How to Make a Plantain Poultice
Find plantain growing., Pick several large leaves and clean them off. , Put the leaves into your mouth and start chewing., Chew for a few minutes until you have a green mash. , Take the green mash and glop it over the bite and any inflamed area...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Find plantain growing.
You are not looking for the banana relative, but Plantago major, a flat plant with a rosette of smooth green leaves that have distinctive vertical ribbing- something like a weedy version of a hosta, although usually smaller.
They grow in lawns, under shrubs, in weedy places and in sidewalk cracks.
They do not have poisonous lookalikes.
There is a picture here. -
Step 2: Pick several large leaves and clean them off.
, They should have a mild "green" taste.
It is best that the injured person chew his own leaves, for sanitary reasons and also because it helps to swallow some of the juices of the leaves during the process.
The enzymes in saliva help break down the leaves so the constituents are available. ,,, It helps not to completely occlude the poultice because the drying helps exert a drawing action. , You can also reapply if the area starts swelling again.
Throw away the old poultice. , Chewing the leaves and making and reapplying the poultice can buy you time. -
Step 3: Put the leaves into your mouth and start chewing.
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Step 4: Chew for a few minutes until you have a green mash.
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Step 5: Take the green mash and glop it over the bite and any inflamed area around it.
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Step 6: Cover loosely with a bandage.
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Step 7: Reapply as the poultice dries
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Step 8: to enhance the drawing action.
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Step 9: If your tongue or airways start swelling up
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Step 10: call the Emergency Services and reapply.
Detailed Guide
You are not looking for the banana relative, but Plantago major, a flat plant with a rosette of smooth green leaves that have distinctive vertical ribbing- something like a weedy version of a hosta, although usually smaller.
They grow in lawns, under shrubs, in weedy places and in sidewalk cracks.
They do not have poisonous lookalikes.
There is a picture here.
, They should have a mild "green" taste.
It is best that the injured person chew his own leaves, for sanitary reasons and also because it helps to swallow some of the juices of the leaves during the process.
The enzymes in saliva help break down the leaves so the constituents are available. ,,, It helps not to completely occlude the poultice because the drying helps exert a drawing action. , You can also reapply if the area starts swelling again.
Throw away the old poultice. , Chewing the leaves and making and reapplying the poultice can buy you time.
About the Author
Alice Fox
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