History Main / ThatOldTimePrescription

* ''Film/TheThirteenthWarrior'': Ibn requests water to wash his wound, but a knowledgeable Norse woman insists that it will fester if not cleaned with sterile urine. This is a historically accurate belief that survives as an urban legend to this day. Modern tests reveal that urine is not actually sterile and shouldn't be used as a disinfectant, at least when genuinely germ-free water is available. Mind you, at the time the movie is set in, if you don't have any way to boil the water, it's a [[CoolClearWater crapshoot...]

* Averted in ''TheMysteriousIsland'': The heroes are in dire need of quinina, but there are no willows on the island. It causes [[spoiler:Nemo]] to finally abandon the pretense of his aid being coincidence or supernatural when he leaves a helpfully-labeled box of the stuff inside their home.

* ''Film/TheThirteenthWarrior'': Ibn requests water to wash his wound, but a knowledgeable Norse woman insists that it will fester if not cleaned with sterile urine. This is a historically accurate belief that survives as an urban legend to this day. Modern tests reveal that urine is not actually sterile and shouldn't be used as a disinfectant, at least when genuinely germ-free water is available.

* Willow bark tea shows up in the first ''[[HeraldsOfValdemar Arrows]]'' novel. There's also a reference in the ''Collegium Chronicles'' to Bear's attempts to preserve bread mold for wound treatment, instead of shipping moldy bread out from Healer's Collegium and hoping the wrong type of mold doesn't develop.

* ''Film/TheThirteenthWarrior'': Ibn requests water to wash his wound, but a knowledgeable Norse woman insists that it will fester if not cleaned with sterile urine. This is a historically accurate belief that survives as an urban legend to this day. Modern tests reveal that urine is not actually sterile and shouldn't be used as a disinfectant.

* ''Film/TheThirteenthWarrior'': Ibn requests water to wash his wound, but a knowledgeable Norse woman insists that it will fester if not cleaned with urine. However, this is actually an urban legend that persists to this day. In reality, modern tests reveal that human urine is not sterile.

* This is done in the ''Literature/CircleOfMagic'' series, in which willow bark tea is used for headaches, fevers, and the like. At one point there is an epidemic, and very modern steps to quarantine the disease and develop treatments through experimentation are undertaken. Somewhat justified in that magic has allowed people in that universe to be much more knowledgeable about the mechanics of the world.

* There is an episode of ''{{Dinosaurs}}'' in which the baby gets seriously ill and the family spends lots of money on fancy new medicines. When those fail, they go to a healer who lives in the woods, who cures the baby with moldy bread.

While most medications are a mystery to most audiences, there are a few whose native source is more familiar. Willow bark as a precursor to aspirin, or bread mold as that of penicillin, are the usual examples; others, such as poppy extract for a sedative or foxglove extract for heart trouble, are more obscure, but still recognizable to viewers who take an interest. Some, however, are still in use in less developed countries, such as mustard poultices (counterirritant and somewhat effective in dealing with respiratory infections), or propolis (honey bee glue, which is an effective antimicrobial agent).

[[AC: Anime and Manga]]
* ''Manga/ACruelGodReigns'': Whenever Jeremy [[FreakOut gets upset]], usually to the point that he [[BerserkerTears sobs hysterically]] or [[VomitIndiscretionShot throws up]], Ian makes him ginger tea with honey. Ginger is a stomach soother, and ginger tea and ginger ale are common drinks given to individuals who have stomach bugs or nausea.

[[AC: Film]]

[[AC: Literature]]
* This is done in the ''Literature/CircleOfMagic'' series, in which willow bark tea is used for headaches, fevers, and the like. At one point there is an epidemic, and very modern steps to quarantine the disease and develop treatments through experimentation are undertaken. Somewhat justified in that magic has allowed people in that universe to be much more knowledgeable about the mechanics of the world.

* In the novel ''Literature/{{Outlander}}'', Claire Beauchamp demonstrates even more knowledge that most examples of this trope, when she comments that willow bark tea can make bleeding take longer to stop while discussing the healing properties of herbs with the keeper of Castle Leoch's herb garden.

[[AC: LiveActionTelevision]]

** We first see the awful, counterproductive Christian European medicine of the time at work, making the sick sleep in closed chambers (in the middle of the torrid Italian summer!), not stitching open wounds, etc.

[[AC: Webcomics]]

* In ''Webcomic/DestroyerOfLight'', pennyroyal is used for an abortion. It is not the safest herb for this purpose there is, but that is justified by the fact that the protagonist is a goddess - which means the poison won't affect her the way it would a human.

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* Disney's ''{{Pocahontas}}'' has Pocahontas give John Smith willow bark for the pain after he is shot in the side.

While most medications are a mystery to most audiences, there are a few whose native source is more familiar. Willow bark as a precursor to aspirin, or bread mold as that of penicillin, are the usual examples; others, such as poppy extract for a sedative or foxglove extract for heart trouble, are more obscure, but still recognizable to viewers who take an interest. Some, however, are still in use in less developed countries, such as mustard poultices (counterirritant and somewhat effective in dealing with respiratory infections).

While most medications are a mystery to most audiences, there are a few whose native source is more familiar. Willow bark as a precursor to aspirin, or bread mold as that of penicillin, are the usual examples; others, such as poppy extract for a sedative or foxglove extract for heart trouble, are more obscure, but still recognizable to viewers who take an interest.

* In ''ASongOfIceAndFire'', maesters (essentially doctors, though they have other duties) commonly prescribe "milk of the poppy" (that is, opium) to anyone suffering from a particularly painful injury. [[note]]Given that it's described as a liquid it might also be [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laudanum laudanum]], which is opium dissolved in alcohol.[[/note]] They're also known to dispense tansy tea as an abortifacient upon request. {{Zigzagged}} as many of them are also big believers in leeching (though leeches ''have'' been found to be helpful by eating mortified tissue).

* In ''ASongOfIceAndFire'', maesters (essentially doctors, though they have other duties) commonly prescribe "milk of the poppy" (that is, opium) to anyone suffering from a particularly painful injury. [[note]]Given that it's described as a liquid it might also be [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laudanum laudanum]], which is opium dissolved in alcohol.[[/note]] They're also known to dispense tansy tea as an abortificant upon request. {{Inverted}} as many of them are also big believers in leeching.

Therefore, in order to show that a primitive healer, herbalist, or apothecary is genuinely skilled, not ignorant or a fraud, they're shown administering one of these (very) few recognizable RealLife proto-drugs to patients in need. Never mind that an historical physician of the era may not know about the medicine in question, or be capable of extracting the active substance from its raw state, or be capable of giving the proper dosage (foxglove is helpful small amounts for heart trouble; in large amounts it causes heart failure), or that another little-known remedy from the period might be safer and more effective: it's always the treatment [[SmallReferencePools audiences will recognize]] that gets used.

Therefore, in order to show that a primitive healer, herbalist, or apothecary is genuinely skilled, not ignorant or a fraud, they're shown administering one of these (very) few recognizable RealLife proto-drugs to patients in need. Never mind that an historical physician of the era may not know about the medicine in question, or be capable of extracting the active substance from its raw state, or that another, or be capable of giving the proper dosage (foxglove is helpful small amounts for heart trouble; in large amounts it causes heart failure), little-known remedy from the period might be safer and more effective: it's always the treatment [[SmallReferencePools audiences will recognize]] that gets used.

** Tiffany Aching, in ''A Hat Full of Sky,'' learns the Doctrine of Signatures from Miss Level, based on a real-life medieval idea that God placed a "signature" on every plant that indicated its medical use, to those who could read it properly. This being Discworld, the signatures are ''literal,'' and with a very close magnifying class you can read them on the stems. Sadly, plants are terrible spellers, but Miss Level (like Magrat) has worked out a great many cures this way, such as goldenrod being good for jaundice, which turns skin yellow.

Therefore, in order to show that a primitive healer, herbalist, or apothecary is genuinely skilled, not ignorant or a fraud, they're shown administering one of these (very) few recognizable proto-drugs to patients in need. Never mind that an historical physician of the era may not know about the medicine in question, or be capable of extracting the active substance from its raw state, or that another, or be capable of giving the proper dosage (foxglove is helpful small amounts for heart trouble; in large amounts it causes heart failure), little-known remedy from the period might be safer and more effective: it's always the treatment [[SmallReferencePools audiences will recognize]] that gets used.

** Tiffany Aching, in ''A Hat Full of Sky,'' learns the Doctrine of Signatures from Miss Level, based on a real-life medieval idea that God placed a "signature" on every plant that indicated its medical use, to those who could read it properly. This being Discworld, the signatures are ''literal,'' and with a very close magnifying class you can read them on the stems. Sadly, plants are terrible spellers.

Therefore, in order to show that a primitive healer, herbalist, or apothecary is genuinely skilled, not ignorant or a fraud, they're shown administering one of these (very) few recognizable proto-drugs to patients in need. Never mind that an historical physician of the era may not know about the medicine in question, or be capable of extracting the active substance from its raw state, or that another, little-known remedy from the period might be safer and more effective: it's always the treatment [[SmallReferencePools audiences will recognize]] that gets used.

* In ''ASongOfIceAndFire'', maesters (essentially doctors, though they have other duties) commonly prescribe "milk of the poppy" (that is, opium) to anyone suffering from a particularly painful injury. [[note]]Given that it's described as a liquid it might also be [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laudanum laudanum]], which is opium dissolved in alcohol.[[/note]] They're also known to dispense tansy tea as an abortificant upon request.

* ''Series/DrQuinnMedicineWoman'' was always prescribing willow bark tea.

* In ''ASongOfIceAndFire'', maesters (essentially doctors, though they have other duties) commonly prescribe "milk of the poppy" (that is, opium) to anyone suffering from a particularly painful injury.
** Given that its described as a liquid it might also be [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laudanum laudanum]], which is opium dissolved in alcohol.

* ''{{A Cruel God Reigns}}'': Whenever Jeremy [[FreakOut gets upset]], usually to the point that he [[BerserkerTears sobs hysterically]] or [[VomitIndiscretionShot throws up]], Ian makes him ginger tea with honey. Ginger is a stomach soother, and ginger tea and ginger ale are common drinks given to individuals who have stomach bugs or nausea.

* This is done in the ''CircleOfMagic'' series, in which willow bark tea is used for headaches, fevers, and the like. At one point there is an epidemic, and very modern steps to quarantine the disease and develop treatments through experimentation are undertaken. Somewhat justified in that magic has allowed people in that universe to be much more knowledgeable about the mechanics of the world.