Islamic Medicine

The Islamic Golden Age (8th to 14th centuries) saw advances in medical knowledge with physicians like Avicenna (Ibn Sina), who authored “The Canon of Medicine,” a medical encyclopedia that influenced Europe for centuries.

Avicenna recommended various treatments for cough, emphasizing the importance of diet, herbal remedies, and lifestyle. Ingredients such as licorice, hyssop, and marshmallow root were commonly used.

He also introduced the idea of balancing the four humors—blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile—as a basis for treatment, a concept inherited from Greek medicine.

With the revival of scientific inquiry in the Renaissance, medical understanding began to shift from humoral theory toward anatomical and physiological explanations.

Herbal medicine remained dominant, with herbal compendia cataloging hundreds of plants used to treat cough and respiratory illnesses. For example, lungwort (pulmonaria) was believed to benefit the lungs.

Syrups, lozenges, and inhalations became popular, using combinations of honey, herbs, and sometimes opiates like opium for cough suppression. shutdown123