Present Health Issues in Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egyptians suffered many diseases because of lack of resources and bad sanitation. The suffered severe dental problems such as gum disease, abscesses, cavities and worn teeth. This theory was proven in a study where they looked at 3,000 mummies. Finding dental problems and diseases was easy because teeth have a high level of dental preservation. 18% of the 3,000 mummies suffered dental problems. This quote shows that the dental hygiene bar was not very high and they discovery of good dental hygiene was unknown to them because of lack of resources and technology. Frank Ruhili did research on some mummies using a CT scan to find out more about the other diseases ancient Egyptians were faced with. He found a range of diseases ranging from degenerative disorders (brain is not fully functional) osteoarthritis cases, and traces of atherosclerosis. (hardening of the arteries) which leads to heart-attack and stroke and in many cases death. This evidence proves that Egyptians had a high risk of illness which could possibly result in death. Egyptians in this time rarely made it past 50 years old. From this project Ruhili also found that:
Image above shows an example of an Egyptian person's worn teeth with evidence of gum disease.
source: http://www.ancient-egypt.co.uk/bm_egyptian/pages/Picture%20433001.htm
Image below shows a diagram of the effects of malnutrition
source: http://www.slideshare.net/IPHIreland/8-41052115
- Seven mummies showed evidence of Malaria - which comes from infected mosquito bites. Some of the symptoms are vomiting, fever, fatigue and headaches. If it is not properly treated the bearer will suffer a recurrence of the disease a couple of months later.
- 10 mummies showed signs of tuberculosis - tuberculosis is an infection in the lungs. Symptoms are coughing up blood, fever, night sweats and weight loss. Tuberculosis will show up on a chest x-ray.
- Vitamin D - (comes from fatty fish such as tuna, salmon) without this you suffer from poor bone growth
- Vitamin A - (comes from potatoes, dark leafy greens, carrots) without this you suffer from a poor immune system, poor vision and reproductive health.
- Iron: (comes from red meats) without this you struggle to make red blood cell
Image above shows an example of an Egyptian person's worn teeth with evidence of gum disease.
source: http://www.ancient-egypt.co.uk/bm_egyptian/pages/Picture%20433001.htm
Image below shows a diagram of the effects of malnutrition
source: http://www.slideshare.net/IPHIreland/8-41052115