Hippocrates article, “Airs, Waters, Places”, discusses the different effects that the environment has on the human body and how the body functions differently when it is exposed to different airs, waters, or locations. He changed the concept of medicine of his day, by creating the concept that illness was not only defined by the body, but that you must take external factors into account as well. According to Hippocrates, illness is directly related to the atmosphere a person is in and the elements they are exposed to. “Whoever would study medicine aright must learn of the following subjects. First he must consider the effect of each of the seasons of the year and the differences between them. Secondly he must study the warm and the cold winds,
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People living in a climate where in the summer, water is stagnant and warm, will produce an excess of bile, and in the winter, when this water is “cold, icy and muddied by melting snow and ice”, they will produce excess of phlegm (Hippocrates 152). He recommends that “if a sick man wishes to drink what is best for him”, that he should drink what will balance out his humors. “He would best regain his health by observing the following rule. If his stomach is hard and liable to become inflamed, the sweetest, lightest and most sparkling water is best for him; but if his stomach is soft, moist and full of phlegm, the hardest and saltiest are best since these will best dry it up. The water that is best for cooking and softest is likely to relax and soften the stomach. Hard water that is not softened by boiling tends to make the stomach contract and dries it up. Owing to ignorance, there is a general fallacy about brackish water. Salty water is thought to be a laxative; actually the opposite is the case and permanently hard water tends to make the bowels costive” (Hippocrates 153-154). Hippocrates states that those who drink water from high mountain springs will generally be the healthiest, and people who drink stagnant water, or water that has frozen and thawed will face worse illnesses, because this water is the most “unclean” and therefore bad for health …show more content…
You will find, as a general rule, that the constitutions and the habits of a people follow the nature of the land where they live” (Hippocrates 168). Using what he had inferred about the effect of seasons, location, wind and water on the health of a person, Hippocrates created his concept of the four humors. The four humors are black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood. Each of these humors originates in a different part of the body, black bile in the spleen, yellow bile in the gall bladder, phlegm in the brain, and blood in the liver (Hippocrates 148-169). These four humors correspond to the four elements, earth, water, air and fire, as well as the four seasons, summer, winter, spring, and autumn. Earth is cold and dry, water is cold and wet, air is hot and wet, and fire is hot and dry. As I have stated in the above paragraphs, different climate, weather, and water have effect on the humors of a person. Greek culture places a strong emphasis on balance. This cultural aspect is relayed in Hippocrates concept of the four humors, which when in balance in the body, it yields good health. If someone was sick, Hippocrates believed this meant that the humors were unbalanced, and in order to regain good health, the humors must regain balance. This was done by counterbalancing the humors. If there was an excess of blood, Hippocrates would use the
People living in a climate where in the summer, water is stagnant and warm, will produce an excess of bile, and in the winter, when this water is “cold, icy and muddied by melting snow and ice”, they will produce excess of phlegm (Hippocrates 152). He recommends that “if a sick man wishes to drink what is best for him”, that he should drink what will balance out his humors. “He would best regain his health by observing the following rule. If his stomach is hard and liable to become inflamed, the sweetest, lightest and most sparkling water is best for him; but if his stomach is soft, moist and full of phlegm, the hardest and saltiest are best since these will best dry it up. The water that is best for cooking and softest is likely to relax and soften the stomach. Hard water that is not softened by boiling tends to make the stomach contract and dries it up. Owing to ignorance, there is a general fallacy about brackish water. Salty water is thought to be a laxative; actually the opposite is the case and permanently hard water tends to make the bowels costive” (Hippocrates 153-154). Hippocrates states that those who drink water from high mountain springs will generally be the healthiest, and people who drink stagnant water, or water that has frozen and thawed will face worse illnesses, because this water is the most “unclean” and therefore bad for health …show more content…
You will find, as a general rule, that the constitutions and the habits of a people follow the nature of the land where they live” (Hippocrates 168). Using what he had inferred about the effect of seasons, location, wind and water on the health of a person, Hippocrates created his concept of the four humors. The four humors are black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood. Each of these humors originates in a different part of the body, black bile in the spleen, yellow bile in the gall bladder, phlegm in the brain, and blood in the liver (Hippocrates 148-169). These four humors correspond to the four elements, earth, water, air and fire, as well as the four seasons, summer, winter, spring, and autumn. Earth is cold and dry, water is cold and wet, air is hot and wet, and fire is hot and dry. As I have stated in the above paragraphs, different climate, weather, and water have effect on the humors of a person. Greek culture places a strong emphasis on balance. This cultural aspect is relayed in Hippocrates concept of the four humors, which when in balance in the body, it yields good health. If someone was sick, Hippocrates believed this meant that the humors were unbalanced, and in order to regain good health, the humors must regain balance. This was done by counterbalancing the humors. If there was an excess of blood, Hippocrates would use the