He never had syphilis. His medical records and symptoms have been examined by modern doctors and he did not have the symptoms, nor was he ever treated with mercury, which was the only treatment in those days (it didn't work). Advanced syphilis caused huge bone deep ulcers on the face, the bridge of the nose and the forehead, so bad they couldn't be hidden. People who had those ulcers were outcasts from their family and community. Plus the mercury stunk so badly you could smell it from the next room, and everybody knew what that smell was so they would be outcast because of the smell alone.
I work in mental health services and as well as folks with mental illness we also see a lot of people with traumatic brain injury. Henry VIII definitely exhibited symptoms consistent with a head injury. Migraines, change in personality and temper and I believe that this may also have contributed to his obesity. People with brain injuries can become more impulsive and less able to regulate certain behaviors, like overeating and alcohol consumption. Consumption of alcohol can also be a way of self medicating. In a time before pain killers he may well have used alcohol to relieve the pain of his various health issues.
Like his maternal grandfather, Henry VIII was a glutton who became obese around the age of 40. Both men had been athletic in their youth, but when they became obese when they stopped exercising. Edward IV and Henry VIII were handsome men in their youth.
@@songsofthecentury3909 Edward IV, Henry VIII's maternal grandfather, had the same problem. Although he was slim and athletic as a young man, he became obese in his late 30's because he drank and ate to excess.
There's an interesting book of epitaphs, written circa 1900, called "Here Lies". one entry " He looked up the shaft to see if the elevator was coming. It was".
There was a documentary made years ago called Inside the body of Henry VIII. It was fascinating. I believe Henry suffered from diabetes. When you look at his illnesses and issues aside from the head trauma point towards diabetes..and I LOVE Dr Lucy Worsley! !!
After living with someone who experienced two acquired head injuries I can attest to a definite change in personality. It made him short tempered, nasty after drinking and at times violent. He lost empathy and curtesy. We no longer live together. 😒🙁
I'm so sorry. 💔 But at the same time, I'm glad that you are not living together anymore, since he was obviously very difficult and continuing to live together would have negatively impacted your well-being. Maybe I'm being overly kind since I don't know the particulars of the situation, but I hope that he has caretakers or loved ones who can occasionally check on him/socialize with him. TBI is such a tragic thing. I very much admire people like Kevin Pearce, who have truly made the best of their situation after a TBI. Best wishes and lots of love to you!!
As a Registered Nurse, I think I can speak a bit to the cause and treatment of King Henry VIII’s leg ulcers. The wounds would be slow-healing due to decreased blood flow to his lower legs, perhaps from scarring from his injuries, and/or clothing strictures, and/or weight-gain, and/or genetic predisposition. These deep-thickness wounds would today be drained at bedside or in surgery, and then dressed with a modern wet-to-dry dressing, or, a gauze moistened by sterile, neutral saline solution, topped by a dry gauze, and secured. It has the effect, as the moistened gauze slowly dries, to draw pus and dead cells out of the wound. The dressing needs to be changed at least 3 times a day. The poultice dressing of King Henry’s day would have had a similar therapeutic effect with the additional benefit of natural antibacterial and analgesic agents, such as honey, garlic and other sulfur-containing herbs, as well as castor oil (astringent) and herbs for swelling, pain, and inflammation being applied directly to the wound. In other words, Henry’s medical treatment by his surgeons-while antique-would have been better than nothing, and, coupled with Henry’s general personal hygiene being a cut above other Tudor-era men of his same age, probably A LOT better than nothing, prolonging his life well past the point where he would have normally succumbed to infection. ❤️
I’ve always wondered about his ulcerated wound. Thanks for all the interesting information, comparisons between modern day treatments, compared to treatments available back in Henrys reign. medical care wasn’t very advanced so a lot of home cures where used, while those where somewhat helpful, they weren’t like antibiotics and such. I think Henry got short tempered as he aged due to his life wasn’t going as he wanted, he was bothered by this and his leg was causing him discomfort.
It's thought by modern doctors who have studied his ancient medical notes that he was a diabetic, and this would have prevented his wounds healing as well.
I really respect that she stresses the limits of making any assumptions, rather than trying to push any one opinion on us. You can tell she is a true scholar.
shanna people who love knowledge take exceptional care of their books. My books look almost new too. I consider it disrespectful to batter them the way you see most people do. That’s why I rarely if ever lend them out...because I know they likely won’t be cared for properly and will be returned with a cracked spine, dog-eared pages, food stains, pen marks, etc.
@@sandracheeks1811 Sweety I do the same, yet.... it's impossible to have not the back of the book, the parts that folds open, sorry don't know the english word for it, undamaged. Nor when storing books vertically to not have damage on the parts sliding over the planks. Both Marquis de Sade havem which she stored on the left, quite battered both of them, as the Queens book lying on top of them. She isn't as carefull as you might suggest. I'm sorry that I have an eye for details and a sceptical mind that isn't to your liking. Yet you are projecting your carefullness onto someone who obviously isn't
shanna you are assuming that she obtained each book in new condition. If the book was used when it was acquired, then she has no control over its prior treatment. I have many books like that, too. I’m sorry that you feel that the condition of one’s reading material is a reflection of their intellect.
@@sandracheeks1811 More the way in which something is applied to give the presumption of intellect. The ones who feel the need to prove are the ones lacking. ;-)
The Kell Positive genetic disorder reminded me of Queen Victoria's hemophilia hidden in the male bloodline and how it was ironic that they all inbred to keep the bloodline pure, but just passed along the deadly disease for their kids to die from.
True, true, and UNRELATED! Since hemophilia is a sex-linked disorder (=carried on the X chromosome), it lies hidden in the FEMALE bloodline (not male) and does NOT require inbreeding to manifest itself. If a woman is a carrier, (statistically) half of her sons will get the disease and half of her daughters will be carriers, the degree of relatedness between her and the kids' father is completely irrelevant.
I worked as a nurse in obstetrics for many years. Here in the US we call it ABO incompatibility. It would be a reasonable theory for a reason for miscarriage. However, Rh negative moms aren’t real frequent, so for all his wives or even to have 2 consecutive is unlikely. They
@@AvaCherry189 No where in the US does any bloodbank refer to Kell positive genetic disorders as ABO incompatibility. They are two different blood group systems, not having anything to do with each other. While yes you are right that its reasonable theory for miscarriage, in 20 years of bloodbanking, I have never seen ABO incompatibility with the mother kill that many children. As far as RH negative mothers, we don't know Henry's blood type and the Kell system isn't associated with the Rhesus system so again, not related.
Love your channel. As a 40 year registered nurse, in my estimation, I feel very confident , ole Henry had Type 2 Diabetes. He was terribly heavy, and had a terrible, non-healing leg ulcer. the possibility of him having syphillis is very high, due to his reported sexual encounters. Of course, diabetes causes symptoms many other conditions, such as heart disease, other vascular disease. The Kell disease carrier would definitely explain why so many of his wives had still births after the first pregnancy. Very interesting. Maybe King Charles and Prince William will be more interested in solving these mysteries.
@@margo3367 But who's to say who he had sex with depending on his fancy - the kitchen maid the wench he saw when he was out riding with his buddies. I don't think he would have been too bother if he saw a "comely maiden" and whether he took her by force or not wasn't the issue, after all he was the king. He just didn't marry these women,and I'm sure that he left many bastards in his wake.
@@margo3367 Sorry, but STI’s affect every socioeconomic group. Anyone working in health care sees that, regardless of the status of those who have been infected.
I loved this video! It's the first one I've watched. As a nurse in an Aged Care facility in Australia, I found this topic fascinating. To me, the most plausible retrospective diagnoses for King Henry VIII, would have to be the possibility of Type 2 Diabetes mellitus with chronic ulcers as complications. If he had poor circulation in his lower legs, that could also indicate a heart condition as a symptom is often oedema (swelling) in the legs, feet and ankles that over time causes cellulitis (infection in the cells) which causes weeping of fluid and can lead to ulcers that won't heal easily. Now I'm imagining things! Often, in my job, we are in danger of forgetting our residents are people who had lives and histories that were significant before they became older and frailer or unwell...it's helpful to look at their diagnostic profiles as it reminds us of their humanity and informs not only their clinical care needs but also their need for emotional support as they continue to age and struggle to manage their symptoms. King Henry was no different other than that he lived through a period without the medical care around today. Retrospective diagnosis as a profiling tool helps us connect with him as a real person, a vulnerable human, making him suddenly far more relatable. We will never know for sure what ailed him, but the process of trying to discern his health issues is helpful for seeing him with fresh eyes.
I loved this presentation. Henry Viiii is a great person to do this sort of posthumous appraisal. I, personally think he did not contract syphylis, although we cannot be certain. His nutrition as a child and young child would have been good, but necessarily what we would consider a healthy diet! Head injury whilst jousting - he was knocked unconscious, always a bad sign! But he did come around and seemed alright. But any episode of unconsciousness can cause long term problems. It might have been the second head injury that exacerbated the damage from the first incident, when he was younger and more likely to recover. Personality changes can and do occur following head injury, these changes can totally change the person in terms of personality and behaviours. Leg ulcer, I believe the first jousting accident caused skin damage to the lower leg, which healed but no time frame is given. A high protein diet would certainly help. As would intake of fruit and vegetables, for the vitamin C, which plays a part in healing. The second injury was when he was older (40ish). His diet would be rich and give high amounts of protein and fat. I am not sure how much of Henry’s diet would have come from carbohydrate sources? Fat intake was probably quite high. In his 40s he would have put weight on and continued to do so as he was depicted as being quite corpulent in later portraits. The garters he wore would definitely had an impact on the leg wound as it would impair blood flow and probably make his lower legs swell. This in itself would impair healing and even cause the wound to open up. Lack of antiseptics, let alone antibiotics would also be factors in delayed healing of a chronic wounds. As he aged, his physicians opted to keep the wound open so pus could drain. If they had not taken this course the king could well have died of septicaemia. One antiseptic that they could have been accessible would have been salt water for cleaning the original wound and again when it became chronic. But I doubt that would have been used! Chronic infection and resultant pain will make people less patient, less understanding and possibly paranoid, Henry certainly showed paranoia, from my reading about him. If he had been anyone else but the king he probably would have died from the later infection. Chronic, long term pain does cause personality changes. As does chronic infection. Sorry for the long ‘essay’. I am a retired nurse, old enough to have seen chronic skin wounds/ulcers and bone injuries.
Thank you. Your observations are both interesting and sensible. Besides, I love nurses. I’ve experienced illness in my time and I insist it was the nurses who healed me; not the doctors! 😂👍🌷
As someone living with a traumatic brain injury, it does affect your mood. Also, my mother was diabetic, and when I would take care of her, if her blood sugar levels were elevated, it would cause her to be ill tempered as well. Although you sited many good points for all that I had heard, I still believe the best likely possibility for all he had going on, would be diabetes. With the absence of being able to exhume the remains of these important members of the past, we can only speculate, and draw up our own conclusions. I am not a medical professional, but I know what I have been through, and from all that I have heard, I can only guess as to what he had. Thank you for putting forth videos like that that entertain, and inform us. I thoroughly enjoy watching them. Although I am late to the game on finding your channel, I look forward to getting caught up on all of your posts. They really are delighful to listen to. Keep up the good work, and I can't wait for more videos as they come out!
I always felt strange because I never found Anne of Cleve's ugly--there was a sweetness and sly smile in her portrait. Prof. Kat made me feel less "weird" and enlightened me on her personality and appearance.
She looked best from his wife's based on the portraits. She looked more like us, like human, rather than other portraits of his other wives which I can not imagine how they truly looked in real life. However. I was watching a documentary about paintings in those times that said that if women didn't have the best features, they asked the painter to enhance their traits. Or minimise. Paint their breasts bigger, make their noses smaller, etc. It is a possibility that Anne of Cleves portrait truly did not resemble her in real life. Or maybe he didn't have any chemistry with her, maybe she was too shy for his taste. We won't ever truly know though.
@@OzmaOfOzz Because Anna of Cleves was apparently a kind, common-sensical, humble lady, many have said that Holbein fell somewhat in love with her himself, which came through in his portraits. Newly widowed, he confided his two children to the care of Anna of Cleves just before he himself died of plague. She had the boy apprenticed to a good trade, and provided the girl with a dowery to marry a suitable husband. Anna was a peacemaker between Mary and Elizabeth, and was sincerely mourned by both of them. He servants adored her for her goodness.
@@OzmaOfOzz Holbein was in Henry's employ and was told NOT to flatter any of the women whose portraits he painted when the "wife auditions" were taking place. Holbein may have taken a few liberties, but I think that Anne of Cleves was pretty but not beautiful. Henry was wanting a "trophy wife" as seen by his next choice--Katherine Howard.
I've long wondered if Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymore didn't get some nahsty STDs from Henry that kept them from being as ble to carry a baby to full term.
@@StephanieMT I think it's more likely Jane Seymour died as a result of an infection cause by the full placenta not being evacuated. Not that I wouldn't doubt Henry had an STD but in Jane's case I don't think so.
There was a documentary here on youtube that talked about this! I’ll try to find it and link it if I can! As someone with diabetes, and a long line of diabetes in my family, all of his symptoms seem to match up Edit: I couldn’t find the documentary online, but I found it on Daily motion dai.ly/x30omwb
At 400lbs, it's pretty possible. Contrary popular belief, it's not sugar that causes diabete, it's an abundance of lipids (fats) that drive type 2 diabetes, especially triglycerides. Lipids have a much higher impact on insulin resistance. As royalty, his diet would be high in fatty foods high in triglycerides. And those tight garters would reduce blood flow to the lower legs making peripheral neuropathy even worse.
I’ve been bingeing your Channel for the past few days and I would like to thank you for your excellent content and approach. I’m very happy to see the number of subscribers growing so quickly for the past week. Well deserved! Love from a Brazilian that loves British history :)
My son shot himself with an air rifle. Before this he was the most charming loveable young man you could wish to meet. After rthis incident he became the most vile and horrible person on earth, his whole personally changed overnight, so I lost my son completely, so I understand Henry's accident completely. 😢
Yes, I Definitely Believe Henry's Head Injury Resulted In The Way He Treated People Not That's Any Excuse However, Gives An Understanding Of The Underlying Cause, Shame They Didn't Have MRI Scans Back Then.
When I worked in a neuro unit as a nurse, it was common knowledge that people with head injuries, or fresh off a stroke can often become jerks. It was important for us to not take it personal.
I never care for history. Especially in JHS and High School. Now I can't get enough. 43 years later never too old to learn Stay safe Greetings from Puerto Rico
I think I was born loving history. I was reading about real Queens when my friends were reading about pretend ones. I!I'm weird I guess, but I still love history. Learned nothing in school so I've always had to hunt it down.
Being a Diabetic myself I feel that many of the symptoms that Henry had point to Type 2 DM, but I also think he may have had Gout and migraines as well. Thank you for this fascinating study!
There’s something a little funny to me thinking of Henry the eight: this powerful and feared ruler, looking into the future and seeing a woman call him “our boy”.
Thanks for your wonderful analysis...Having worked in Wound Care, I would add to your diagnosis. I’m surprised no one has mentioned CRONIC OSTEOMYELITIS which I think is most likely the root cause of his chronic painful, non healing wounds that became more painful when they closed/healed...an indication that purulence was building up internally. Osteomyelitis would also Account for the Fetid Odor, excessive yellow/purulent drainage, pain, edema, and systemic symptoms reported. Regardless of the cause, due to the severity and chronic nature of his condition, I believe that amputation would have ultimately been the treatment of choice, and prolonged his life.
Henry could also have suffered damage to his frontal lobes hence the paranoia, shift in temper etc. I have personally cared for people who suffered damages to their frontal lobes and I recognise a lot of symptoms in the description of Henry.
I am loving this channel. I am working on my degree in history and I found this channel on accident and I have enjoyed it the past few days. I want to bring up Henry's migraines by looking at my husband's issues. My husband has a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) from his military service. He suffers headaches from this which result in him becoming short tempered. Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries can result in changes to the brain resulting in headaches. It is possible that the lance to the head resulted in a mild TBI. When the horse fell on him it took that mild TBI and turned it into a Moderate TBI. Moderate TBI can bring about all of those things that you mentioned in the video. However, as we have been told by doctors the effects of repeated TBIs compound and can result in more severe symptoms. The TBI can also result in low or even increased libido, it depends on the individual and where the injury is in the brain. Changes in behavior and mental health are also a part of a TBI. This is something I have witnessed first hand. From how an individual changes as a result of multiple TBIs. Now we have treatment to assist individuals with TBI and we are able to locate where in the brain the injury is and how that may effect the individual. I believe that a TBI is a very plausible diagnosis for his behavioral changes. I believe there were also many other health issues that Henry had. Some of them could have ties to a TBI as impulse control with food can happen (I have to limit the amount of food in the house because my husband has an impulse control with food as a result of his TBI). Diabetes and syphilis could be issues he suffered from while they are their own illesses they could have started with his TBI and the impulse control issues and behavioral changes that occurred after it. I spend a lot of time educating myself on TBIs as my husband has one and we spend a lot of time in doctors offices and therapies as a result of it. I can see Henry suffering from TBIs as the start of his health issues. But that is what I observe from my own personal experience.
Kathryn Schottl While this might be a rational explanation for some people’s actions, it doesn’t explain his egotism and behaviors previous to the fall. He was needlessly cruel to Catherine of Aragon and daughter, Mary, when she wouldn’t agree to an annulment. I believe the reasons he didn’t have her killed was because she was born a princess of Spain and her nephew became pope. Killing a royal princess and anointed queen ( although that didn’t stop him with anointed but non-royal Anne Boleyn ,) it was certainly not a healthy precedent to set as a king. Even Elizabeth I avoided killing Mary of Scotland , keeping her imprisoned for years, until Mary participated in treason that could be proven. Thank you for the information on TBI. It certainly could have contributed to actions after his fall.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge, this additional context is very useful and certainly adds to my conviction that head injury played a major role in Henry's story. I also want to thank your husband for his service and hope he has, or finds, a way to manage his headaches.
thank you for your husband's service to your country, I'm in the U.S. and every service person no matter what country that helps to keep us safe, I thank you. I also thank YOU, due to your husband's heroic service, you, your family and his lives have changed forever. And it sounds more complicated since his return. Your way of stepping up and learning all you can to help the man you love is even more heroic to me....you are a hero to me. God Bless you and your family. and again, thank you. service to ones country is truly a lifetime service.
@@kathleenem9207 I think genetics may also play a part. Henry resembled his maternal grand father, King Edward IV, physically in appearance. Edward was known to quite ruthlessly dispose of opponents, e.g. his brother the Duke of Clarence, so Henry may have inherited that aspect of his character.
In support of this look how the 18 year old Henry had Empson & Dudley executed [who had been loyal if unpopular servants to his father ] to gain popularity.
I stumbled across your channel by accident, and what a happy accident! I've always been a history geek and junkie. You are such a breath of fresh air, and I've now turned some of my friends onto your channel. Thank you! As a retired nurse and what I've read and heard about Henry Vlll; I can only imagine as to what his cholesterol was as well as his high blood pressure, and what and how he ate, that I would surmise that he also would've had Type 2 Diabetes.
You’re a breath of fresh air. You make the past come alive. I think that we can safely say that Richard III was a hunchback, based on the somewhat recent discovery of his remains.
Yay! I'm so happy for you and your channel! New subscriber here. I've watched at least 10 of your videos this week. They are fabulous! People will definitely understand if you don't respond to everyone, especially as your channel grows. Congratulations, Dr. Kat!
Excuse an off subject question. When my ancesters came to Massachusetts,they spelled our namewith an a,as you do.Did any of your family "cross the pond" back in the 1600's. My daughter looks into the history.Robert Merchant.
I have only just discovered you. May I say how delighted I am to hear an intelligent analysis examining debate about historical issues. Bless you, and long may you prosper.
dr kat, i spent 3 years in the 1970s struggling to remember dates and speeches and clauses for my history o level. it felt like death by a thousand cuts. you have made this so interesting i am enthralled. i still have my o'level excersize book. went back through it. it covered most of you points, but in a rigamortis inducing way. you really should be put on the gcse corriculum as you make everything so absorbable. thank you. it is sites like yours that are making me enjoy lockdown, cos i wouldnt normally never have time to watch. i really appreciate you and your approach
Yes-he would have been terrified of it particularly as he didn't have a male heir that had come of age. Up until penicillin became available in the 1940's, a simple bacterial wound infection from pruning the roses could result in chronic sepsis and death.
Yeah, that tracks. Even now with modern medicine, I tend to get very anxious about small injuries and illnesses (though that is due in part to how hard it is to go to the doctor). Sometimes if I have colds or flus I get worried I'll die in my sleep, and it always makes me laugh a little in a morbid way because it's such an old, human sort of fear.
How awful! We really do live in a lucky time. Two of Henry's wives died in completely preventable ways. After childbirth, so many of the rich at that time didn't know that a doctor was less likely to wash his hands as a midwife was, and the new Mothers often died of terrible infections that came in on the hands of a doc who had just been with a sick person. Jane and Katharine Parr (of course Henry's widow) needn't have died.
Hello, Dr. Kat ... thanks for the new video. Henry VIII is so fascinating ... one never tires of exploring his life experiences, exploits and indiscretions. Type 2 diabetes is probably the key co-morbidity for his illnesses later in life.
Ann-Marie King , I agree with you about type 2 diabetes. It happened to my ex-husband, who was actually kind of similar in temperament and habits to Henry VIII (big ego, big appetites, athletic activities, had multiple wives and affairs, only legitimate children were girls, etc.). He ended up hospitalized with an infection that threatened his life and he had to get his blood sugar under control before an abscess in his groin would heal. I learned a lot about metabolic syndrome as a result, and I see Henry’s lifestyle and medical issues as aligned with that diagnosis.
Dr. Kat I've always wonder if Henry was a diabetic due to his ulcers not healing. The other illness you covered were very interesting and thought provoking.
Hi Dr. Kat, I found your channel earlier this week and being a huge history buff I'm absolutely loving it. I watched your video about Grace O'Malley yesterday. I have always thought she was a very interesting character. Anne Bonny and Mary Read are also very unique, maybe sometime you could do a video about them. The local library is closed during this unprecedented time and I was panicking. But since finding this channel I'm still able to get my history needs met. Thank you so much!
I would call it less ironic and more just a fact. His entire life when his health started downward was just trying too desperately to prove his manhood. He knew, I think most knew, really, but no one could actually vocalize it.
God, imagine what it would be like to lose so many children, especially at such a young age and after so many of your brothers and sisters had died as babies. He literally is 18, has a stillborn, next baby is a boy who dies of probably SIDS at 2 months and all reports say he LOVED that baby. Then 2 more stillborn/died soon after birth. And then It. Just. Keeps. Happening. That would screw someone up a lot. And then you have the gossip and all the pressure to have a heir and most of the babies dying...It's not surprising he was over the moon when his first illegitimate son was born and it is said they had a long and good relationship for most of his life. And he was said to have loved his daughters quite a bit too, as long as other queens didn't try to stop it. He may have actually liked kids, even if he was a monster in many ways. And that makes his many loses all the more tragic.
What I love most about this type of investigation is the delving into science! We don't do enough of that anymore, and I think that focusing our brains and our interest into a scientific direction is always a positive. I learned new things watching this today - things I want to learn more about. Love your channel!
My mother had cancer discovered during an unrelated surgery in January, 2019. She had to be opemed up because her abdomenal cavity and eight organs has cancer in and around them. They thought her pain was ovarian or uterine, and the canver was there, but so many other places. I mention this because she was put on chemo within weeks of the surgery. It prevented the wound from closing, and it still refuses to close. Now, a year and a half later, it still won't close. Without ny Dad being a doctor and us working out a way to do her dressing changes, she'd have needed a home health nurse this whole time. Even with modern medicine, constant attention and care, and frequent dressing chsnges (multiple times a day), it's become infected several times, and she's been septic three times. She needed a wound vac once, which was the only option for her to live beyond a few weeks, but was considered unnecessary treatment by her insursnce. It was cheaper to just look the other way and let us scrounge for it or to let her die. With her cancer being found at stage 4, the virus threatening her life and temporarily forcing her to pause her chemo, she is still hugely at risk for.... just an open wound that refuses to heal, Even with the best knowledge and wisdom of the time, I remain shocked that Henry survived so long. His immune system must have been absolutely fierce for him to fight back for so long. My mother and I am immunocompromized due to Lupus, so she doesn't have that going for her. Hopefully a healthy understanding of germ theory can make the difference.
Thank you for aiding my understanding of so many historical figures that have influenced their counties and all the world. I appreciate your attention to precise detail and exploration of varied points of view.
I read that he was knocked unconscious for several hours during a jousting match. A concussion is a brain injury, so I've always thought that his brain injury could be at least part of why he was thereafter grumpy, more short - tempered, unhappier, etc. People rarely, if ever, get nicer after a brain injury. A very bad headache is not necessarily a "migraine", a migraine is vascular in nature. Some people also self - medicate with food.
Yes it is partially vascular in nature, but the root cause is in the bra8n & nerves. The blood vessels swell, pinching the neurons wrapped around them, and they release CGRP which makes them swell: This is why we feel the throbbing pain. The nerves start sending pain signals and after a while become overloaded and continue sending pain signals regardless. This is why parts of our faces feel painful, as the Trigeminal nerve to which those small nerve fibers connect innervates part of the face, and it gets overloaded. The root cause of all of this begins in the brain, however. Many people see things just before the migraine starts, and this is caused by a small storm of electrical activity (not unlike in a seizure, but in a smaller area). Some may be experiencing these storms in places other than those for processing vision and are less obvious. These storms are part of a process that ends with those little blood vessels pinching nerve endings, and scientists are actively working to sort out that process now. All that to say its really a brain issue masquerading as a vascular issue mainly because the vascular issue causes the most common and obvious symtpm: The throbbing pain. Migraine is very heritable, and a range of genes can make one more likely to experience them. A major blow to the head causing an ABI can definitely destabilize the brain chemsitry and make it more likely for someone to experience frequent or chronic migraines. It is in fact a common symptom of ABI. So yes vascular, kind of. But mostly, it's the brain 🧠 and genes that affect how easily nerves fire. It it's too easy for them to fire, seizure disorder and chronic migraines can result. A major blow to the head causing bleeding in the brain and damage to brain tissue can also disrupt that balance, leading again potentially to seizures and migraines.
I dunno, Henry was actually sick a lot. It sounds like he had PTSD from getting sick more than any actual hypochondria. I mean...that is an actual thing. If I was him, living in a time when "etiology unknown" was the norm, I'd be afraid of being around sick people, too. I can't say I blame him.
Great video. Love watching things about Henry the VIII and the Tudors. I agree that the illnesses that he may have had and the injuries he sustained contributed to his ill temper, mental illness, over eating, perhaps alcohol abuse and PTSD. I also believe his obsession and pressure to have a male heir or heirs became such an obsession with him, he lost it. But all of the above, in my opinion, does not explain the fact that he was a narcissist before the injuries and illnesses, and turned into a complete Terror. He became one sick dude both mentally and physically terrorizing not only his wives but his subjects or countryman. But, just my opinion.
Your videos are well thought out, logical, and delivered in a clear, straight forward manner. As the number of your subscribers increases, no one expects you to respond to every comment. Just keep doing what you’re doing. ☺️
Your videos started popping up in my feed a few days ago and I’m so glad they did. I enjoy British royal history And your voice is incredibly calming. I could listen to you read the instruction manual for a vacuum cleaner and be mesmerized 😊.
having concusion syndrome myself after a head injury: the hit to the head at the jost could certainly case the mood and "mirgrane" (trama induced migraine); the chronic infection could also case the headache and mood; weeping legs can also be sign of liver failure
I love English history! My mother introduced The six wives of Henry the V111 on PBS many years ago and I have been totally into British history ever sense.Thank you for your research and your insights!
Fascinating. I think that type 2 diabetes mellitus has to be considered in view of his age, girth, and no healing leg ulcers. I agree that a diagnosis of syphilis is highly doubtful, as the condition was known to physicians of that time, and there is no mention of mercury treatments. Very well done presentation!
Very similar to the closed head trauma suffered by so many professional football players. He was unconscious for two hours after being knocked off his horse in full body armor. Even short periods of unconsciousness are symptomatic of serious brain injury.
But it wasn’t. He was already a despot. Even not having the same opinion as him could easily lead to the block. And considering he was positive he was ALWAYS right, all HIS ideas were the only ones…..he had plenty of people executed before for basically no reason long before his accident.
@@lagatita1623 Correct. And he even made it treason (read the block) to even THINK he wasn’t right. Not sure how he knew what people were thinking, but he did. And so, off 🪓
I will always view any of your content on the tudors... it’s just so fascinating. That said, I am also very interested in the War of the Roses period. 😊 Edward IV , his wife and his children made for some pretty juicy gossip. Was he already married when he met Elizabeth Woodville? What really happened to the Princes in the tower? Did her daughter Elizabeth really love Henry VII? Why did Elizabeth (daughter) allow her mother to be sent to a nunnery after she married Henry VII? Thanks!!
I have a video on Richard III and the Princes in the Tower, here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sB_5TuwHd5U.html Thank you for these other suggestions, I'll add them to my topic list
As a medical professional, I think it important to delineate when you are looking at Henry. His health varied over time. Certainly most different before and after his jostling incident. By all accounts he was two very different men
Wow! I,m so amazed with this information and totally agree with you. I,m a pharmacist and what first came to my mind was syphilis as the major trigger to all his complications, besides the use of mercury for treatments at the time which would lead in time to esquizofrenia thus his reactions for executions, etc. Congrats on your research!
I just love your channel. I love history and you have a wonderful approach. I've read a lot of Phillipa Gregory and from there I've gone to history. Well done and please keep going.
Retrospective diagnoses are fascinating. Coming from a psych and med background, and having a possibly unhealthy fascination with history in my downtime (and sharing professions and hobbies with my other half), I always enjoy going back through historical figures' ailments. Our boy is one of my favourites, closely followed by Alfred the Great having what would likely have been Crohn's or another autoimmune disorder causing inflammatory bowel disorders.
This is a really nice channel. It feels like a nice, warm, informative chat, and I can see why people would be drawn to it during quarantine. I hope you find a career hosting documentaries because your voice and presentation style are very appealing!
I think that posthumous diagnosis is valuable and can be insightful in terms of understanding subsequent behavior f the individual. Some medical schools do posthumous diagnostic reviews to help teach students about holistic diagnostic techniques.
I’ve read a very interesting book titled “the death of kings”. It covers all the kings since the conquest, and some Anglo Saxon kings if there were records. It was written by a physician.
I'd so LOVE to hear more about Elizabeth I as having Marfan's syndrome. Our niece, who is a doctor and a new mom, has Marfan's and it was quite dangerous for her to have her baby.
I’m sooooo glad I stumbled upon this channel! You are awesome in soooo many ways!! Factual, yet entertaining videos/docs, I haven’t already seen, are hard to come by. And I’ve absolutely won the lottery, to hear you speak about my favorite period and people!!Your voice is soothing as well. Also...I love the into/ending music too!! 🥰😘
This is the second time I"ve watched this one. It's as interesting and fresh as the first time. I love your narrations, how you present your research and how you bring it to life. Great job.
I’ve found your channel recently, too, and love it. I love hearing about potential diagnoses as the quote from Worsley is accurate, but it doesn’t change what they did, how they acted.
I really like this type of detective work. I realize we will never ? have an exhumed Henry VIII to study up close, but what has been written about his ailments gives us tantalizing details that do have merit. I really like your videos. Keep on keeping on?
I never bought into the syphilis diagnosis myself (am a registered nurse in the US)...I think that his immobility due to the injury and his age related metabolism changes led to obesity, which in turn may have also created personality disorders (who among us is thrilled about aging?) This coupled with the fact that royalty is treated indulgently in the most generous of descriptions. So age related idiosyncrasies in personality are amplified and no one is going to tell him to grow up! He definitely has personality parallels in modern times, but this is a political discussion of a different sort! His repeated leg ulcers may have also created small micro-embolisms that would lodge in his brain...but syphilis? nope..I concur-don't think it is likely. Don''t know how the algorithm led me to you, but glad it did so!
Very well prepared! Straight, thorough, organized, and touched well on many possibilities without being convoluting. I agree that posthumous diagnosis can lend context to the political climates reaction of a certain situation. Was it a brain injury? In part yes. Two hours unconscious does not bode well in any era. Did that feed into the ulcers? Most likely. His reactions stemming from possible flair ups and now having strong and unfamiliar urges that he is learning to interpret with medical professionals who most likely do not have an understanding nor ability in this age of how to address it only compounds the issue and creates a form of panic that can be seen rising in the court. But it must be taken with more than a grain of salt. Like you said, it would take extensive testing along with the ability to travel back to meet them to truly achieve a diagnosis. Thanks for all your excellent research!
First off, my husband has had 2 bad concussions, the first one put him out of work for 6wks. It was a simple bump on the head and his reaction confused doctors with how severe it was. Having this concussion changed his personality, he became mean and short tempered. He had to have anti depressants and therapy. I do think the disease that attacks the baby sounds very plausible. The amount of babies lost to this family breaks my heart for them. I love your talks, you are very informative and a joy to watch!
Thanks Kat for a most facinating discussion. Yes II believe that posthumous diagnosis is useful as a tool to educate doctors (and not only) about history,and historians about medicine. As for Henry VIII, as an MD I believe that most of his conditions can be reconducted to a diagnosis of Cushing's Syndrome - which in turn can cause probems with glucose metabolism/secondary diabetes. As for the disgnoosis of genetic conditions that is an interesting question , which could be answered by exhuming the King's remains, so let's forget abouut that possibility! Thank you once again for your honest and thorough approach to the past and to the best way to look at it......
I just discovered your channel during quarantine and I love it!! I have a suggestion for a fascinating historical figure and it is Kathryn Swynford the 2nd wife of John of Gaunt. I find her very interesting but it is hard to find a lot of information on her. Her descendants all made their mark for sure. Thank you so much for all your videos and the clearly the meticulous work you do in putting them together.
Years ago, as a girl in Iowa, I read the book 'The Child from the Sea' by Elizabeth Goudge. I was so taken with the premise that Charles II had been in a secret marriage to Lucy Walter that I chose History as my area of study. I earned a degree in History with an emphasis on the Tudor/Stuart era. Since then, life has gotten in the way and I lost much of what I had learned. [It's not needed much in the U.S. Midwest ;)] I was delighted when I came across your channel. Your studies perfectly correlate with much of my previous study. If you think it would be of interest, perhaps you could do a video on Charles II and the possibility of a secret marriage? Another historical figure that is of interest to me is Hannah More. I enjoyed your video on Mary Wollstonecraft very much. Anyway, thank you very much for rekindling my long buried love of English history. I am very excited to work my way through your videos. Thank you so much!
The scent of water and the dean’s watch are high on my list! I have read most of her novels and some of her children’s books, found most in libraries. Always magical and spiritual in unusual ways, changed my life and views over time!
Nancy Schultz I am living in a small community in upstate NY, retired Social Worker, and reading, crafting, and creating art! Your comment made me aware that we might have a lot in common! History became alive for me at about twelve years old, my petite older teacher described Jean Lafitte, a pirate, diplomat, and scoundrel as handsome, flashing eyed, and interesting, all of a sudden history was about real people not dry facts! My local library became a treasure trove, autobiography, biography and novels set in the eras, bonus learning facts (so called) painlessly! If you like Facebook and messenger me Alice Jump.
Dear Doctor Katz, What did you expect? You are one of the best historians on RU-vid . I have enjoyed and learned so much listening to your channel. It’s funny cuz when I was a student, , history wasn’t one of my fortes nor interests. However , now being a student as a true senior- 66 years old, I adore your history lessons and can’t get enough ‼️. Your presentations are delightful and keep me interested and wanting for more🤗 ‼️👍🏻🙏🏻. Thanks sincerely , Patricia
I think you did an outstanding job of presenting the info clearing and fairly. I appreciate your high ethical standard! It was very interesting and I learned quite a bit.
Just to add to this Mary, Queen Anne's sister was a mistress to Henry and would have been wxposed to the STD too. She had multiple children after they parted company. This is a similar situation to his other well know mistress Bessie Blount. She had multiple children after parting with Henry.
@ExposingMiLabs Both were common but the symptoms and presentation of the diseases are quite different. Also small.pox is an acute illness with a progression in days, consumption is a long term chronic condition that can last years slowly weakening the patient. What is described in Edward is a slow decline typical of consumption.
What a brilliant channel Dr Kat! I remember seeing the movie "Anne of A Thousand Days" when I was a very little child. It's wonderful getting the inside stories on the lives of these people, and you make it so easy. :)
I love this channel!! I absolutely love tutorials about the tutors!! I have books and things of that nature and have done my own studies. Thank you for the great content!
Hello from Australia 🇦🇺 I have just found you and have binged many hours of your videos & still going 😃. I just wanted to thank you sincerely as I'm an History tragic and frustratingly suffered memory damage & aphasia through cancer drugs and it is SUPER DUPER difficult & frustrating for me to find a narrator that l do not need to constantly A. rewind, B. listen, C. stop to process and then proceed viewing only to constantly repeat these steps but with you.... l don't know how you do it but l get it first time, you impart your knowledge in such a way that l process it as you say it, so thank you Dr Kat 🐈⬛
Granted this is an old video, but your videos are so well done, they are timeless! I read that Henry carried something called the Kell antigen. According to Google, the latest postulated diagnoses for Henry are the coexistence of both Kell blood group antigenicity (possibly inherited from Jacquetta Woodville, Henry's maternal great grandmother) causing related impaired fertility, and McLeod syndrome, causing psychotic changes. The truth is, we will never know for sure, but we can make educated guesses. Congratulations on the success of your channel, Dr. Kat. Over 100k subs in just a few years. That's phenomenal! You deserve it!
When I first started reading about Henry VIII, I was sure he'd had one or more concussions, so I was glad to see you discuss traumatic brain injury. Since being diagnosed with diabetes type 2, I feel like it's probable he suffered from it, too. Reading about the state of his urine definitely reminds me of ketosis.
"It's our boy: Henry the 8th". LOL, Dr. Kat! I'm loving your videos so much XD I've been reading and watching SO much about the Tudors while in lockdown (instigated by reading Alison Weir's excellent book "The Six Wives of Henry the VIII"). Henry does feel like "my boy" at the moment!
Honestly I was under the impression Henry's physicians had recognized and diagnosed him with what we call Type 2 diabetes. The condition has been known and recognized since antiquity and is actually quite easy to test for even under non-technological situations. Simply, insects like to drink the urine of diabetics because it is sweet.
@@ReadingthePast ...on vacation, the mosquitos swarmed and bit the diabetics in our group. It wasn't until just after coffee that the mosquitos began to bite the rest of us! (causes liver to release glycogen into the bloodstream). It is 3x the sweetness of sugar)...
Lynne de Lacy My dad feels the same way - mostly because he’s met her, since he works with Historic England and the IHBC. He's said she’s insufferable and overconfident even when miss informed and under qualified when it comes to knowledge and understanding.
Fascinating, yet disturbing! Rich as Henry VIII was, it couldn't prevent his suffering! These ailments could certainly explain many things about his life.
I am very impressed with your research. I wanted to comment that you are either wearing a very expensive dress &/or have a wonderful seamstress/tailor. I was a tailor and the lining up of the strips is impeccable on dress, sleeves and collar. It takes a lot of time and patience to do that beautiful work.
I have heard that Henry's ulcer smelled like rotting meat and one could detect him coming down the hall from the stench. My vote is he didn't have syphilis but did have Mcloud's as well as the head trauma. His experience with the fall on the horse could be likened to having a Volkwagen fall on you.
