Cabbage Poultice

"For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay [it] for a plaster upon the boil, and he shall recover." (Isaiah 38:21)

CABBAGE POULTICE/COMPRESS

Cabbage leaves are good for pain and inflammation, especially in arthritic conditions, abscesses, boils, burns, insect bites, neuralgia, sciatica, muscle aches, pleurisy, liver attacks, intestinal pain, diarrhea, and dysentery.

It is also good for healing wounds and sores, such as in varicose veins, skin eruptions, hemorrhoids, eczema, and even acne.

1. Take 1 or 2 washed and dried cabbage leaves, depending on the size of the area you want to cover. The greener the leaf is, the better. 

2. Cut out the bottom part of the central rib. 

3. Bruise the leaves with rolling pin gently until it is moist. 

4. Warm the leaves by putting them on a cookie sheet in the oven at a temperature of 200° degrees for 1-2 minutes or until warm to touch. 

5. Apply to the area. Cover with a plastic wrap first, then with an elastic bandage. 

6. Leave the poultice on for 6-8 hours or overnight. 

7. For more serious wounds, you may plunge cabbage leaves in boiling water or soak in olive oil for 1 hour to soften, to make it cling better, and to increase antiseptic effect. 

8. You may use it as a compress by chopping the cabbage leaves well. Add Epsom salt (1⁄2 cup for every cup of chopped cabbage). Wrap in muslin, and apply to the painful area after warming it. This compress offers much relief for muscle aches, sciatica, neuralgia, rheumatism, arthritis, pleurisy, and liver attacks. For migraines, apply to brow. For colds or asthma, apply to chest and throat. 

9. When used for wounds, make sure to clean the wound before applying the poultice. 

For this and many other simple natural remedies, be sure to get a copy of God’s Farmacy.  You can visit http://www.meetministry.org/books/God-s-Farmacy for more details.