What's in Claire's Medicine Kit?
by Michele Matucheski, MLS, AHIP mmatuche@affinityhealth.org
Librarian for Ascension-Wisconsin, based at Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh, WI
Foxglove
Public Domain image from Wikimedia Commons
In July 2016, I was able
to take a wonderful trip to Scotland that focused on The Outlander novels
written by Diana Gabaldon. You know : the stories with a time-traveling WWII
nurse/physician/surgeon who goes back in time to Scotland of the 1700s and
falls in love with a Highlander … Perhaps you've seen the recent STARZ series
that brings Jamie and Claire to life? One of the most interesting aspects of
the novels is Claire's life as a healer … Hence, one of the highlights of the
Scotland trip was a special guided tour
of The
Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh (RBGE) with botanist,
Greg Kenicer.
The RBGE garden was
founded in 1670 as a physic (physician), or medicinal garden. Modern Medicine
as we know it had its roots in Scotland. The RBGE Gardens have grown through
the years, and it is now “a world-renowned centre for plant science,
horticulture and education and extends over four Gardens (Edinburgh, Benmore,
Dawyck and Logan) boasting a rich living collection of plants.”
Greg Kenicer showed us
many plants generally used by physicians through the ages including (These are
just the ones I wrote down) :
Nettles as a spring tonic
Foxglove for heart conditions
Meadowsweet for pain relief
Raspberry Tea for labor and childbirth
Reading the Outlander
novels, I noted the many medicinal herbs Claire used to help her patients, but
I wasn't taking notes as I read, so I couldn't remember any of them on the
tour. I finally got a copy of The
Outlandish Companion : Vol. 2 this week from my local
public library. There's a chapter written by herbalist Dr. Claire MacKay, who
offers some interesting background info on the herbs Claire used and the times
in which she practiced.
Dr. MacKay provides
"An Outlandish Materia Medica" (p.585) with 9 herbs from Claire's
Medicine Kit, including :
- Willow
Bark - for pain relief and fever.
Active ingredient is salicylic acid, aka aspirin.
- Pine
– used as an antiseptic and expectorant. Good source of vitamin C.
- Comfrey
(Boneset) – At one time, it was used to make casts for broken bones.
- Foxglove
(Digitalis) – Used for treating heart failure. Considered a poisonous
plant.
- St.
John's Wort – Used to treat depression,
anxiety, and sleep disorders. Antiviral, antibacterial.
- Bogbean
– a spring tonic; used to treat arthritis.
- Wild
Garlic – Blood strengthener, used to treat kidney stones, wound-cleaning;
Now we know garlic to be beneficial for lowering cholesterol, blood
pressure, and blood sugar levels.
- Marsh
Mallow – Used to treat inflammation and irritation inside and out, from
itches to coughs to flatulence.
- Yarrow
– stops bleeding, treats fever. This was considered a “warrior's plant” as
it was so useful to soldiers on the battlefield to staunch bleeding
wounds.
The usual disclaimer
applies : It's best to consult a physician or herbalist before using any of
these herbs. Some are considered poisonous, and/or can interact with other
medications.
So the next time you are
working in your garden, or visiting a public garden, I hope you'll think about
Claire and other healers through history and how they used the available
medicinal plants to improve the lives of their patients.
Resources :
The RBGE website is
worth a visit : You can even take a virtual tour in each season with 360-degree
panoramas. http://elmer.rbge.org.uk/rbgepanoramas/grid/grid.html
If you would like to
know more about Scottish Medicinal Herbs, Greg Kenicer recommends the following
books [The RBGE have a wonderful research library, too!] :
The
Scots Herbal by Tess Darwin
Healing
Threads by Mary Beith
The
Beatons : A Medical Kindred in the Classical Gaelic Tradition by John Bannerman
If you would like to
know more about Outlander, see the following :
Lists the entire series,
including the Outlandish Companion references.
St. John's Wort
Public Domain image from
Wikimedia Commons
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