To prevent the hair turning grey anoint it with the blood of a black calf which has been boiled in oil; or with the fat of a rattlesnake. When it falls out one remedy is to apply a mixture of six fats, namely those of the horse, the hippopotamus, the crocodile, the cat, the snake, and the ibex. To strengthen it anoint with the tooth of a donkey crushed in honey.
A few other prescriptions are appended.
As Purges:—Mix milk, one part, yeast and honey, two parts each. Boil and strain. A draught of this to be taken every morning for four days. Pills compounded of equal parts of honey, absinth powder, and onion. In another formula “kesebt” fruits are ordered with other ingredients. Ebers conjectures that kesebt may have been the castor oil tree.
For Headache:—Equal parts of frankincense, cummin, berries of u’an tree and goosegrease are to be boiled together; the head to be anointed with the mixture.
For Worms:—Resin of acanthus, peppermint flowers, lettuce, and “as” plant. Equal parts to make a plaster.
For too much urine (diabetes):—Twigs of kadet plant ¼, grapes ⅛, honey ¼, berries of u’an tree 1/32, sweet beer 1⅙.
As a Tonic:—Figs, sebestens, grapes, yeast, frankincense, cummin, berries of u’an tree, wine, goosegrease, and sweet beer are recommended.
An Application for Sore Eyes. Dried excrement of a child 1, honey 1, in fresh milk.
To make the hair grow:—Oil of the Nile horse 1, powder of mentha montana 1, myrrh 1, mespen corn 1, vitriol of lead 1. Anoint. Another formula prescribed for the same purpose was prepared for Schesch (a queen of the 3rd dynasty) and consisted of equal parts of the heel of the greyhound (from Abyssinia), of date blossoms, and of asses’ hoofs boiled in oil.