Ancient History of Egyptian Medicines Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Ancient History of Egyptian Medicines - Essay Example Egyptians are considered to be one of the few dynasties to have lived healthy lifestyles. Their average life expectancies have been estimated to be thirty to thirty six years. A few outliers could be traced to have lived more than sixty years as well. A few prominent examples include Kings Pepy II and Ramesses II (Musso, 2005). Egyptians have for long relied on prayer, magic and a jewelry which they usually hung about the neck and thought to be a magical protection from diseases to find cure of any illness present. They have never really taken diet as a source of cure. Milk products were seldom consumed as was the seeds or oil. Moreover, their belief in magic has produced effective results not because of the magic itself but the belief that it could cure illness. Ingredients were chosen because they were devised from substance, plant or animals which resembled condition of the patient. Only because of this rationale that many patients were given strong drugs which affected their heal th in a negative direction. For instance, an ostrich egg is included in the treatment of a broken skull, and an amulet picturing a hedgehog which might be used against baldness.Egyptians doctors or more commonly known as doctor cum priest-physicians were known to specialize in treating different constituents of the body, which aligned believes about different Gods governing specific parts of the body. Usually, doctors were called as ‘sunu’, which was written with an arrow-shaped symbol.