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1. Chop 3 or 4 Onions fine.

2. Sauté them in oil (it doesn’t matter what kind of oil). Make it a little on the greasy side.

3. Cook the Onions until they become translucent, but don’t cook them too much. You want them to be hot and flexible, not mushy.

4. Now, slowly pour on some apple cider vinegar (just enough to almost, but not quite, float the hot and flexible Onions).

5. Turn the flame down for the next steps to prevent the Onions from sticking to the pan.

6. Add Cornmeal or Flaxseed meal. Both of these are high in fat, so they absorb, and later, radiate the heat. You can use flour in place of the Corn or Flaxseed meals, but poultice gourmets tend to frown on this substitution.

7. Using a spatula, mix together and knead the Onions, the oil, and the meal into a wet plastic mass (not too wet, not too dry, but peanut butter-like).

8. When this is done to your satisfaction, put it on a piece of cheesecloth, or muslin, or flannel cloth, fold it over like a fat omelet, and stick the edges of the cloth together.

9. Apply the hot Onion poultice to the body.

This poultice is rich in sulfurated volatile oils and therapeutic mucilaginous substances. You will want to create a complete seal between the poultice and the skin by making sure there are no air pockets that will interfere with the “osmotic transfer” of energy between the poultice and the body.

When treating the lungs, following a chest poultice, turn the person over and apply another Onion poultice on the upper half of the back.

Honey Poultice

Honey is one of the best poultices to apply directly to a burn. First, cool the burned tissue with cold water,* if possible, then merely spread honey on the burn or wound and leave it there for about a half hour. Reapply if necessary. Honey immediately seals off the damaged tissue from the air, reducing the pain while it works to rehydrate the wounded tissue; all the other magical bee-formulated components of honey proceed to do what they do to embellish the repair. Honey is antiseptic and helps to avoid infection.

Mustard Poultice (Brassica nigra, Sinapis nigra)

A Mustard poultice, also known as a sinapism, differs from most other poultices in both its preparation and its action. Note that you shouldn’t use pure, undiluted Mustard, for it is very likely to blister the skin. Mustard is ordinarily diluted with about an equal weight of Cornmeal, Flaxseed meal, or some other form of flour (sometimes these are called a diluent).

Prior to mixing the powdered Mustard seed with the diluent, it is moistened with tepid or lukewarm water (140ish° F.), never with boiling water. When water is added to the crushed seed, its ultimate warming action is aroused as an enzyme acts upon a glycoside. A volatile “isothiocyanate” is generated, which is called “volatile mustard oil” (not to be confused with an aromatic volatile “essential” oil). The formation of the warming volatile Mustard oil is greatly inhibited if too high heat is applied, so never use boiling water for this preparation. This tends to diminish the crucial enzymatic action. It is also recommended not to use vinegar as a wetting agent, for it too inhibits the formation of the heat-producing Mustard oil. To assemble and apply the Mustard poultice:

1. Mix the dry Mustard with the warm water.

2. Mix the diluent with hot water.

3. Stir these two mixtures together.

4. Place a thin cloth on the skin to protect it and to avoid adhesion to the skin.

5. Spread the poultice thickly onto the cloth.

6. The poultice is allowed to remain on the skin from 10 minutes to a half hour in order to gain its rubefacient activity.

The action is usually at its height in about 15 to 20 minutes, even though redness is usually produced in a shorter time. If an individual’s skin is quite tender or there is a weakened system, a short action may be more effective overall than a prolonged one.

On delicate, sensitive skin, the Mustard poultice need not remain on the body for more than 6 to 8 minutes, for its effect continues some time after its removal. Please keep