How Shakespeare Cleaned His Teeth and Cromwell Treated His Warts

What was medicine like in the time of Shakespeare and OliverCromwell? How did Charles I cure a headache, or Samuel Pepysget rid of kidney stones? Katherine Knight opens up the delightsof the Stuart medicine cabinet in this fascinating romp throughseventeenth-century medicine and cosmetics. Documenting theall-important use of household substances and do-it-yourselfremedies, this book looks at the emergence of modern medicinefrom everyday cures such as herbs, oils and foods. Offering solutionsfor all sorts of nasty afflictions, from digestive disturbancesto sexually transmitted diseases, it also describes how our seventeenth-century counterparts enjoyed the benefits of soap, moisturiser and toothpaste. With insight into the lives of thosewho lived in this remarkable period, How Shakespeare CleanedHis Teeth is much more than a medical history. It is an intimateinvestigation into the private lives of the spirited Stuarts.