Types of Doctors in Elizabethan Times
There were many different types of doctors in Elizabethan time, the one you visited depended on your status. First you had your housewife who had basic knowledge of herbs and could treat minor illness within the family. Next was the wise women also sometimes called witches, who usually treated the poor. The church also helped out by giving out basic needs. Above that was your local apothecaries who was today's equivalent of a pharmacist. Next was the barber who was only allowed to blood let and pull out teeth. Next were surgeons who could do the same as a barber and both worked out of the front of a shop. The best you could get was a physician they had a formal education and had graduated but their fee was high and most worked in London and treated the royals and very wealthy.
Physicians who worked with the very sick wore a very unusual uniform to prevent the spread of diseases. They wore long leather gloves and boots along with dark robes and a pointy hat and a mask with herbs and oils placed within it. As strange as the outfit is it worked very well to counter the spread of infection. Around their waste they wore dried toads and blood as amulets to protect themselves. And around victims of the plague physicians dunked themselves in vinegar.
Physicians who worked with the very sick wore a very unusual uniform to prevent the spread of diseases. They wore long leather gloves and boots along with dark robes and a pointy hat and a mask with herbs and oils placed within it. As strange as the outfit is it worked very well to counter the spread of infection. Around their waste they wore dried toads and blood as amulets to protect themselves. And around victims of the plague physicians dunked themselves in vinegar.