Reviving the Art of Poulticing :: Holistic Healing

Reviving the Art of Poulticing
by author Keith Stelling, MNIMH

To our fast world of instant fixes, herbal poulticing may seem outdated and hardly worth the trouble required for preparation, but it can save time in the long run.

Once, while still a student of herbal medicine in England, I was stung by a bee. I was working on a herb farm in the depths of the Sussex countryside. The bee was exceptionally vicious and was undoubtedly protesting at the loud noise and smell of the lawn mower which disturbed his hive. The last time I had been stung by a bee, the bite had swollen to an enormous size even after administering slow acting antihistamines. "The next time this happens it could be fatal!" warned the old family doctor at that time. "You should get to a hospital as fast as you can."

Sure enough, my arm continued to swell but the hospital was 20 miles away and I didn’t have a car. Then I remembered chickweed. It’s called Stellaria media because of its tiny white star-like flowers. It’s also recognized by the little row of hairs that grow along one side of the stem. I crushed some between my fingers and applied the juice firmly on the bite for about 20 minutes. The fiery sting cooled almost at once and the swelling went down. After another 20 minute treatment, there was no evidence of the sting.

Chickweed draws the bee venom out of tissues and saves the body the much more costly process of putting up an allergic response. Applying this simple herbal poultice on an insect bite as soon as it occurs is much more efficient than injecting antihistamines after an allergic reaction is in full swing. It also effectively prevents the possibility of an anaphylactic shock. Chickweed can be used in the same way for removing slivers or broken glass. Plantain or ribwort (Plantago major or Plantago lanceolata) can also be used the same way. It’s less easy to crush but once you chew it a little, it works almost as effectively as chickweed.

Burn Out

Herbal poultices were relied on in our grandparent’s day to ward off more life threatening afflictions like pleurisy, bronchitis and pneumonia. An old stand-by was the mustard poultice which was thought to "burn out" a pulmonary infection. The 1867 British Pharmacopoeia lists the instructions for making a Cataplasm sinapsis or poultice. Two and a half ounces of powdered linseed (flax seed) is mixed with two and a half ounces of powdered mustard and hot water is added to make a paste. Put the linseed, into a coffee grinder for a minute to bruise the seed sufficiently to improve its drawing qualities.

Mustard can be obtained at the grocery store where it is still sold in little tin boxes. This mixture is then applied to a clean cotton cloth and placed face down on the chest over the lung and bronchial area. Do not leave it on the skin too long. Three to five minutes is enough for the first treatment. Make sure that all mustard is washed off. Keep the patient warm during the whole process.

Between poultices, oil of eucalyptus can be massaged on the chest, helping to disinfect the lungs. Yarrow, elderflower and peppermint tea breaks up catarrhal congestion.

Comfrey Poultice for Broken Bones

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Keith Stelling, MNIMH, Dip Phyt, is an herbalist with a holistic approach. He is retired and lives in Southampton, ON.

Source: alive #216, October 2000

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