andhatchedlarvaefindahostanimalorhuman,inwhomtheir
bitescausesevererashanditching.Length:0.01in(.25mm).Order
Acarina; family Trombiculidae. 77
AccordingtoAncientEgyptianMedicalwritings,theUkheduisthecauseofpainanddiseaseinthe
physicalbody,however,itcanberemoved(cleansed)fromthebody.Outerphysicalhygieneaswell
asthehygieneoftheintestinaltrackwasconsideredapriorityinthemaintenanceofgoodhealth.
Thisofcourseimpliesbathingregularlyandwatchingwhatiseaten,takingcarethatitisfreefrom
decay;inotherwordsfoodshouldbefreshandinharmonywiththebodyandwithnature.Another
contrastcanbeseenwhencomparingAncientEgyptianandEuropeancustomsofhygiene.In
Europeanmedievaltimes,thepracticeofbathingwasonlyamonthlyrequirementformostpeople,
eventhekingsandqueens.Further,thepresenceofparasitesonthebody,suchaslice,wasaccepted
asacommonandevendesirablefeature.Thelackofpersonalhygienewastheprimaryfactor,which
allowedWesterncountriestoberavagedbyplaguesandepidemics,whilethereisnorecordofsuch
plagues striking Ancient Egypt throughout its long history.
BlackDeath,anoutbreakofplague,thoughttobebubonicplague,whichravaged
mostofWesternEuropeduringthe14thcenturyandat10-yearintervalsthroughout
theMiddleAges.Carriedbytheinfectedfleasoftheblackrat,theplaguecame
westfromKaffa,agrainportintheCrimea,in1346.IthadreachedEnglandand
Italyby 1348 andGermany,Scandinavia,andPolandby1349-50.TheBlackDeath
tookaboutonethirdofthepopulationofEuropeinthefirstthreeyears,andperhaps
atotalofhalfbeforetheworstepidemicsceased.Theresultswereawidespreadde-
clineinmorality,adeclineintheachievementsofmonasteries,politicaldiscontent,
alaborshortage,andinGermany,themassacreofthousandsofJews,whowere
blamed for the plague. 78
BubonicPlague;diseaseusuallytransmittedtohumansbyfleasfromrats.Symp-
tomsincludechillsandfever,followedbyvomiting,diarrhea,headache,andin-
flammationandswellingoflymphnodes,especiallyintheregionofthegroin.San-
itation is the preventive measure. See also {Plague} 79
Epidemic;uncontainedandrapidspreadofadiseasethroughageneralpopulation.
Thestudyofepidemicsconcernsitselfwithcausesandpatternsofcontagionand
methodsofcontainingdisease.Blackplague,smallpox,andtyphoidhavebeen
causesofhistoricepidemics;hepatitis,influenza,venerealdiseasearepresentcon-
cerns of epidemiologists. 80
InKemet,manynaturaltreatmentswereusedtodealwithdiseaseasopposedtousingelaboratetech-
niquesrequiringexpensiveequipmentandintricatetheoriesormethodologies.Onesuchtreatment
method,whichhasremainedpartofthetechniquesofthenaturalhealertoday,ishyperthermia(ap-
plication of heat). The following section of the Ebers Papyrusdescribes the treatment of a skin tumor.