Cantharid plaster
A cantharid plaster or cantharid plaster , formerly also called blister plaster , is a plaster that is coated with an ointment made from the dried and ground "Spanish beetle" (also known as " Spanish fly ") Lytta vesicatoria or Cantharis vesicatoria . Cantharid plasters came to Europe through Arabic medicine , where they have been used as a so-called drainage method since the Middle Ages .
The "Spanish fly" is a southern European representative of the oil beetle and produces a strong irritant, the essential component of which is cantharidin . In addition to its local application, the use of beetle extracts as a deadly poison (as a substitute for the hemlock cup ) in ancient Greece and the widespread belief in the aphrodisiac properties of the substance in southern Europe is known.
application
Cantharid plasters are supposed to stimulate blood circulation and accelerate the lymph flow. The patch generally remains on the skin for 8-12 hours and after a few hours produces a localized blistering of the skin, which usually heals without scarring. Discoloration often remains. The tissue fluid that escapes into the blisters is said to take with it “waste products”, toxins and pain mediators. Sometimes the cantharid plaster application is referred to as "white bloodletting" in analogy to the bloody drainage procedure . As an alternative medicine, cantharid plasters are mainly used for arthritic, rheumatic, arthrotic and neuralgic pain. Some practitioners also recommend it for inflammation of the head and neck area, toddler otitis media , scarlet fever , multiple sclerosis , gout , neurodermatitis , depression , high blood pressure and other diseases and refer to similar methods of Indian folk medicine, in which ash, horseradish, pepper, etc. is rubbed into the skin; also on Hippocrates of Kos and on ancient Roman physicians. The occasional intramuscular injection of the bladder fluid is said to increase the irritant effect.
From the point of view of evidence-based medicine , there is no evidence of healing effects of the procedure already used by Oreibasios that go beyond an effect as a placebo ; Since the application carries significant risks - it can lead to kidney irritation and, with negligent wound treatment or weak immune system, dangerous infections, especially with the above. deep intramuscular injection - it should no longer be used. Cantharid plasters are not available as finished medicinal products , but are made as an individual recipe in the pharmacy. The sixth edition of the German Pharmacopoeia ( DAB 6 , 1926–1964) contained a recipe for cantharid plasters (Latin: Emplastrum Cantharides ). The costs are around 25 euros and are not covered by the German statutory health insurance companies.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Magdalena Frühinsfeld: Anton Müller. First insane doctor at the Juliusspital in Würzburg: life and work. A short outline of the history of psychiatry up to Anton Müller. Medical dissertation Würzburg 1991, p. 9–80 ( Brief outline of the history of psychiatry ) and 81–96 ( History of psychiatry in Würzburg to Anton Müller ), here: p. 143 f.
- ↑ Anton Müller: Comments on the most famous empirical means in mental illnesses. In: Journal of Anthropology. Volume 1, Issue 1, 1823, pp. 197-227, here: pp. 226 f.