Eggs have long been regarded as being exceptionally nutritious. Nowadays we tend to eat fewer of them because they are high in cholesterol. In folk remedies, however, they were much valued as an easily digested food for invalids and convalescents to build up their strength.
Raw eggs or very lightly boiled eggs were used as a tonic. Stomach disorders were also treated with eggs in this way, eggs being thought to be helpful in cases of indigestion, constipation and diarrhea.
Various light foods based on eggs, such as eggs custard, were given to invalids. Drinks based on eggs were also given to invalids to give them more strength. These included eggnog, one recipe for which involved beating a egg yolk with milk and then adding some brandy and a beaten egg white. A small amount of lime water was thought to make this more digestible.
Egg white, beaten up in milk, was taken as an antidote to some corrosive poisons.
Eggs were also used externally to soothe the skin. The white of eggs was applied in layers, time being given for each layer to dry, cracked nipples in nursing mothers, to babies' bottoms affected by nappy rash and to the skin of people affected by sunburn.
One cure for burns involved eggs. The whites of eggs were beaten until stiff and spread over the burn.
Another use for eggs was to prevent hair from falling out. In this remedy eggs were beaten, mixed with water and rubbed into the scalp. This was left on overnight and washed out the next morning.
Eggs were also used to shampoo the hair to improve its general condition.
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