Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Old Fashioned Mustard Plaster for helping drain congestion

My 9 month old got a nasty virus that filled her head with much drainage and resulted in a horrible ear infection.  She has trouble sleeping, not only from the ear pain, but also because when she lays down she begins to cough and choke horribly on the drainage.  I took her to the chiropractor today and he said he could feel a lot of drainage in her head and ears and gave me this recipe to put on her upper chest to help drain it down:

1 part Mustard powder
1 part Baking soda
3 parts flour
enough water to make a paste

I love recipes that are so simple!  He said that for the baby, I should wrap it up in a hankie, with just one layer between her and the plaster, and zip her up in a sleep-in-play so that she can't reach it and get it everywhere.  For older children and adults, however, I could just apply it directly to the skin.  A person should try it on a small part of the skin first, though, to make sure it doesn't irritate it as it is a "hot" compress and could bother sensitive skin.  Leave it on for about 10 minutes and it can really make a difference.

I was amazed that I could "feel" the heat coming off it when I mixed it up for my baby.  A little bit leaked out of the hankie and got on her skin and it was red and seemed to annoy her, so I would personally recommend not putting it directly on the skin.  A hankie works well if you can get it to stay put.  She also seemed really bothered by it after only about 7 minutes so I took it off early.  But the plaster definitely seems to do its job!

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