Page 165 - The Lost Ways

also derived from poppy seeds). Poultices may be seen to be “folk medicine,” but they
work in similar ways to modern medicine, and from my own experience, for certain
ailments, they do just as good a job.

What Is a Poultice?

A poultice is a topical application, often heated, that is used to treat wounds and sores.

The base of a poultice is often bread—like the ones my mother and grandmother would
use. But bran and other similar cereals can also be used as the base.

The Native Americans would use mashed pumpkin instead of bread. The poultice
ingredients would be heated, often in milk, and the warm mash would be wrapped
around the affected area using some sort of cloth—my grandmother would use rough
linen or gauze.

I have a book dated 1794 and called
Medicine Made of English Herbs. The
famous English herbalist, Culpepper,
wrote it.

The book has a small chapter on

poultices, and I will quote you a little
piece from that explaining what a
poultice is and what it is used for
(note that the book is written in old
English using F instead of S, so I will
translate into our more modern
spelling):

“Poultices are those kinds of things
which the Latins call Cataplasmata,
and our learned fellows, that if you
can read English, that’s all, call them
Cataplasms, because it is a crabbed
word few understand; it is indeed a
very fine kind of medicine to ripen
sores.”

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