Unveiled: Medieval remedies for colds that sound gross but experts say work better than Lemsip

So, you’ve got an annoying sniffle, sore throat or pesky cough and want to shake it off as quickly as possible. 

You are probably going to reach for lozenges, Lemsip or Vicks. But remedies used by past kings of England could be just as soothing, experts claim.

While historical methods for treating colds like boiling an owl’s head or using goat excrement may sound extreme, there are milder remedies that could be effective.

Dr Kathryn Maude, a medieval specialist at the National Archives at Kew unearthed two 15th century prescriptions in the papers of King Henry VI.

One was for soothing a head cold, the other for clearing congestion. ‘Imagine a medieval Vicks VapoRub,’ she said.

The recipes, for a herbal head poultice and a stale ale, mustard seed and nutmeg inhalation, were discovered among miscellaneous items from the Chancery, the King’s writing office.

Dr Maude explained ‘stale ale’ was not as odd as it sounds, for it meant aged, strong, top-quality ale, rather than ale that had gone off. 

While some ye olde cold cures of centuries past suggest boiling an owls head or smearing goat excrement to your forehead to relieve a headache — there are some that might actually work (File image of a sick man)

An 18th century cure for a sore throat written in a notebook by Scottish aristocrat Lady Augusta Murray (pictured) suggests gargling a combination of vinegar and port

The poultice for a feverish head asks for a mix of camomile, sage wood, betony and wild purslane, which are all native to the UK and would have been commonly found.

Dr Maude said: ‘You’d make them into a poultice and put it on the top of your head. Poultices were a common part of medieval medicine. I guess this would be like using a hot water bottle.’

But Dr Maude explains there are many more unusual remedies to cure symptoms of a common cold. 

One 18th century cure for a sore throat written in a notebook by Scottish aristocrat Lady Augusta Murray suggests gargling a combination of vinegar and port wine.

She writes: ‘The best gargle for a sore throat particularly if of the putrid kind is an equal quantity of port wine, vinegar, and sage tea, with a little honey and Bark [mixed] into it — not the powder of the bark merely the liquid.’

Dr Maude explains that the ‘bark’ mentioned in her notes is probably cinchona bark,  which was brought back from South America as a supposed cure for malaria. 

Another tenth centuary cure from almost 1,000 years earlier recorded in the Bald’s Leechbook kept at the British Library also uses a blend of vinegar and herbs. 

The recipe calls for celandine (a plant with yellow flowers), pounded up with vinegar and then smeared on the head and forehead to heal a headache. 

In another recipe for ‘a man who has a perilous cough’ written by Gilbertine nuns in around the 13th century, it suggests mixing sage, cumin, and pepper powder and boiling together in honey to make a syrup. It adds that you should take it every evening and morning. 

Dr Kathryn Maude (pictured) unearthed two 15th century prescriptions in the papers of King Henry VI. One was for soothing a head cold, the other for clearing congestion

Dr Philippa Kaye tried the King’s recipe clearing congestion herself and claimed the combination of steam and mustard cleared her sinuses, but also made her eyes stream and gave her a headache

Dr Phillipa said that although the combination of the steam with the mustard definitely felt like it might clear your sinuses, it also made her eyes stream and seemed to give her a headache

However, notes taken from a medical manuscript written in the Middle Ages called the Leiden Leechbook has some rather bizarre recipes.

One suggests people with a headache should boil and eat the head of an owl and another suggests mixing goat excrement with vinegar and smearing it on your forehead. 

Although you should not rely on any of these strange methods at home if you feel ill, the remedies that  involve breathing in a steamy brew or drinking a sweet syrup may have a soothing effect.

London-based GP Dr Philippa Kaye tried the King’s recipe for clearing congestion herself and claimed the combination of steam and mustard cleared her sinuses, but also made her eyes stream and gave her a headache. 

Dr Kaye said: ‘The benefits of steam inhalation are well known: it helps loosen mucus in the nose and sinuses, eases a sore throat and hoarseness, although you can achieve these effects over a bowl or pan of hot water.’

Professor Ron Eccles, an expert in biosciences at Cardiff University, and the former director of its Common Cold Centre, also says hot steam or a warm sweet drink can help a cold. 

He once studied the effects of consuming a comforting hot drink on a stuffy nose.

The 2008 study found drinking hot blackcurrant cordial provides immediate relief from a runny nose, cough, sneezing, sore throat, chilliness and tiredness.

In contrast, a room temperature drink only relieved symptoms of a runny nose, cough and sneezing.

Professor Eccles expects any hot sweet drink to have the same effect.

He believes the steam in the hot drink can soften and break down mucus, making it easier to breathe. It also reduces the swelling of a sore throat, but experts aren’t completely sure why.

A warm shower or steaming bath will likely have the same effects — relieving nasal congestion, a cough and sore throat, explains Professor Eccles.

He has also previously told MailOnline that a hot sweet drink, such as a cup of honey with lemon or blackcurrant, is a simple way of relieving the symptoms of a cough and sore throat.

He added that such a beverage works because it promotes salivation which soothes the throat.