Medicine Administered By Ancient Egyptians

We cannot help becoming ill every now and then. When we become ill, we are in need of medicine in order to help our bodies get better. In ancient times, if you were ill, then the best place for you to be would have been Egypt. Preventive measures include various types of magic, prayers and wearing amulets. The diets were also a preventive measure that the ancient Egyptians believed in.

The ancient Egyptians administered medicine differently than we do in the modern world today. There were Egyptian priest-physicians and they had a variety of important functions that they had to perform in order to administer the medication. First, the physician would have to figure out the entity that possessed the body and then they would attack it in order to drive it out or destroy it. This technique was done by powerful magic where incantations, spells, rituals, amulets and talismans were used. It has also been found that the Sekgmet priests were involved in preventing plagues and even doing veterinary medicine.

The ancient Egyptians did not just use magic, but they administered physical medicines as well. Herbs were the medicines that were used for pain only and magic is what affected the cure. In the Papyrus Ebers, a section about invocations and charms can be used in order to encourage the healing process. There are spells that can be said before the individual takes the herbal medicine. Just like today‘s world, the common cold would sweep through ancient Egypt and they would use the milk of a mother as a remedy, with a spell to go along with it.

The ancient Egyptians believed that onions and garlic would aid in endurance and they would consume a large amount of them. For asthmatics, they would give raw garlic. Onions were known for helping with the problems of the digestive system. They would peal fresh cloves of garlic, mash them up and mix it up with water and vinegar. This could be used for sore throats along with toothaches. Another way the ancient Egyptians used garlic as treatment and prevention was to macerate a couple of garlic cloves of garlic that has been mashed up in olive oil.

The honey from the bees was used for many treatments on the wound. Animal dung was also thought to be effective at times in ancient Egypt as well. Many of these medical techniques are still used.


Links:
Wikipedia: Ancient Egypt
History Channel: Ancient Egypt
Live Science: Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt for Kids
British Museum: Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt