Mustard plaster

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The mustard plaster was a well-known home remedy and remedy that was used against various ailments until the 19th century and still plays a role in hydrotherapy today .

Recipe and application

Various compositions have been handed down. Pierer's Lexicon names a mixture of sourdough and coarsely crushed black mustard seeds in a ratio of 1: 1, but also declares a mixture of black mustard powder, rye flour and vinegar or just mustard powder and lukewarm water to be effective. Krünitz also mentions an addition of horseradish , which increases the effect. He praises the effect of the mustard plaster, "which is one of the quickest means of relieving pain in severe headache and toothache, dizziness, rushing ears, numbness, chest and stomach cramps, constriction, asphyxiation, abdominal and back pain, and even in some urgent cases, sudden accidents and breast stitching that can save lives. ”There have even been reports of mustard patches used for cholera orientalis .

The pulp was painted on canvas and placed or wrapped on the skin. Ready-made mustard plasters are also available these days. Surrogates are mustard paper and blotting paper soaked with mustard alcohol.

Mustard plasters were considered to be "reddening u. seldom a blistering agent ”and should help“ to derive a pathological stimulus from the nobler parts ”.

Mustard plasters in literature and proverbs

The French proverb C'est un cautère sur une jambe de bois is translated as that is a mustard plaster on a wooden leg and marks an action as pointless. In his preschool for aesthetics, Jean Paul described the reviewer Merkel in Reval as "a real Reitzmittel, a mustard plaster, a tonicum, a disgust and viper cure."

The trained pharmacist Theodor Fontane does not mention the mustard plaster as an effective remedy for leg cramps in the 22nd chapter of the novel Count Petöfy .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Constanze Decker, Hagen Reinste: Mustard plaster. In: kruenitz1.uni-trier.de. Retrieved February 17, 2015 .
  2. ↑ CW Hufeland , E. Osann (Ed.): New Journal of Practischen Arzneykunde und Wundarzneykunst , vol. 55, Berlin 1831, p. 112 f. ( limited preview in Google Book search)
  3. ↑ Gabriel Andral: Universal Lexicon of Practical Medicine and Surgery , Volume 3. ( limited preview in the Google book search)
  4. ↑ Mustard plasters . In: Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon . 6th edition. Volume 18, Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1909, p.  343 .
  5. ↑ Mustard plasters . In: Heinrich August Pierer , Julius Löbe (Hrsg.): Universal Lexicon of the Present and the Past . 4th edition. tape 15 . Altenburg 1862, p. 844 ( zeno.org ).
  6. ^ "Senfpflaster" , In: Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Wander (Ed.): Deutsches Sprichwort-Lexikon , Volume 4. Leipzig 1876, Sp. 542 .
  7. ^ Jean Paul: Preschool of aesthetics. Third department, 2nd edition, Stuttgart and Tübingen, Cotta, 1813, p. 853 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
  8. ↑ zeno.org: Theodor Fontane : Graf Petöfy, 22nd chapter , from: Novels and stories in eight volumes. Volume 4, Berlin and Weimar 21973, pp. 131-141.