Ancient Egyptian Cures

The ancient Egyptians had a well-documented system of cures for various illnesses. Compared with the medical practices of other ancient peoples, the Egyptians were very advanced. Egyptian medicine, like most pre-modern medical thought, integrated religion and medicine. Because Egyptian medicine was so firmly rooted in religion, the members of the priestly class doubled as physicians.

Under no circumstances should an individual attempt to use some common Egyptian cures for everyday medical problems.

Indigestion

• Indigestion was a common illness in the ancient world as well. To cure indigestion, the individual was advised to obtain the tooth of a pig and grind it to a powder. The hog's ground tooth was then baked into a sugar cake and consumed for a period of four days.

Lesions

• Lesions were allowed to first form a scab. The scab was then removed and a salve applied. The cure for this minor condition seems particularly dangerous, as the creation of the salve involved mixing human feces with fresh milk and then applying this mixture to the open wound, exposing the individual to all sorts of infections.

Burns

• Burns were also treated with a salve, though the concoction is more complex than for lesions. This salve required the mixture of the following ingredients: milk from a woman who has had a male son, gum and the hair of a ram. While applying the salve, individuals were required to say a prayer to Horus, who during some periods of ancient Egyptian history was viewed as a god of healing.

Diarrhea

• Diarrhea, an extremely common condition in ancient Egypt, was cured through a mixture of soil, grapes, figs, bread dough, onions and elderberry.