[Ansteorra] Herbalists?

[Deanna della Penna]

I don't know if you're asking for period/near-period recipes or just
wanting to expand your repertoire, but my favorite medicinal recipe is
very practical and basic.

My little boy had eczema. Our pediatrician recommended the Aveeno
eczema lotion for babies, which did a good job of suppressing it, but
as soon as we stopped applying it, the skin condition would come back.
I found a recipe online claiming to be a pioneer recipe, but who
knows. It involves equal parts beeswax, honey, and olive oil. It's
been a long time since I made it, and my recipe is on a dead hard
drive somewhere, but I believe the steps I took were:

* Sterilize a mason jar, band, and lid
* Put it in a pot of water (to create a double boiler effect without
ruining a real double boiler) (I think I elevated my jar to keep it
from resting directly on the pot's bottom)
* Heat water to a boil
* Add the beeswax to the jar (I like the beeswax pellets)
* Stir until melted
* Stir in the honey (I used local honey)
* Stir in the olive oil
* Blend
* Remove from heat
* Allow to cool slightly
* Stir more as it stratifies as it cools
* Place the lid on the jar and allow to fully cool

I keep a dedicated spoon with the the jar that I don't mind getting
waxy-gunky. I take a spoonful of ointment and smear it on the affected
patch of skin before bedtime and make sure his clothing covers the
spot we're treating. Obviously, the beeswax will affect the texture of
the skin as the ointment gets absorbed, and it feels a little odd, so
you don't want to apply it with your fingers--- but it worked well for
us. It rapidly diminished, and when it finally disappeared, it
disappeared for several months. When it came back, we resumed
treatment, and then it disappeared for good.

Interestingly enough, when it did come back, we did try to resume the
Aveeno treatment with the remainder of an unused squeeze container,
but I suppose it had separated into its components in the intervening
months. Whatever came out made him cry with pain, and we threw it
away-- I hadn't realized the shelf life was so short, once opened. But
the homemade ointment was just as good half a year later as when it
was first made, and never caused him any discomfort.

I thought I'd share, since eczema was so stressful to try and deal
with, especially for a 6-month-old infant. Hopefully someone will find
this effective.

-Deanna della Penna