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Secrets of the Mummy’s Medicine Chest (used)

Honey Can Sooth a Burn

Dating back to perhaps one of the first practices found using honey, Egyptians valued and treasured honey in their medicinal and curative approaches. In the article entitled, “Secrets of the Mummy’s Medicine Chest”, James Peter Allen, an American Egyptologist, asserts “the ancients treated broken arms, cuts, even facial wrinkles […] and they used methods as advanced as rudimentary surgery and a sort of proto-antibiotics.” (Pérez-Peña, 2) Although they didn’t have laboratories or research-based knowledge, they were well-equipped in handling such procedures. In fact when the 4,000-year-old Egyptian papyrus was found it offered a depth of wisdom and was anointed as the world’s oldest known medical treatise. According to Allen, who also translated the papyrus, the Egyptians theorized and came to know profoundly about the functions of human anatomy and its cure, though they did not always comprehend it. As per, many of the recipes advise using honey, and antibacterial humectant, in conjunction with willow bark on open wounds, a natural painkiller that is chemically similar to aspirin that can help inflammation. Despite not knowing what bacteria was, they still used herbs and natural remedies to fight it off and cure all sorts of ailments. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this all is that this exact practice hasn’t been forgone. Honey is still present in contemporary medicine and skincare products. Moreover, willow bark, otherwise known as salicylic acid, is a common ingredient in modern-day skincare that helps with the alleviation of acne and irritation. It’s heartening to acknowledge that years of insight have withstood the test of time.