Mustard Poultice

Ingredients

• mustard
• meal
• white of an egg

Method

1. 1

   Mix mustard with equal parts of meal.

2. 2

   For quicker results, mix with the white of an egg to avoid blistering.

As published

This recipe was extracted from The household (of the Detroit free press) (1886) by Goff, May Perrin,, page 221. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

meal, will give an appetite and often throw off fever, if taken in time (an ounce of pre- ventive is worth a pound of cure any time) and when a person has a bad taste in the mouth, feels a loss of ambition, chills creeping over them, and a desire to yawn often, there is nothing better than quinine taken as directed above. Always take a mild cathartic at the time ; this will cleanse the system ofttimes, without the aid of other medicines. There is nothing better for a cut than powdered rosin. Get a few cents worth of rosin, pound it until it is fine, and put it in an empty, clean pepper or spice box with perforated top ; then you can easily sift it out on the cut, put a soft cloth around the injured member and wet it with cold water once in a while. It will prevent inflammation and soreness. SIMPLE REMEDIES IN SICKNESS. 251 In doing" up a burn the main point is to keep the air from it. If sweet oil and cotton are not at hand, take a cloth and spread dry flour over it, and wrap the burned part in it. It is always well to have some simple remedies in the house where you can get them without a moment's loss of time ; a little bottle of peppermint, in case of colic, chlorate of potash for sore throat, pepsin for indigestion, and a bottle of brandy. Very few persons are aware what a valuable auxiliary turpentine is in many diseases. It is a sovereign remedy for croup. Saturate a ^piece of flannel in it, and place the flannel on the throat and chest and occa- sionally two or three drops on a lump of sugar may be taken inwardly. Nothing better than turpentine can be applied to a severe cut or bruise, and it will give certain relief almost instantly. Let any one who has an attack of lockjaw take a small quantity of turpentine, warm it and pour on the wound, no matter where it is, and relief will follow in less than a minute. Flannel cloth wrung out of turpentine into hot water, as hot as the patient can bear, is one of the best of remedies for inflammation. Hops, also, have many uses. A handful of them steeped in a quart bowl (always steep in earthen) of water until the strength is extracted, strained and sweetened with loaf sugar, and bottled for use, is as good or better than any hop bitters ever purchased. Dose, one wineglassful taken three times a day is a good anti-bilious alterative and tonic for ordinary family purposes. For outward application, make some small bags of cotton six inches square and fill with hops. When the face aches, or the head is in pain, or the throat and chest are sore, heat one or more of these bags very hot, up to scorching the cloth even, and apply to the suffering part. It is a great improvement on wet cloths, or wet applications of any kind. Keep rolls of old pieces of cotton, woolen and linen for use in the sickroom. In times of health always be prepared and preparing for sickness and accident with all things needful. SIMPLE REMEDIES IN SICKNESS. One of the most common applications is that of a poultice. Most people think that they know how to make and apply them, but there are very few who are adepts at it. They are used to arrest inflamma- tions and allay the attendant pain, also, in cases of wounds, abscesses, boils, etc., to facilitate the passage of matter to the surface and its expulsion. The object of a poultice is to supply heat and moisture, therefore, they should be applied as hot as can be borne, and should be frequently changed ; the old poultice not being removed until the new one is ready to replace it. When the application is to be made to a boil, it is better to cover the boil with a piece of opium plaster with a circular hole cut in it, and apply the poultice over the plaster, or smear 252 MEDICAL. the edge of the inflamed part with a little zinc ointment. The object being to protect the adjacent tissues from the action of the poultice, which has a tendency to develop fresh boils. They should be spread upon a warm cloth, and the part coming next to the skin should be covered with very thin gauze or muslin, so that it will not stick to the surface and can be removed all at once. When a poultice is applied, cover it with oil silk, rubber cloth or flannel. Keep it firmly fastened to the place it is intended to cover, and replace it with a fresh one before it gets cold. Poultices are made of various substances ; the most common are lin- seed meal, elm bark, bread, etc. To make a linseed meal poultice, rinse a bowl or basin with boiling water to heat it ; then pour in sufficient boiling water ; with one hand sprinkle the meal into the bowl and with the other stir the mixture constantly with a spoon until sufficient meal has been added to make a thin and smooth dough. This should be done rapidly, otherwise the poultice will cool in making. The meal should always be added to the water with constant stirring, for if the water be added to the meal the two ingredients will not be well blended and a lumpy mass will result. To make a bread poultice, cut stale bread into thick slices, and pour enough boiling water over it to cover ; place by the fire and allow it to simmer for a short time ; then strain off the excess of water and spread on a hot cloth. When it is desired to produce a strong counter-irritation, a poultice of mustard mixed with equal parts of meal is a good application. By mixing the mustard with the white of an egg

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.