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This could go in the Chat Chat, but I feel like being more organized… Plus it would be nice to have a section dedicated to this. (There probably is one already but I don’t want to go digging for it.) Or this could just be some sort of unofficial Weekly Question. Whatever.
MEDICINE. REMEDIES. ALL THINGS HEALING.
Currently drinking a local home remedy for colds and sore throats. (A specific herbal tea blend with copious amounts of lemon juice and honey.)
It’s made me start thinking about medicine, and a whole subject of world building I hadn’t delved into very deeply: namely remedies and medicine. Most authors seem to be happy with a random “fix all” herb (Blue Flower, Lifespice, etc.) while some get a little more unique. (Athelass is good for shadow breath and headaches specifically while being just nice otherwise.) And of course, some blithely call the leech to come help the surgeon save a guy’s life, but don’t get specific on the technics used.
So, any fun home remedies that y’all know of or found used in books? Or any real life medical practices you find interesting? Or something you’d like to see done?
Personally, I’m having enjoying imagining a “mythical” herb that soothes sore throats, fever, and congestion, but may stain your teeth green for a while. Or maybe is packed into a tiny pellet that slowly “blooms” in boiling water. And tastes oddly sweet. Just because.
You have listened to fears, child. Come, let me breathe on you... Are you brave again? -Aslan
I think it’s a fern that’s young fronds grow as little blue curls and can be coiled into pellets. It’s usually wound around a certain red berry and dried. The fern has a fresh green taste while the berry is supper tart and bitter. When steeped into a tea, it’s a dark purple color and usually drunk with several spoonfuls of honey.
You have listened to fears, child. Come, let me breathe on you... Are you brave again? -Aslan
This is a very cool niche world building topic.
When steeped into a tea, it’s a dark purple color
It would be funny if it still dyes your teeth green despite the liquid itself being purple. Maybe a bluish green to match the fern.
This is a fun topic for me to dive into because one of my characters loves herbal drinks/teas and sitting down with a good cup and a book is his happy place. In the universe of Project Radio – yes, I’m calling it that now – a lot of foods are preserved. People are obsessed with packaging things, storing it in air-tight containers, drying it – and tea mixes are a natural byproduct.
I have a feeling there are remedies in the form of dry powder that gets added to things, similar to what you described. The characters often make meal bases with bouillon cubes, which are solid powder blocks of broth if you didn’t know. They could easily mix medicine into broth.
This world has many treatments that are unprescribed but popular – like camphorated oil, mustard plaster, or whiskey. People make up remedies with mire or less success. I think they would be willing to try anything if it had a label smacked onto it.
Unrelated to herbal remedies, but one of the characters loves acupuncture for stress. Within the world, acupuncture (as in the alternative medicine/cultural art) is in the process of becoming the scientifically based treatment of dry needling. It’s fun to explore something that isn’t a scientifically proven method yet, but I know they’re using it to scientific effect.
I am out of signature ideas
It would be funny if it still dyes your teeth green despite the liquid itself being purple. Maybe a bluish green to match the fern.
This. Yes.
People are obsessed with packaging things, storing it in air-tight containers, drying it – and tea mixes are a natural byproduct.
Oh, interesting! Focusing on tea as a way to preserve an herb rather than a way to change the taste of water is a fun perspective, as it’s opposite to what historians think happened in “real” life.
I like your Project Radio ideas. Adding a powdered medicine to broth sounds like a Mom-solution and could become so quirky. What kinds of changes to the dish’s taste result? Would it be something like the Victorian Beef Tea? (Which I have always been rather curious about)
I’m imagining a kid getting swapped up and using more medicine than soup base… Results could be oddly grassy, or positively poisonous.
It’s fun to explore something that isn’t a scientifically proven method yet, but I know they’re using it to scientific effect.
That would be fun! Niche medicine/therapy is so fascinating to pull in, especially when you can make up folk reasons for it to work that aren’t scientific.
Now I’m wondering what other methods could be believably used in a fantasy realm with very different explanations…
You have listened to fears, child. Come, let me breathe on you... Are you brave again? -Aslan
Focusing on tea as a way to preserve an herb rather than a way to change the taste of water is a fun perspective, as it’s opposite to what historians think happened in “real” life.
I don’t know very much about the history of tea, so if you know anything about the subject, please enlighten me further! Or I’ll go on a research spree. Or ask my bestie. (She carries a personal gallon of tea everywhere.) However I find the information, I must learn more about tea, its types, its uses, creation, and history. I have been woefully ignorant for a long time.
I like your Project Radio ideas. Adding a powdered medicine to broth sounds like a Mom-solution and could become so quirky. What kinds of changes to the dish’s taste result?
Thank you! Yes that is part of the fun. I imagine there could be ingredients in the broth to mask the flavor a little bit, but the medicine would still be noticeable.
I also imagine they take a lot of supplements this way. My dog has these powdery liver treats that look a lot like bouillon cubes and I love the smell. They has a lot of iron in them and I’ve almost tried eating them a few times. Yeah, gross. XD But for me, a little weirdness is worth it if I have something like broth to mask it.
Would it be something like the Victorian Beef Tea? (Which I have always been rather curious about)
Hmm. I’d think so. I’ve had instant broth in a cup before and it was very nice when counteracting a cold.
I’m imagining a kid getting swapped up and using more medicine than soup base… Results could be oddly grassy, or positively poisonous.
Oh no! I have to figure out how to minimize accidents like that. XD Child-safe containers are a must. They use pills too, it’s not just this dissolving powder I’ve described. I wonder if the powder would cause more hazard.
Now I’m wondering what other methods could be believably used in a fantasy realm with very different explanations…
Now I’m imagining chiropractics as opening energy wells in the body for magical accessibility, haha
I am out of signature ideas
*Sudden joy* (warning this post gets rather long)
Well, the history of tea is a really fun topic to study! I haven’t gone very deep in it, just enough to wet my proverbial toes. Here will be some rough notes.. I’ll share some articles, but I doesn’t want to disturb Wyoh, and I haven’t been able to find the ones I read a while ago. Your fabulous friend may have more information too. (I like this personal gallon of tea idea. Quite brilliant.)
Tea was brought to Europe in the 1500s-1600s after many centuries of use in China and other Eastern countries. It is thought to have first developed to help the flat taste of water that had been boiled for purification. The notes of explores detail it as a healer of almost every ailment, and carried it back with them. Arab traders also carried it to many corners of the globe. When England entered India, they set up a thriving tea industry of their own.
However, that’s specifically “tea” plants. Herbal teas were used ages before that in many parts of the world. Mainly as a medicine, but then developing into a common drink. Plus, there are native “true” teas in other parts of the world that weren’t developed then, and are mildly contentious now. (Like the Texas Yaupon)
Here’s something nerdy from the National Library of Medicine both about the development of tea and it’s properties:
h ttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11521711/
I imagine there could be ingredients in the broth to mask the flavor a little bit, but the medicine would still be noticeable.
And of course, certain brotha could be considered more beneficial anyway…
Have you ever looked into the Medieval theory of humors? Other than the weird parts, there’s a fascinating theory of nutrition that I’ve often wanted to include in a book. Basically, certain foods balance certain humors, so if you were sick, you needed to eat a certain food to balance whatever humor was apparently out of balance. It just majes me think about how we eat chicken noodle/rice soup when sick.
They didn’t add powdered medicines, though. I agree that it’s borderline genius. XD Your dog’s supplement would be an interesting thing to recreate for humans. Then it wouldn’t be weird, lol. Just a medicated bullion cube.
Hmm. I’d think so. I’ve had instant broth in a cup before and it was very nice when counteracting a cold.
Interesting. That does sound nice. I might have to try that.
…I wonder if the powder would cause more hazard.
Child safety would be important! Maybe like vitamins and other meds, some powders are ok to overdose on, but some are dangerous. So, some powders may have special caps and some might not. (Or just be kept on a higher shelf if it’s a rather retro world)
Now I’m imagining chiropractics as opening energy wells in the body for magical accessibility, haha
Oh, yes! XD A mystical profession.
I am trying to think of others, but my brain is not being useful in this area, lol.
You have listened to fears, child. Come, let me breathe on you... Are you brave again? -Aslan
What about gout? It’s caused by a buildup of uric acid crystals in the blood which get deposited in joints (hyperuricemia). The only real treatment of it is to try to reduce inflamation, change to a low uric acid diet (no red meats, ect.), and exercise.
But think of it like this: there is a substance in some food that forms crystals in a person’s blood and the only way to fix it is to eat a very special diet (and possibly bee venom???). If you put that in a fantasy book, only med students would believe you.
A cup of tea is cheaper than therapy.
Ah! Very interesting! *Carries the information away in my knapsack of knowledge* I am off and away to learn more of this fascinating concoction.
Have you ever looked into the Medieval theory of humors?
Humors are a really fascinating subject. I can’t remember the details but I’ve read about them before. I mean, there is some truth to different foods affecting your mood and balancing it out.
(Or just be kept on a higher shelf if it’s a rather retro world)
This will have to do!
there is a substance in some food that forms crystals in a person’s blood
That does have an undeniably fantastical vibe to it. It seems to me that there are enough medical conditions unfamiliar to the layman for us writers to repurpose real stuff. We can fool people into thinking we’re super creative.
What’s the bee venom for?
I am out of signature ideas
We can fool people into thinking we’re super creative.
True, very true.
Bee venom is often used to treat joint inflamation. Not sure exactly how it works, but my grandfather uses it and apparently it works? His is in a gell form he rubs on the achy joint.
A cup of tea is cheaper than therapy.
I am immensely satisfied to watch you carry away the tea secrets in thy handy knapsack. Also happy to see that Chicken Soup is now officially Medieval Medicine. And will now invest in shelf-buidling. *Bows*
You have listened to fears, child. Come, let me breathe on you... Are you brave again? -Aslan
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