Erin Allman-Updike

And of course, we can only guess at the variety of remedies used before the invention of writing, but it's likely they were plant-based.

Like there is some evidence for that, including a ghost citation I couldn't track down, so I'm not going to even reference it, but...

Our earliest confirmed insight into the treatment of burns comes from the medical texts from ancient civilizations that we're used to encountering.

You know, the Ebers Papyrus, the Hippocratic texts, medical treatises from China, writings by Shushruta and so on.

The majority of these treatments for burns were centered on the application of like a goo or an ointment or a cream to the burn itself, to the actual location of the burn with a little bit on pain relief and maybe early like debridement type of approaches.

Interesting.

Ancient Egyptian physicians seemed to favor recipes that included resin and honey or oil-soaked linen wraps, but milk also made an appearance, specifically goat milk or milk from women who had given birth to a son.

Interesting.

I don't know if that means like... Highly specific.

Right.

Only sons.

Only sons.

If just one son is okay, do you have sons and daughters?

You know, I don't know.

Fascinating.

Other remedies called for... It's like you had a son before, but now you just had a daughter.

Like, is that okay to...

I don't, yeah.

You'll have to ask the author of the text, yeah, whose might not be reachable.

But other remedies called for a sequence of different ointments to be applied.