A-Z of Traditional Home Remedies by Peter Dunn

Author:Peter Dunn [Dunn, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Health; Fitness & Dieting, Alternative Medicine, Herbal Remedies, Homeopathy
Amazon: B00IOXF8CU
Published: 2014-02-26T05:00:00+00:00

headache

An old English superstition recommended not a cure for headaches but a supposed method of avoiding them. No hair that had either been cut from the head or that had fallen out of its own accord was to be thrown away in a careless manner. If the hair was carelessly discarded, the fear was that a bird would find the hair and carry it off and use it for nest-building. Apparently, if this happened the head of the owner of the hair would ache all the time that the bird was building the nest.

Whether the headache was acquired in this way or in a more mundane way, there were several folk remedies for headaches.

An infusion made from elderflowers was held to be a cure for a headache, as was an infusion of lime flowers, an infusion of dried rosemary or an infusion of chamomile. A tea made from betony was also regarded as curative.

A more complicated cure involved taking some centaury, feverfew and chamomile and boiling them in water until the liquid was reduced by half. Some rhubarb was added to the hot liquid.

Another cure had coltsfoot as a base. The coltsfoot leaves were boiled in water and sweetened with a syrup made from sugar and water. A cupful of this was to be drunk. This was a versatile cure as it was a remedy for coughs, colds and giddiness as well as headaches.

The Greeks and Romans used peppermint as a cure for headaches. Later, cures taken internally included cinnamon, honey, and apple. Rosemary, chamomile, dock, lavender, balm and meadowsweet were herbs that were taken internally as a cure.

Other herbs that were used in the cure of headaches were angelica, basil, betony, feverfew, pennyroyal, St John's wort, valerian, viper's bugloss and wintergreen.

Externally applied, fresh elder leaves were thought to be curative, as were slices of raw potato, cabbage poultices and onion poultices. Clove oil could be rubbed on the temples, as could lavender oil and vinegar. Clove oil could also be used as an inhalant.

A preventative for headaches dating from the fifteenth century involved distilling a mixture of vervain, betony and wormwood and then washing the head in it several times a week.

A solution for washing the head to cure headaches consisted of mixing salt, vinegar, water and brandy. A towel soaked in very hot water, wrung out and wound round the head was meant to bring quite quick relief.

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