Ancient Bee Remedies

A new word that I have learned:

Nostrum:

1 : a medicine of secret composition recommended by its preparer but usually without scientific proof of its effectiveness

2 : a usually questionable remedy or scheme 

The book that came in the mail yesterday has a chapter on the medicinal history of bees.  Let me describe for you some of the ancient treatments and "cures" that don't involve stinging.  There are some doozies.  

In particular I am amused by the cure for baldness:  crush dead bees in honey and smear them on one's head.   This is the kind of thing that I would try to trick somebody with.  One of my bald friends.  "Hey, you know something else that bees are supposed to help? ... You should try it..."   

This same preparation is also supposed to be a good gum salve for teething infants, so I have certainty that you new or expectant mothers in the audience are all going to run out and try this one. 

Bee tea is supposed to be a diuretic. Another diuretic reciepie involves cooking bees into hot cereal (think oatmeal with bees instead of raisins) to cure Hydrops.

Hydrophobia (I'm not sure if the meaning here is Rabies or fear of water) is cured by drinking water that has 12-15 dead bees in it.  (So is hydrops related to hydrophobia?)

Powdered bees mixed in water is apparently something to rival the Master Cleanse.

All manner of eye problems were treated with a salve made from bee ashes and honey.  I don't really know how this was supposed to work...burned bee paste on my eyeball...

What else could be treated with some kind of bee concoction?  Stomach upsets, zits, kidney stones, the bloody flux, carbuncles (watch out when you click on this link, the wikipedia photo is gnarly), female infertility, ulcers,  EVERYTHING. 

Other words I learned in this chapter:

Podagra, which is a fancy word for gout when it also affects the big toe.

Emmenagogue--herbs that stimulate menstration

Catamenia--a fancy word for period.  

In old Germany, we often find references to a medicine made from bees, which had an emmanagogue effect  They called it "Salvemet," and it was given to women and girls to produce catamenia  It was administered on St. Catherine's Day, and it not only promoted the menstrual flow, but had also a beautifying and strengthening effect, for which purpose it was often used.  

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Every day is Saint Catherine's day in my house.