Bread Poultice
When I was about 5 I was playing in my garden in the west of Ireland and I got a splinter in my finger. I wouldn’t let anyone touch it for a day or two and it became infected. I remember going to my Granny’s house on the weekend and she managed to convince me to let her see it.
She put slices of white bread into a basin and poured boiling water over them – then she applied it to my finger and wrapped it in muslin.
It took a few evenings of this type of treatment for the splinter to finally surface but when it did the skin was clean and uninfected.
The best thing about this type of treatment was that it was virtually painless.
I have heard about this type of treatment being used for lots of ailments from gangrene to all types of infections.
From Ireland in the 1980s
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Do you know of any alternative approaches? Are you aware of any similar ones?
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Serena says:
28 January | 12:51
I am sure there are different types of poultice out there I would be interested in hearing some of them.
29 January | 13:06
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davidkin says:
30 January | 19:24
What a great story Serena !! Bread poultice is a very Irish remedy. Bread contains a high amount of penicillin and that is what cured your infection. I have heard of charcoal poultices and other types too - but bread certainly is the most accessible and common of these. I would be interested to know if you have used it in your adult life at all?