[Herbalist] burns part 02

Gaylin Walli iasmin at home.com
Sat May 26 06:24:58 PDT 2001


Sorry about the delay in getting this out, folks. The up side is that
I was just finishing a system backup when the hard drive died on
my computer. -- Iasmin


HISTORICAL TREATMENTS (*see note)

A number of historical treatments have been used to treat burns. Too
many to accurately list, as a matter of fact. The treatments were
widely varied. The ingredients were often simple combinations, fast
to prepare. And even from the earliest records, we now know that
many are proven by research to have some real basis for their
effectiveness. There are hundreds of treatments in many period
manuscripts. I've taken the liberty of including a small sampling of
burn treatments here. You may recognize some of the plants.

The Ebers medical papyrus lists this salve as one treatment for burns:

    Sntr-resin, one part.
    Honey, one part.
    Anoint with it. (Majno, pg 124)

Several experts today suspect that Sntr-resin is resin from the
turpentine tree. The Egyptian salve is a simple, working concoction.
To be honest, most of the ones in history are equally as simple. A
few ingredients mixed with a fatty substance or a plant in wine
drunk, even just a plant crushed and applied as a poultice, all these
remedies are listed in various period manuscripts.

Hildegard von Bingen, noted German abbess and visionary, wrote in
her classic work on health and healing: "Whosoever has been burned
anywhere on his body should boil flaxseed in water, dip a linen cloth
in the water, and place the cloth over the area of the burn. This draws
out the burn." (Throop, page 88.) Obviously you would need to cool
the boiled substance before placing it on the burn, but scientists
suspect the demulcent properties of the seed are what makes this
work.

The Agnus Castus manuscript has a lovely garden addition, Cinquefoil,
as the source of an internally administered burn cure for limbs saying
"if a man be brende in eny leme of hym take [th]is herb and pounde hure
and drynk hure and so he schal be hol" (Brodin, pg. 200). In modern
English "If a man be burned in any limb of him take this herb and pound
her and drink her and so he shall be whole." This manuscript lists
another as interesting, this time using a plant called Semperuiua,
with instructions to mix it with oil of roses and wax and place it on
the burn not immediately, but three days after (Brodin, pg 204).

I've been reading a period manuscript lately called the Macer Floridus,
that mentions a number of burn treatments. Among them, another
that mentions roses saying "This oile wole also haue oute clenely [th]e
filthe of woundes and fulle with goode flesshe [th] depe wondes if it be
medled wel with strong vynegre. And in [th]e same wise it is good for
brennynges of fyre or scaldings with water"( pg. 92). In English, "This
oil will also have out cleanly the filth of wounds and fill with good flesh
the deep wounds if it be mixed well with strong vinegar. And in the same
wise it is good for burnings fo fire or scaldings with water."

Plantain (Plantago major) is one of the plants that has been used through
history to treat burns. A good picture of it can be seen at:

http://www.bcadventure.com/adventure/wilderness/wildflowers/common.htm

The Lacnugna, herbal of Anglo-Saxon fame,  mentions plantain,
called it Waybread for it's food use. I've yet to get a copy of that herbal.
But the Macer Floridus manuscript that I've been reading has a recipe for
its use saying "For the brennyng Medle Planteyn iuus with shepes melk,
and it wole hele brennynges and scaldynges" (Frisk, pg. 69). In English,
"For the burning, mix plantain juice with sheep's milk and it will heal
burnings and scaldings."


*NOTE

First aid is always important in the examination and treatment of
burns. But once you have determined the severity and can with
the help of your health care provider or training determine if you
have a self-treatable burn (a first-degree burn or a second degree
burn smaller than the size of an American quarter, both of which
are healing properly, without weeping or oozing or excessive pain
and redness) then there is plenty of  information on herbs and other
substances you can look into with your health care provider. Keep
in mind that I'm not a doctor here, folks. I'm just repeating what I
have studied and taken to *my* doctor. You need to double-check
all my info. Don't trust me.


ANNOTATED REFERENCES

Brodin, Gosta. (1950). _Agnus Castus: A Middle English Herbal Reconstructed
from Various Manuscripts_. Uppsala, Sweden: Almgvist & Wicksells
Boktryckeri AB.

    This was Brodin's dissertation printed in Sweden and has no ISBN. The
    name Gosta actually has an umlaut over the "o", but I suspect most
    email packages will make it unreadable. This manuscript is dated at
    roughly the late 14th century. No author is known.

Frisk, Gosta. (1949). _A Middle English Translation of Macer Floridus de
Viribus Herbarum_. Uppsala, Sweden: Almgvist & Wicksells Boktryckeri
AB.

    The name  Gosta actually has an umlaut over the "o", but I suspect most
    email  packages will make it unreadable. This book has no ISBN. This
    manuscript was written sometime between 849 and 1112. No author
    is known.

Majno, Guido. (1975). The Healing Hand: Man and Wound in the Ancient
World_. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN
0-674-38330-3

    A stunningly useful tome on wounds and healing, this book traces the
    history of medicine through a variety of cultures that may be of
    interest to the SCA researcher. I like this book because of the breadth
    of the research and the very clearly noted sources of information.
    The footnotes and the bibliography are excellent.

Throop, Priscilla. (1998). _Hildegard von Bingen's Physica: The Complete
English Translation of Her Classic Work on Health and Healing_. Rochester,
Vermont: Healing Arts Press. ISBN 0-89281-661-9

    I've not been reading this book for long and I don't know how accurate
    Throop's translations are. The book does not contain the original
    versions in side-by-side format, merely the English translations. More's
    the pity. But the information itself is fascinating.



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