Fresh Medicinal Poultice
When you have a cut, injury, bite, sting, look around your yard for one of the following weeds.
Plaintain (Plantago spp) - vulnerary, antimicrobal, mildly hemostatic, anti-inflammatory, rubefacient
Yarrow (Achillea millefloium) - hemostat, vulneary, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory
Chickweed (Stellaria media) - anti-inflammatory, vulnerary, pruritic
Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) - vulnerary (this one can be somewhat irritating due to the roughness of the leaf when applied directly. It can be best to make an infusion and apply this along with your other poultice plants.)
You can prepare your poultice immediately in the field by chewing the herb into a mash, and applying to your injury. You can also take the herbs back home and chop them up and apply them after adding a little water.
Onion Poultice
Chop 2-3 onions well, and mash them if you can. Place these in a bandana, cheesecloth, old pillow case, whatever you have. Apply directly to bites, stings, bolts, or areas of deeper inflammation where you want to draw the inflammation up and out. Injuries respond well to an onion poultice.
Cover the onion poultice with a dish towel or plastic bag, and place a hot water bottle over the top to increase the effectiveness of the poultice.
Apply for as long as is comfortable, the compounds within onion that are rubefacient and antimicrobial will break down after 1-2 hours.
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