PTNS-301 Lessons

Diving right into today's lesson, we will discuss allergies and Allergy Elixir. Despite its somewhat misleading name, hay fever does not, in fact, cause a fever of any sort. Hay fever - or allergic rhinitis - affects approximately ten to thirty percent of the population worldwide. This particular type of allergic reaction occurs when animal dander, pollen, dust or other similar possible allergens make their way up into the nasal cavities. This triggers symptoms that can often resemble those of a cold or a feverless flu, including runny nose, nasal congestion and sneezing. Magical as well as non-magical beings and beasts can suffer from this type of allergy, making the change of seasons relatively displeasing for many.

While hay fever can be very distracting to those who suffer from it yearly, it is far less dangerous than other allergies a person may have. Say, for example, peanut allergies, which are occasionally serious enough to be life-threatening. This can cause the person to go into anaphylactic shock, which is caused by a body’s overreaction to the allergen or foreign substance. The body will over-produce antibodies such as immunoglobulin E (IgE) in order to fight an incorrectly-perceived threat to the system. Typically anaphylaxis will cause hives, swelling, decreased blood pressure and severe itchiness. However, in very extreme cases, shock will set in and can even be deadly. Interestingly, the reaction of the body during anaphylaxis is very much like that of the body to less severe allergic reactions, including hay fever!

In the Muggle world, the most common fast-acting treatment for anaphylaxis and to prevent anaphylactic shock is epinephrine, which is essentially adrenaline injected directly into the system. However, in the magical world, we often use potions such as the Allergy Elixir, which directly impacts and controls the IgE antibodies present in the system. The elixir simply mediates and balances the reaction to prevent it from happening further, rather than counteracting and reversing it.

In today’s lab, we will cover a simple Allergy Elixir. This elixir can be used to combat most mild to relatively pronounced mundane allergic reactions. However, in the case of severe allergies, it is always preferable to consult with a healer when exposed to that allergen in order to ensure that there is no permanent damage to the body or systems. In some cases this is impossible, of course, and this potion is often very effective in emergency situations when healers cannot be called. Most often, this potion will, in fact, be the first that a healer will administer when seeing a patient suffering from allergies, although they may follow up with other balancing potions after the allergic reaction has been contained.

This particular elixir was discovered in 1893 by Alexandros Papadakis, a potioneer from Peyia, Cyprus. At the time of his discovery of the potion, Papadakis was traveling through Spain during prime hay fever season, and was having a terrible time of it. Billywig stings were not as popular in the nineteenth century as they are today, owing to the relatively recent British colonization of the Australian continent, and were almost never used outside of England. In the very first incarnation of this potion, Papadakis used nettles and a very, very small pinch of ground butterfly wings instead. He soon learned that this was not as effective as Billywig stings, and in 1898 he modified the recipe to be identical to the one that we are brewing today.

Allergy Elixir

Estimated Brewing Time:
Pewter cauldron: 1 hour and 50 seconds
Brass cauldron: 55 minutes and 20 seconds
Copper cauldron: 50 minutes and 23 seconds

Ingredients:
1 L of water
4 dried Billywig stings
1 mandrake root
3 tablespoons of eucalyptus oil
2 tablespoons of honey
6 fairy wings
3 eel eyes
Optional: 2 tablespoons of Flobberworm mucus

Instructions:

Part One:

1. Add 1 L of water and bring the heat to 363 Kelvin (90°C/194°F).
2. Add three fairy wings and four dried Billywig stings to your mortar and crush them into a fine and even powder.
3. Add two tablespoons of this powder to the cauldron.
4. Add one tablespoon of eucalyptus oil.
5. Stir once clockwise.
6. Add two tablespoons of honey.
7. Bring the heat up to 383 Kelvin (110°C/230°F) for 35 seconds, and then reduce heat again to 363 Kelvin (90°C/194°F).
8. Add the three remaining, unground fairy wings to the cauldron.
9. Stir four times counter-clockwise.
10. Leave potion to brew in your pewter cauldron for 30 minutes. (This would be 27 minutes in a brass cauldron and 24 minutes and 18 seconds in a copper cauldron.)

At this point, the potion should be a deep navy blue, and the steam it gives off should not be any particular discernible color.

While the potion is brewing, please take your mandrake root and slice it crosswise. Your pieces should be approximately 8 mm or one-third of an inch in width.

Part Two:

1. Add one sliced mandrake root to the cauldron.
2. Add three eel eyes to the cauldron.
3. Bring the heat up to 383 Kelvin (110°C/230°F) for 15 seconds, and then reduce heat again to 363 Kelvin (90°C/194°F).
4. Stir once counter-clockwise.
5. Add two tablespoons of eucalyptus oil.
6. Stir three times clockwise.
7. Leave potion to brew in your pewter cauldron for 25 minutes. (This would be 22 minutes and 30 seconds in a brass cauldron and 20 minutes and 15 seconds in a copper cauldron.)

If brewed correctly, the potion should now be a reddish-orange color that emits a pale green steam. It will have a slightly mentholated smell to it. 

Remove the cauldron and allow the contents to cool for 5 minutes.  At this point you have the option to add in two tablespoons of Flobberworm mucus. Mix in with a wooden spoon to ensure even consistency. It is up to the individual to choose how thick he or she wants the consistency of this potion to be.

To Store:
This particular allergy recipe stores best in a tinted vial, if possible, and should be stored in a dark, cool place. The recipe is only good for up to five months before it starts losing its efficacy, so check the dates on your vials regularly to make sure the potion has not expired before consumption.

To Use:
To use, about a tablespoon of the elixir can either be ingested straight or can be added to tea or another beverage. When consumed independently, this elixir has a bit of a musty grass and peppermint flavor, so it isn’t dreadful to consume on its own. This potion is not terribly effective on rashes or other external allergic reactions, so other allergy creams and ointments should be used in the case of such a reaction. The relief from allergic reaction usually lasts a little over one day, and it can be taken daily to alleviate symptoms. It can also be taken either before or right after exposure to briefer, more severe allergic reactions, such as being stung by a bee or bitten by another insect to which the user is allergic. 

Those with more severe allergies may carry a very small, sealed vial of the elixir on them in case of exposure to the allergen. They will often inform friends and family of the allergy as well as proper administration procedure should they become incapacitated by the allergic reaction.

Caution:
This recipe is relatively harmless, and has been approved even for the very young, the very old and those who are pregnant. However, over-consumption of the elixir in a twenty-four hour period may cause dizziness, lightheadedness, pounding heart and jitteriness, so be cautious when consuming. These may also be present in much milder forms as standard side effects to this elixir, so be careful when operating a broom or other magical devices after consumption. In very rare cases, an allergic reaction in the form of a blue or green rash will appear on the skin, particularly the face and the neck. If this occurs, it should not be of extreme concern, but it is wise to consult with a healer and weigh the options of alternative elixirs and potions that will not cause similar aesthetically displeasing reactions.

Rashes, Burns and Sores
Although allergies are most often associated with sneezing, coughing, difficulty breathing and similar cold and flu-like symptoms, they can often manifest as allergic rashes or hives. Hives are swollen, red bumps that emerge on the skin that usually itch, but can also cause pain or a burning sensation. They occur when small amounts of blood plasma leak out of blood vessels in the skin in response to the release of histamine. The role of histamine in an allergic or pathogenic reaction is to make it easier for things to pass through or cross capillary walls. This allows white blood cells and other cells and chemicals involved in fighting invasive presences easier passage to reach the site.

As mentioned in the lab, the Allergy Elixir is not intended for topical use, but rather to fight the internal reaction that causes allergic symptoms. Typically allergy ointments and allergy creams can be used topically. These often use ground butterfly wings, dragonfly thoraxes and occasionally boomslang skin, as well as other soothing ingredients, such as Eucalyptus and menthol. Certain fruit juices are occasionally utilized in these ointments as well. Some of these creams and elixirs will utilize Shrivelfigs and dittany as well, of course. The proper treatment method is to clean the site of the allergen, and if the skin is broken, to ensure that all fragments of stinger, tooth, or other invasive particles are removed from the area. The ointment should then be applied and bandaged while it heals. 

While antihistamines, or mundane drugs that block the effects of histamines, are often used by non-magical people in order to provide ease and remedy in a case of allergic reaction, these often take several days in order to fully clear up the affliction. However, the ointments used by healers can clean up standard allergic reactions in ten to fifteen minutes. More complicated magical allergic rashes can take repeated treatments over the course of several days, as well as special rehydrating potions with vitamin compounds. Even with these precautions taken, there may still be residual effects from the reaction. This includes spontaneously bursting into song, unintentional limb twitches and releasing bubbles through the nostrils or out of the throat. 

There are also rashes that are caused through irritants. Acids and alkaline materials are often the primary cause of rashes of this nature. This can include certain types of pesticides, hair dyes, detergents and other substances. In this case, the body is not having an allergic reaction, but rather the irritating substance is killing off the top layer of skin cells, and often causing damage and burns. Following the damage to the skin, the body may react in a way that causes mild edema, which we studied last year as well.

The most important thing to do in the case of irritant contact rashes is to ensure that the cause of irritation is thoroughly cleaned or removed. Once the area has been cleaned and sterilized, a topical salve, often using Dittany, lionfish spines and crushed butterfly wings, may be applied to the affected area, which should then be covered until the rash has disappeared. 

Similar creams and ointments are often used for burns, including not only sunburns, but also burns that come from magical fire, such as dragon’s fire. Both chemical and heat burns involve damage to the top - and occasionally deeper - layers of skin. However, in the case of chemical burns and irritation, if the substance is not cleaned from the area, it will continue to inflict damage on the tissues.

One very important mundane ingredient when it comes to easing sore throats, soothing the skin, and treating burns, rashes, mild cuts, bug bites and stings is witch hazel, which comes from the bark and leaves of the North American witch hazel shrub. It is also good for clearing aesthetic issues, such as shrinking swollen veins, easing bruises and also brightening the area under the eyes. This ingredient can also be used alongside many other bruise, burn and rash-healing remedies to ease itching and burning. Although it is still important to verify with a healer whether witch hazel will interact negatively with any topical or ingested potions you may be using, there are very few substances with which it will interact poorly. This is another ingredient that would be good to keep in your potions cabinet on a regular basis.

The last skin-based affliction we’ll discuss today is skin ulcers or sores. Skin ulcers are most often caused by poor circulation, and will often manifest through external pressure, such as constantly sitting in a wheelchair or lying in a bed. When a magical or non-magical person is bedridden for an extended period, it is not uncommon to hear that they have developed something known as bedsores, which are not too different from any other skin ulcers, except that they’re notoriously caused by the pressure of lying in one position on a bed for a long time. Viral infections and other maladies can also cause these ulcers.

Typically, these sores will appear as “craters” in the skin, with a central layer of skin that has eroded, often through poor circulation as mentioned above. There is not adequate blood to get to that portion of the body, so the skin begins to disintegrate. Most often, you will see somewhat superficial skin ulcers that only impact top layers of the skin. However, when untreated, these ulcers can get much deeper, lead to infection, and eventually to gangrene, which is when a major portion of tissue in one section of the body dies entirely. I recommend not looking for pictures of this if you are at all queasy: it is exactly as terrible as you would expect it to be. In the non-magical world - and even often in the magical world- this leads to necessarily amputation of the limb or part of the body impacted by gangrene.

In the magical world, there are some potions that can help restore dead tissue and regrow it in order to save the limb. If gangrene has set in too badly, however, then even witches and wizards may be forced to undergo amputation. There are Flesh-Rejuvenation Potions as well as Skin-Growing Solutions, but these kinds of potions should only be brewed and administered by an advanced healer who has ample knowledge of when this type of potion is appropriate to use, and when a limb has been lost entirely to infection and dead tissue. The effects of such potions, while better than the alternative, are also rather painful and unpleasant, causing burning and pain as the flesh is being regrown.

Lacerations and Bone Breaks
There are two types of lacerations: those made by mundane objects and those made by magical ones. Superficially, the same potions can be used to treat the external damage, regardless of how many layers of skin are broken. These potions work to rebuild and repair the tissue. When a person is cut, first the impacted blood vessels constrict in order to prevent too much blood loss. Then platelets and clotting proteins rush to the scene to clog and repair any holes made in the blood vessel.

Cut-healing potions usually aid in the subsequent steps, assisting white blood cells in fighting any germs or infectious particles that may have entered the cut when it was sustained and also assisting fibroblasts, which aid in the creation of skin and other tissue, in reconstructing the area that was injured as quickly as possible. Potions speed up the body’s capability to produce these new capillaries, blood vessels (as necessary) and skin in order to ensure a healing that takes a far shorter period than mundane methods. That said, it is still crucial, even when taking potions to heal lacerations, to keep the area clean and without infection, as potions will not necessarily prevent all external intrusion.

When dealing with magical lacerations, it is important to treat the magic present in the charmed or enchanted object that inflicted the wound as though it is a particularly insidious type of infection. Even when the cut has been caused by a spell wielded in dueling, residual magical energy can still be found in those lacerations and can lead to dangerous complications in the future if not treated. Much the same way infections can begin in one part of the body and spread throughout, causing terrible damage, magical “infections” can do the same. If the wound is not examined for magical residue as well as non-magical infectious material, the infection can take hold of the victim and make them terribly sick or even gradually kill them.

Potions that deal with negating these effects of magically-inflicted wounds often use moths, which provide a neutralizing damper for such magic. Some older potions will actually use powdered rose quartz in the recipe, which is said to not only dissipate negative magical effects, but also increase positive magical attributes. There has not been any definitive proof either way to support or refute this theory.

However, even when a person has been properly treated with potions for negative magical effects affiliated with cuts or lacerations, it is crucial to monitor their recovery, as many negative magical energies can be harder to spot than non-magical infections. 

Potions are typically not used to set broken bones, as charms and non-magical means are perfectly adequate for this. However, there are some potions (as well as charms) that allow healers to perform what is known in the non-magical world as an x-ray without needing to utilize the complex Muggle machines and potentially harmful radiation associated with it. Many healers avoid using these potions, as they are rather unpleasant to taste and broken bones or dislocated joints can often be set and healed without their use. However, when faced with complicated fractures, occasionally healers will utilize these potions.

Once taken, this X-Ray Potion allows a selective translucency to the skin in local areas when combined with a simple charm. It usually lasts between forty-five minutes and one hour, or it can be ended with the use of a counter charm or Finite Incantatem. The potion is useful not only for assessing broken bones, but it can also be used to a limited degree to see damage to organs and muscle tissues.

As mentioned, simple charms and other spells are typically used to set broken bones. However, there are bone repairing potions that speed the time it takes for bones to knit and repair. There are also bone strengthening potions that increase the durability of bones after they have been repaired. These potions often contain ingredients such as Chinese Chomping Cabbage, scarab beetles and snake fangs.

In some cases, when crushed bones are beyond simple repair, the healer may need to use Skele-Gro in order to repair the bones. As unpleasant and painful as this potion is, it has been known to save the life of many witches and wizards who would have otherwise been beyond help. Administration of the potion results in the patient feeling as though a million splinters are lodged in the body part that is re-growing bones. This is a rather accurate description of what is actually happening as well, as many tiny splinters of bone are growing and fusing together. This potion does feature Chinese Chomping Cabbage and scarab beetles, as well as pufferfish, powdered sulfur, jellyfish, Essence of Dittany and other ingredients.

Even after using Skele-Gro or other bone repairing potions, it is crucial to ensure the body is receiving proper calcium, silicon, copper and other vital nutrients that go into bone growth and maintenance, otherwise the bones could become brittle and break more easily.

Next week will be the midterm and I expect all of you to study thoroughly. We will cover all of the information we discussed thus far, and I will include a brief passage about the profession of magical surgeons and the potions that they use. Have a look over all your notes in order to prepare and I will see all of you next week!

Dismissed.

Original lesson written by Professor Lucrezia Batyaeva
Image credits here, here and to Wikimedia Commons