such was its effect some considered it to be imbued with magical properties. In the 14th century it was widely regarded as one of the best treatments for the Black Death. However while it might have eased the pain it can have done little to determine whether a patient lived or died.
Theriac was addictive given the opium in the substance and was regulated in the Kingdom of France perhaps for this reason. The potential for people to become addicted was limited given its rarity. Indeed most could never afford afford the numerous rare and dear ingredients that were used to make theriac. While I have not found a reference to theriac from late medieval Ireland given the island’s trade with Europe during this period, its inconceivable it was not used here.
VAMPIRES AND DRUGS
Alcohol: The vampire subtracts one from Dexterity and Intelligence dice pools for every two drinks' worth of alcohol in his victims' blood. This effect fades at the rate of one die per hour, as the alcohol purges itself from the bloodstream.
Marijuana: The vampire experiences slightly altered perception of time, as well as a one-die reduction to Perception dice pools. Difficulties of frenzy rolls are decreased by one, due to the calming effect of the drug. The effects last for about an hour.
Hallucinogens: The vampire lowers all dice pools by one to three (inability to concentrate). He suffers effects similar to the Level Two Dementation power The Haunting. Depending on the precise nature of the "trip," he may gain extra dice in one particular Ability or find his Auspex Discipline raised by a dot or more. The effects last for (8 minus Stamina) hours.
Cocaine/crack/speed: Vampires with the Celerity Discipline gain an extra level of the Discipline for (10 minus Stamina) minutes after drinking. Difficulties to resist frenzy are increased by one.
Heroin/morphine/barbiturates: The vampire subtracts two from Dexterity and all Ability dice pools for (10 minus Stamina) minutes, and experiences a dreamlike state for (12 minus Stamina) hours. Difficulties of frenzy rolls are decreased by one.
Salmonella (food poisoning): The vampire becomes nauseated, unable to consume more blood (roll Stamina, difficulty 6, to overcome), and suffers one health level of bashing damage. The effects last about a day.
Poison: The vampire subtracts one from all dice pools and takes from one to three levels of normal damage per scene or even turn, depending on the intensity of the poison. Few poisons have any real effect on the undead, and most inflict a fixed maximum amount of damage before wearing off. The vampire may purge the blood at a normal expenditure rate, and the effects heal automatically within minutes to hours after purging the blood.