How did the Egyptian Medicine Influenced Modern Medicine
The science of ancient Egyptian medicine boasts the most advanced knowledge compared to their other neighbors during ancient times. Other kings from other near countries treat Egyptian doctors like a celebrity! They prefer physicians from Egypt to seek help for their ailments. Read on to find out the similarities of modern and Egyptian medicine.
Health Challenges
The ancient Egyptians have a very difficult environment to live on. Hot desert, water-filled parasites, and a crowded village that rats find it as their favorite hangout. It's no wonder they only lived for an average of 36 years! These harsh conditions might have caused the improvement of ancient Egyptian medicinal practices. They are committed on pushing their medicine to the extent that surgeries happened even in the ancient times! The problem? They didn't concentrate on preventing diseases. Giving it a try may have caused fewer headaches for them in the future!
Influencing Today's Doctors
Surprisingly, the habits of a modern doctor existed on ancient Egypt. Egyptian doctors exercise proper hygiene by shaving hair from their bodies and keeping themselves clean. According to records, they also take an oath on medical secrecy with an added twist of morality, much like the Hippocratic Oath. As for lab coats and stuff, they wear white clothing to distinguish themselves as doctors!
Going to the Examination Table
For the typical day of the Egyptian doctor, they make a diagnosis for their patients by asking questions. Like what doctors do today, this method finds out what causes the ailment. They also analyze the bodily discharges of the person such as urine, or saliva. After determining the disease, the doctor gives a detailed instruction on how to cure the Egyptian patient.
However, curing someone with a deadly disease requires incantations. With a country as superstitious as ancient Egypt, medicine advancement walked like a snail. Ancient Egyptians relate most of their illnesses to evil spirits or even the doings of a god!
Among the gods, the Egyptian doctors loved Sekhmet, the god of plagues and epidemics. No wonder that Egyptian priests can act as substitute for doctors! With priests conversing daily with the gods, people find them much more suitable for the job.
Say Cheese!
Egyptians loves to go to the dentist's office. As described in my article about Egyptian food, bread is one of the main sources of nourishment. It contains sand added at the grinding stone that wears their teeth thin. I'm not a doctor but with that sand on the bread, I can tell something terrible will happen.
Examining the Egyptian mummies reveals wear and tear on their teeth. It exposes itself to infection. The Egyptian doctors drain the pus in the teeth by opening a slit to the gums. They know that if they didn’t remove the pus well, it will return to haunt the patient. Records show that among ancient Egyptians, dental problems are common. Even the rich class of Egyptians cannot escape this fate!
Although you could think of this as horrifying, Egyptians have a preference for a clean mouth. Using twigs, they clean their mouths, finishing it up with a mouth wash. They use aromatic plants and honey as the main ingredients to perfume their mouths!
Having heard of all foundation of the ancient Egyptian medicine gives you a good reason to thank for the medical services that we have today. Although the medicine in ancient Egypt is somewhat primitive, some of their principles really exist in modern practices!
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