An Ounce of Prevention

The past couple days have been hell for me. The winds and pollen are up in the desert this time of year, and they can really wreck havoc on those prone to allergies. Basically, I don't like to take medicine, generally leaning to natural remedies if possible.

It got me to thinking about what people did in the 18th Century to cure colds, allergies, "maladies" as they are often referred to.  At that time, women of the household were in charge of making and dispensing remedies for common complaints, these being for the most part, herbal. Part of a young girl's education included learning recipes for these concoctions. Sometimes a remedy was just the drinking of hot wine made from elderberries, but often cures called for the making of a syrup, or an herbal tea, or lozenges produced then hardened into a candy. There is an interesting book called the Accomplish'd Gentlewoman's Companion, written in 1753, a cookbook by Eliza Smith, published in London, that records many of these homeopathic recipes.

Taken from "The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy", here is a interesting recipe: "Take pearls, crab’s-eyes, red coral, white amber, burnt hartshorn, and oriental bezoar, of each half an ounce; the black tips of crabs-claws three ounces; make all into a paste, with a jelly of vipers, and roll it into little balls, which dry and keep for use."

By the way, "homeopathy" comes from the Greek, "homios" meaning "similar", and "pathos" meaning "suffering". Homeopathic remedies can be harmful if one doesn't take care. Herbs are not always easy on the system, though they can purge and thereby rid the body of toxins. The homeopathic cure was evolved by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician, in the late 18th Century. He was appalled at medical practices of the times, and sought a better and safer way.  Basically the homeopathic way allows the body to heal itself.

"Dr. Hahnemann's classic example was when he took cinchona bark, he became ill and his symptoms mimicked that of malaria. This means that the bark of the cinchona tree which can cure malaria when prescribed to a person inflicted with malaria can actually produced malaria symptoms when given to a healthy person. He continued to experiment and he eventually established the fundamental principles of the science and art of homeopathic cure - "let likes be treated by likes" and he treated the sick based on this principle."

Below see a list of remedies by category:

An infusion: A liquid made by soaking an herb – usually its dried leaves or flowers – in liquid. An herbal tea is really an infusion.
A decoction: A liquid made by boiling an herb.
A poultice: A soft, moist mass of bread, meal, herbs, etc. applied to the body.
A plaister: A solid or semi solid remedy, spread on cloth or leather and applied to the body.
An electuary: Powder dried herb and mix with three times as much honey.
An oil: Fresh or dried herb is soaked in oil to extract the essences of the herb. Usually applied externally.
An ointment: Fresh or dried herb is soaked in lard to extract the essences of the herb, then mixed with beeswax and turpentine. Applied externally.