I just applied a comfrey leaf poultice on my ankle and then sat down, opened my mail and found this article! It's been part of my regiment since I broke my fibula, slipping in the snow and landing on and spraining my foot and ankle. Thanks for reminding us of Jethro Kloss.
Grandma taught me bread and milk poultice for scrapes/cuts that become infected. Scald the milk, drop in one slice white bread to sog up as the milk cools. Try to use as hot as you can stand. Lay the soggy bread directly over the scrape, then a clean cloth, then I wrap in saran to keep it moist and stop leaking everywhere. Leave on overnight and the bread pulls the pus goop out. It looks pretty disgusting in the morning. Rinse the area and let it dry and scab. Repeat if necessary.
Used it ony kids' scraped knees all the time. Works like a charm.
Sties in the eye? Stroke it with real gold - jewellery or other- daily.
The late Juliette De Bairicli Levy is rightly regarded as a legend in the animal health world She lived among the gypsies - who back then were regarded as the healthiest and most robust of people who never had need of a traditional doctor or their wares for people or animals - for many years and was able to gather and record healing knowledge that may otherwise have been lost.
She passed about 10 years ago at 93 and has been published since the 50's. The Complete Herbal Handbook is excellent. All of her books are valuable. If you can find old footage of her Afghan Hounds you'll see why - extraordinary beauty, calm, intelligence and health - no vaccines, no vets or anything from a can or packet.
Her use of leaves instead of bandages on wounds is worth knowing. I used it most recently for a wound right to the bone on one of the dogs and barely a scar - a more conventional friend was incredulous: "Are you sure it was on that leg? I can't see it."
We're brainwashed into regarding pharmaceuticals as the Big Guns, oh, and, the doctor knows far more than us even though the iatrogenesis figures say otherwise ( the second largest cause of death in the US). The fact that health was the woman's department doesn't help, either - just ask any (surviving) descendant of Wicca. Hospitals have their place - I'm heading for emergency in the case of serious accident - but I'm heading out as fast as I can, too, and using nature to do the job, as I always have. As WE always did for centuries.
Unbekoming is doing a great job in restoring our power and independence - thanks.
I mention this daily routine which I have done for many years.
My ears accumulate ear wax and years previously, when my ears became blocked from wax I would go to my doctor to have my ears pressure washed to remove the wax buildup.
Now I use a dry cotton bud. Gently insert the cotton bud into your ear and revolve in there, to pick up any wax accumulation - use one end of the cotton bud for one ear and the other end for the other ear, same as with Styes as mentioned below.
The dry cotton bud removes wax buildup and ensures good hearing too.
Just take it very gently, because if you do it hard, it really hurts and use new clean cotton buds until they come out clean = job done.
Unbekoming, thanks for the poultice information. It was very interesting to learn what simple foods can do; instead of running to a drugstore to pay for products that contain side effects...one doesn't need.
Fantastic to hear about this book again. I know I have it somewhere in storage, must get it out and read it again.
Garlic poultice can be used for skin cancer type things, just be careful as it can burn surrounding skin. It takes a few days. This comes from my hungarian friend who was told by a doctor she had skin cancer and instead of getting it checked out by a specialist got rid of it herself using garlic.
She also told me sour cherries for measles. Egg white and honey for coughs when it is heavy in the chest.
Styes in your eyelids. These are caused when the oil and water glands behind your eyelashes become blocked, an infection sets in, in the eyelid, which in turn causes a boil in your eyelid, which transforms your face and makes you feel quite ugly and can be on the inside of your eyelid, or the outside of it.
When you are getting a Stye, it feels like an electric shock through your eyelid.
Doctors wait until the infection becomes a boil, then they inject a numbing agent into your eyelid, which feels like they are injecting into your eyeball, then they turn your eyelid over, around a tool like a pencil and lance and scrape the boil away, putting a cotton pad over your eyelid which seeps "poison" for a day or so and they provide you with antibiotics to let the damage done, heal naturally and by itself - let me assure you, it is a horrible experience and quite painful and I've had it done several times, before I found a much better way which costs you nothing to do.
Mix one droplet of shampoo in a mug of warm water and use a double ended cotton bud, dipped one end, in the solution, to wipe between your infected eyelid from your nose to your ear. Open up your eyelid with your spare hand, put in the wetted cotton bud, then let your eyelid go and pull back on the cotton bud, the motion wiping both sides of your eyelid at the same time, do several times, to make sure you got the job done first time.
The shampoo water mix acts as a disinfectant and also as a lubricant and it removes the blockage in your eyelid causing the Stye to occur - keep doing it several times daily, until your eyelid returns naturally to its normal shape until the infection is past.
Use the other end of the cotton bud to do the same thing with your other eye, while you are at it.
I have found that the solution, when applied as above to both eyes, goes around the eyeball, cleaning the back of the eyeball where "junk" accumulates, keeping your eyeballs in a good condition.
As a quick poultice for an ingrown toenail I have used the white toothpaste which comes in a tube.
Put a liberal coating over the infected toe, then wrap toilet paper around it and put your foot in a sock and leave overnight. In the morning your toe will have shrunk back to normal size and the spur which became an ingrown toenail is exposed. Cut your toenail above the spur and gently pull the nail on that side back, past the ingrown toenail to remove it and the problem.
I see a Podiatrist now, but sometimes he leave a slight spur which I manually remove, before it becomes an issue.
This is a phenomenal insight, reminding me, in the early sixties, the local chemist had many bottles on the shelves, all similar if not the same, with hand written labels. Remember going in there with mum, who would explain to either Mr or Mrs Priestley, the trauma, the injury, or the pain; what isn't recalled, is suffering more than a day.
By time, I am mother to a 2 year old, early 1990's, we visit mum's cousin, who regularly visited Australia to see her son; my little one came in from the back garden, showing what appeared to be an insect bite. Quickly, we were introduced to Tea Tree Oil, we were blessed. Tea tree is in a corner in almost every room to this day, especially during a hot summer. Simple, effective and many uses.
I'm unable to find LULU to buy the listed books. Is there a link? There are so many LULUs on the net. Are there specific links to each book? Also does anyone have a link to the APP for unbekoming please. I can't find it in the google playstore.
Unbekoming, thanks for a great piece on poultices. I have successfully used them many times. I found the onion poultice particularly helpful for breaking up bronchitis and of course comfrey is a must for any kind of tissue and bone healing.
Please don't recommend slippery elm. It is very endangered and there are other plants that work just as well. Go to United Plant Savers to learn more.
The great thing about poultices is that many of the most effective plans we can easily grow such as plantain, burdock and comfrey.
Meant to include clay as a poultice and much more. Raymond Dextreit - "Our Earth Our Cure". Good for critters as it adheres to places a bandage isn't possible.
I married into an Irish family. Have been to Eire on many occasions. If you know an English or Scottish potato, the white flesh, sometimes with a red skin, they are used for mashing (the preferred Irish way), roasting, baking and chipping. Go for organic!
Potatoes are a staple in most homes here!
Corned beef, cabbage and mash is the favourite traditional, Irish meal. Maybe in England, fish and chips.
Well, I am glad you like the potatoes of your in-laws :) But I meant special from a medical perspective, related to the potato poultice mentioned in this article.
The book is still in print, it is available new. When the book I ordered last week arrives, I will order this one! Thanks for the tip Unbekoming.
I just applied a comfrey leaf poultice on my ankle and then sat down, opened my mail and found this article! It's been part of my regiment since I broke my fibula, slipping in the snow and landing on and spraining my foot and ankle. Thanks for reminding us of Jethro Kloss.
Grandma taught me bread and milk poultice for scrapes/cuts that become infected. Scald the milk, drop in one slice white bread to sog up as the milk cools. Try to use as hot as you can stand. Lay the soggy bread directly over the scrape, then a clean cloth, then I wrap in saran to keep it moist and stop leaking everywhere. Leave on overnight and the bread pulls the pus goop out. It looks pretty disgusting in the morning. Rinse the area and let it dry and scab. Repeat if necessary.
Used it ony kids' scraped knees all the time. Works like a charm.
Sties in the eye? Stroke it with real gold - jewellery or other- daily.
The late Juliette De Bairicli Levy is rightly regarded as a legend in the animal health world She lived among the gypsies - who back then were regarded as the healthiest and most robust of people who never had need of a traditional doctor or their wares for people or animals - for many years and was able to gather and record healing knowledge that may otherwise have been lost.
She passed about 10 years ago at 93 and has been published since the 50's. The Complete Herbal Handbook is excellent. All of her books are valuable. If you can find old footage of her Afghan Hounds you'll see why - extraordinary beauty, calm, intelligence and health - no vaccines, no vets or anything from a can or packet.
Her use of leaves instead of bandages on wounds is worth knowing. I used it most recently for a wound right to the bone on one of the dogs and barely a scar - a more conventional friend was incredulous: "Are you sure it was on that leg? I can't see it."
We're brainwashed into regarding pharmaceuticals as the Big Guns, oh, and, the doctor knows far more than us even though the iatrogenesis figures say otherwise ( the second largest cause of death in the US). The fact that health was the woman's department doesn't help, either - just ask any (surviving) descendant of Wicca. Hospitals have their place - I'm heading for emergency in the case of serious accident - but I'm heading out as fast as I can, too, and using nature to do the job, as I always have. As WE always did for centuries.
Unbekoming is doing a great job in restoring our power and independence - thanks.
I mention this daily routine which I have done for many years.
My ears accumulate ear wax and years previously, when my ears became blocked from wax I would go to my doctor to have my ears pressure washed to remove the wax buildup.
Now I use a dry cotton bud. Gently insert the cotton bud into your ear and revolve in there, to pick up any wax accumulation - use one end of the cotton bud for one ear and the other end for the other ear, same as with Styes as mentioned below.
The dry cotton bud removes wax buildup and ensures good hearing too.
Just take it very gently, because if you do it hard, it really hurts and use new clean cotton buds until they come out clean = job done.
Unbekoming, thanks for the poultice information. It was very interesting to learn what simple foods can do; instead of running to a drugstore to pay for products that contain side effects...one doesn't need.
Fantastic to hear about this book again. I know I have it somewhere in storage, must get it out and read it again.
Garlic poultice can be used for skin cancer type things, just be careful as it can burn surrounding skin. It takes a few days. This comes from my hungarian friend who was told by a doctor she had skin cancer and instead of getting it checked out by a specialist got rid of it herself using garlic.
She also told me sour cherries for measles. Egg white and honey for coughs when it is heavy in the chest.
Useful, relevant, timely, and just plainly EXCELLENT.
Fantastic post. Thank you for this.
Styes in your eyelids. These are caused when the oil and water glands behind your eyelashes become blocked, an infection sets in, in the eyelid, which in turn causes a boil in your eyelid, which transforms your face and makes you feel quite ugly and can be on the inside of your eyelid, or the outside of it.
When you are getting a Stye, it feels like an electric shock through your eyelid.
Doctors wait until the infection becomes a boil, then they inject a numbing agent into your eyelid, which feels like they are injecting into your eyeball, then they turn your eyelid over, around a tool like a pencil and lance and scrape the boil away, putting a cotton pad over your eyelid which seeps "poison" for a day or so and they provide you with antibiotics to let the damage done, heal naturally and by itself - let me assure you, it is a horrible experience and quite painful and I've had it done several times, before I found a much better way which costs you nothing to do.
Mix one droplet of shampoo in a mug of warm water and use a double ended cotton bud, dipped one end, in the solution, to wipe between your infected eyelid from your nose to your ear. Open up your eyelid with your spare hand, put in the wetted cotton bud, then let your eyelid go and pull back on the cotton bud, the motion wiping both sides of your eyelid at the same time, do several times, to make sure you got the job done first time.
The shampoo water mix acts as a disinfectant and also as a lubricant and it removes the blockage in your eyelid causing the Stye to occur - keep doing it several times daily, until your eyelid returns naturally to its normal shape until the infection is past.
Use the other end of the cotton bud to do the same thing with your other eye, while you are at it.
I have found that the solution, when applied as above to both eyes, goes around the eyeball, cleaning the back of the eyeball where "junk" accumulates, keeping your eyeballs in a good condition.
As a quick poultice for an ingrown toenail I have used the white toothpaste which comes in a tube.
Put a liberal coating over the infected toe, then wrap toilet paper around it and put your foot in a sock and leave overnight. In the morning your toe will have shrunk back to normal size and the spur which became an ingrown toenail is exposed. Cut your toenail above the spur and gently pull the nail on that side back, past the ingrown toenail to remove it and the problem.
I see a Podiatrist now, but sometimes he leave a slight spur which I manually remove, before it becomes an issue.
This is a phenomenal insight, reminding me, in the early sixties, the local chemist had many bottles on the shelves, all similar if not the same, with hand written labels. Remember going in there with mum, who would explain to either Mr or Mrs Priestley, the trauma, the injury, or the pain; what isn't recalled, is suffering more than a day.
By time, I am mother to a 2 year old, early 1990's, we visit mum's cousin, who regularly visited Australia to see her son; my little one came in from the back garden, showing what appeared to be an insect bite. Quickly, we were introduced to Tea Tree Oil, we were blessed. Tea tree is in a corner in almost every room to this day, especially during a hot summer. Simple, effective and many uses.
I'm unable to find LULU to buy the listed books. Is there a link? There are so many LULUs on the net. Are there specific links to each book? Also does anyone have a link to the APP for unbekoming please. I can't find it in the google playstore.
Unbekoming, thanks for a great piece on poultices. I have successfully used them many times. I found the onion poultice particularly helpful for breaking up bronchitis and of course comfrey is a must for any kind of tissue and bone healing.
Please don't recommend slippery elm. It is very endangered and there are other plants that work just as well. Go to United Plant Savers to learn more.
The great thing about poultices is that many of the most effective plans we can easily grow such as plantain, burdock and comfrey.
Meant to include clay as a poultice and much more. Raymond Dextreit - "Our Earth Our Cure". Good for critters as it adheres to places a bandage isn't possible.
Is there something special about Irish potatoes, or can you use just any potato?
I married into an Irish family. Have been to Eire on many occasions. If you know an English or Scottish potato, the white flesh, sometimes with a red skin, they are used for mashing (the preferred Irish way), roasting, baking and chipping. Go for organic!
Potatoes are a staple in most homes here!
Corned beef, cabbage and mash is the favourite traditional, Irish meal. Maybe in England, fish and chips.
Well, I am glad you like the potatoes of your in-laws :) But I meant special from a medical perspective, related to the potato poultice mentioned in this article.
Haha, sorry! Yes of course, back to science rather than culture.