In the 1600s and 1700s, Paris was a city of grandeur, culture, elegant wigs, and stunning architecture. However, a far less glamorous reality lay beneath its artistic and architectural brilliance. Foul odors, poor sanitation, rampant disease, and alarmingly high infant mortality rates.
Personal and public hygiene were widely neglected during this period, and children’s hygiene in Paris was no exception. Misconceptions about cleanliness, a lack of proper infrastructure, and limited medical knowledge contributed to the city’s unsanitary conditions.
Today’s Paris is known for its picturesque streets, world-class healthcare, and strict hygiene standards. But centuries ago, it was a vastly different place.
In this blog, we’ll explore the harsh realities of child hygiene in 17th—and 18th-century Paris. The survival challenges infants faced and how shifting attitudes towards cleanliness eventually brought about the well-needed change.
How Bad Was Children’s Hygiene in 17th and 18th Century Paris?
The Bathing Situation
Today, most people can’t go a day without taking a bath or shower, whether it’s every morning or every other day. However, in the 1600s and 1700s, bathing was not only uncommon but also feared.
People believed soaking in hot water would open their pores and make them more susceptible to disease. Because of this, full-body washing was rare. Instead, to stay somewhat clean and avoid discomfort from dirt and itching, people would regularly wash their hands and wipe their faces.
These body parts were constantly exposed to the open air and were believed to be the main entry points for disease.
Overall, most people, including children, remained unclean for extended periods.
- Infants and children were rarely bathed. When they were, it was often with cold water, as some believed it would strengthen their bodies.
- Wealthy Parisians used perfumes to mask odours and wiped their babies’ faces and bodies with damp linen cloths instead of following a proper cleaning routine.
- Schools like the prestigious Louis-le-Grand School in Paris only allowed sick students to bathe, as bathing was considered harmful for healthy children.
- The few existing public bathhouses were primarily used for medicinal purposes rather than hygiene.
Child Mortality and Diseases
Children in Paris were highly vulnerable to disease due to filthy living conditions: feces in the streets and poor personal hygiene.
Child mortality rates in old Paris were alarmingly high.
High Infant Mortality Rate
Nearly one in three infants died before reaching their first birthday in 18th-century France.
Diseases Caused By Poor Hygiene
The most common childhood diseases caused by poor hygiene included:
- Dysentery: Due to contaminated drinking water and food.
- Smallpox: Spread rapidly among children living in cramped, dirty conditions.
- Typhoid fever: Resulting from exposure to sewage-infested water.
- Respiratory infections: Caused by damp, poorly ventilated homes.
Poor sanitation forced children to grow up surrounded by open sewers and piles of waste. Creating a breeding ground for disease. With contaminated water and foul air, their exposure to harmful bacteria and infections was constant. This exposure made them even more vulnerable to illness and early death.
The Lice and Parasite Problem
Due to infrequent bathing and poor sanitation, lice, fleas, and other parasites spread like wildfire among Parisian children. Methods for dealing with lice were primitive and often ineffective.
In the earlier stages, people relied on herbal remedies like vinegar and rosemary rinses to combat lice. They used fine-toothed combs made from bone or wood to remove lice and nits manually.
However, as lice infestations and skin irritation became persistent issues. The wealthy and ruling class of Paris took more drastic measures. Many shaved their heads entirely and opted to wear wigs as a final resort.
Additionally, tightly woven caps were believed to help keep lice at bay, offering another layer of protection against these relentless pests.
Parents’ Attitudes Toward Increasing Infants’ Deaths
Due to high infant mortality, many parents, especially those in lower-income households, remained emotionally detached from their children until they had survived the most vulnerable early years of life.
Medical knowledge had yet to recognize the critical role of hygiene in child survival. As a result, excessive washing was often considered unnecessary or harmful.
Swaddling infants in tightly wrapped clothing for long periods was widespread among aristocrats and commoners. This restricted the baby’s movement and exposure to air, further reducing cleaning opportunities.
Additionally, wet nurses, women who breastfed and cared for other people’s children, often looked after multiple infants at once. Inconsistent hygiene practices further contributed to the spread of disease, putting even more children at risk.
The Evolution of Children’s Hygiene in 17th and 18th Century Paris
Late 17th Century: Early Recognition of Hygiene’s Importance
By the late 1600s, disease was rampant, death rates were high, and the health sector was in crisis. In response, some physicians and philosophers began advocating for better hygiene.
One of the most influential figures was Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He strongly supported frequent washing for children and rejected long-standing hygiene practices.
Rousseau encouraged parents to bathe their children regularly in cold water, believing it would strengthen their health. He helped dispel the widespread fear that cold water baths were harmful.
He also promoted fresh air and outdoor exposure for infants and toddlers instead of keeping them tightly swaddled indoors. Most importantly, he challenged the belief that dirt shielded against disease, pushing for a cleaner and healthier approach to child care.
18th Century: Institutional Initiatives and Public Health Efforts
As the Enlightenment era gained traction, public health measures started taking shape. Some key developments included:
- The Bureau of Wet Nurses: Established in Paris in 1769, was designed to regulate infant care and ensure that wet nurses met basic health standards.
- Establishment of Knitting Schools: Hospitals and early nursery schools, such as knitting schools in Alsace, were founded to provide young children with basic education and knowledge of hygiene.
- Feces Removal From Streets Of Paris: The understanding of disease transmission improved slightly, leading to early waste management and street cleaning efforts.
Late 18th Century: A Turning Point for Hygiene Awareness
In the late 1700s, people began to understand the link between hygiene and disease. Large-scale public health reforms were still new, but awareness was growing. Doctors started promoting cleaner birthing conditions to reduce infant deaths.
Their efforts marked an essential step toward better hygiene in medical practices.
Washing at home became more common, especially among the upper class. Early sewer systems were also proposed, though proper sanitation infrastructure did not appear until the 19th century.
Lessons From the Past
In 17th- and 18th-century Paris, children’s hygiene devastated infant mortality and public health. Misconceptions about bathing and poor sanitation made living conditions harsh. Disease spread rapidly due to the lack of hygiene and proper infrastructure. Without effective cleaning practices, children were especially vulnerable to infections and illness.
As the Enlightenment era progressed, attitudes toward hygiene slowly began to change.
Public health initiatives emphasized cleanliness and medical advancements highlighted its role in preventing disease. Philosophers like Jean-Jacques Rousseau also advocated for better hygiene practices.
Their efforts laid the foundation for significant public health and hygiene reforms in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Looking back, we can see how much society has improved in terms of hygiene and public health. We must continue maintaining and advancing these standards to ensure a better future.
