Poultice
Origin
Middle English pultes, from Medieval Latin, literally, pap, from Latin, plural of pult-, puls porridge
Definition
- 1: a soft usually heated and sometimes medicated mass spread on cloth and applied to sores or other lesions
Description
A poultice, also called cataplasm, is a soft moist mass, often heated and medicated, that is spread on cloth over the skin to treat an aching, inflamed, or painful part of the body. It can be used on wounds such as cuts. It can also be a porous solid filled with solvent used to remove stains from porous stone such as marble or granite.
- Some Native Americans used mashed pumpkin as a poultice.
- In addition to bread and cereals, bran may also be used as a poultice because of its absorbent quality. It is packed into the wound and then covered with a piece of sacking or similar material before being bandaged onto the site of the wound.
- There are also many commercial poultices that are ready-made. Some of these may be labeled as "drawing salves".
- Ash poultices can cause a chemical burn.
A poultice is a common treatment used on horses to relieve inflammation. It is usually used on the lower legs, under a stable bandage, to focus treatment on the easily-injured tendons in the area. Poultices are sometimes applied as a precautionary measure after the horse has worked hard, such as after a cross-country run, to prevent heat and filling. They are also used to treat abscess wounds, where a build-up of pus needs to be drawn out.
Poultices may also be heated and placed on an area where extra circulation is desired.[1]
