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Poultices POULTICES
A poultice is the application, to an affected part, of crushed vegetable matter such as comfrey, potato, charcoal, onion, banana, linseed (flaxseed), slippery elm, etc. Its purpose is to isolate infection and draw off the poisons by absorption. It is used for such things as boils, abscesses, kidney complaints, sore throats, chest congestions, infected toes or fingers, arthritic or rheumatoid joints, etc. You will notice that some conditions covered here are included also in the section on compresses. This is because the effects of the compress and the poultice are similar, but there are times when a warm poultice may be more effectively used as an alternate method of treatment. This is especially true when the complaint has reached a stage that calls for more drastic measures. A compress breaks up congestion and disperses it into the bloodstream, while a poultice breaks up congestion and draws it off through the skin. There are times when it is better to isolate the problem and deal with it without disturbing the eliminative organs of the whole body. The skin is porous, and poisons can be drawn out through it as well as fluids being absorbed by it. This is true to such an extent that the fluid in the tissues can be changed by the particular material used in the poultice.
The poultice is applied much in the same way as the compress, although not quite as much covering is needed over it as with a compress.
General Method:
Make the cloth into a bag or sack, either by sewing or folding. Grate or blend the potato, comfrey, onion—as the case may be—until it is a wet mush. Pour this into the sack or inside the folded cloth. Pat it out to an even thickness and apply it to the area to be treated. Wrap the plastic around this, being careful to turn the edges of the plastic back under about an inch to prevent leakage. Then, bind semi-firmly with the elastic bandage to keep the whole thing in place. The best time to apply this is in the evening because during the night there will be a minimum of movement. Remove it in the morning and replace with a fresh one if further treatment is necessary.
In most cases one application is all that will be needed. But in some instances, the patient's condition will indicate that it should be applied more often. It stands to reason that in an acute situation a poultice is drawing off poisons at a fairly fast rate, and it can only absorb so much. Therefore, in an acute situation, fresh material must be applied about every two hours.
Once a poultice has been used, discard it. It is a mistake to use it over again because the poisons drawn out of the body by it may be re-absorbed by the skin. Do not make up poultices ahead of schedule for use several hours later. This will diminish their effectiveness. The poultice material must be fresh when applied to the affected area if it is to be effective.
It is important to keep the poulticing continuous. While the first one is in place, have a second one in the process of preparation so that it can be applied as soon as the first is removed.
When a poultice is applied cold, the body should be able to bring the material to body temperature in a short time. If this does not happen and there is no warming reaction to the poultice, either place a hot water bottle over the cold poultice in order to help the body to warm it, or replace the poultice with one that can be applied warm. The patient should not feel chills coming from the poultice. Its intent is to bring comfort to the suffering area as well as to accomplish healing.
Sometimes it is good to alternate the substance used in the poultices—-i.e. first a potato poultice, next a charcoal one, then back to potato, etc.
In addition to vegetables, many different herbs are used in poultices. Consequently, study should be given to the various herbs to determine which should be used and when. Following are examples of several herbs and vegetables and some of the problems for which they have been proven useful.
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