When I was a child, i was often bed-ridden with The Croup, which has been re-christened Laryngo-tracheo-bronchitis Today's puffers and steroids were not yet invented, so the remedy of choice in that era was the Brown Paper Mustard Plaster wrapped in Red Flannel Cloth and placed on the chest, under one's pyjama-top or bed jacket, This would be in the 1940s and earlier.
It was concocted in the following manner:
1 or 2 tablespoon(s) English Mustard Powder stirred into warm water, then applied as a paste to a double-thick sheet of Brown Paper. This was the Mustard Plaster.
The coated plaster was then folded a couple of times and wrapped in a Red Flannel Cloth.
The red flannel was then placed directly on the skin and left to "heat" the affected chest, neck and bronchial area of the sick child.
In severe cases, the Brown Paper Mustard Plaster was applied directly to the chest (for short intervals) without the flannel. It was not easy to tolerate. But most of the time, the plaster was wrapped in red flannel cloth.
To a degree, this remedy was helpful in "breaking up" the croup in the throat and bronchial passages, but it was always hot and burning to the skin, which invariably became exquisitely tender, raw and inflamed.
Today's meds are in a different league from this old remedy in dealing with such problems, but, without today's meds and methods, it got one through some difficult breathing episodes. The Mustard Plaster remedy came from my great grandmother. But its origins are lost in time.
When I was a child, i was often bed-ridden with The Croup, which has been re-christened Laryngo-tracheo-bronchitis Today's puffers and steroids were not yet invented, so the remedy of choice in that era was the Brown Paper Mustard Plaster wrapped in Red Flannel Cloth and placed on the chest, under one's pyjama-top or bed jacket, This would be in the 1940s and earlier.
It was concocted in the following manner:
1 or 2 tablespoon(s) English Mustard Powder stirred into warm water, then applied as a paste to a double-thick sheet of Brown Paper. This was the Mustard Plaster.
The coated plaster was then folded a couple of times and wrapped in a Red Flannel Cloth.
The red flannel was then placed directly on the skin and left to "heat" the affected chest, neck and bronchial area of the sick child.
In severe cases, the Brown Paper Mustard Plaster was applied directly to the chest (for short intervals) without the flannel. It was not easy to tolerate. But most of the time, the plaster was wrapped in red flannel cloth.
To a degree, this remedy was helpful in "breaking up" the croup in the throat and bronchial passages, but it was always hot and burning to the skin, which invariably became exquisitely tender, raw and inflamed.
Today's meds are in a different league from this old remedy in dealing with such problems, but, without today's meds and methods, it got one through some difficult breathing episodes. The Mustard Plaster remedy came from my great grandmother. But its origins are lost in time.