Court Plaster

This plaster is a kind of varnished silk, and its manufacture is very easy. Bruise a sufficient quantity of Isinglass, and let it soak in a little warm water for twenty-four hours. Expose it to heat over the fire until the greater part of the water is dissipated and supply its place by proof Spirits of Wine, which will combine with the Isinglass. Strain the whole through a piece of open linen, taking care that the consistency of the mixture shall be such that when cool it may form a trembling jelly. Extend a piece of black or flesh-colored silk on a wooden frame, and fix it in that position by means of tacks or twine. Then apply the Isinglass, after it has been rendered liquid by a gentle heat, to the silk with a brush of fine hair (badger’s is the best). As soon as this coating is dried, which will not be long, apply a second, and afterward, if the article is to be very superior, a third. When the whole is dry, cover it with two or three coatings of the Balsam of Peru. This is the genuine court plaster. It is pliable and never breaks, which is far from being the case with spurious articles sold under the same name.

Source: One Thousand Secrets of Wise and Rich Men Revealed, C. A. Bogardus

Bruises

When the contusion is slight, fomentations of warm vinegar and water, frequently applied, will generally relieve it. Cataplasms of fresh cow-dung applied to bruises, occasioned by violent blows or falls, will seldom fail to have a good effect. Nothing however is more certainly efficacious than a porter plaster immediately applied to the part affected. Boil some porter in an earthen vessel over a slow fire till it be well thickened; and when cold spread it on a piece of leather to form the intended plaster.

Source: The Cook And Housekeeper’s Complete and Universal Dictionary, Mary Eaton

Colds on the Chest

In the treatment of ordinary colds few remedies are more efficacious than turpentine. It should be mixed with lard and sweet oil in equal proportions and spread upon flannel that has been dipped in very hot water; it should then be placed on the patient’s chest in the form of a plaster.

Source: Fray’s Golden Recipes for the use of all ages, E. Fray

Slight Wounds

When fresh wounds bleed much, lint dipped in vinegar or spirits of turpentine, may be pressed upon the surface for a few minutes, and retained by a moderately tight bandage; but if the blood spirts out violently, it shows that an artery is wounded, and it must be held very firmly till a surgeon arrives. But when the blood seems to flow equally from every part of the wound, and there is no reason therefore to suppose that any considerable vessel is wounded, it may be permitted to bleed while the dressings are preparing. The edges of the wound are then to be gently pressed together, and retained by straps of sticking plaster. These may remain on for three or four days, unless the sore becomes painful, or the matter smells offensive, in which case the straps of plaster must be taken off, the parts washed clean with warm water, and fresh slips of plaster applied, nicely adjusted to keep the wound closed. The slips must be laid over the wound crossways, and reach several inches beyond each side of it, in order to hold the parts firmly together. By keeping the limb or part very still, abstaining from strong liquors, taking only light mild food, and keeping the bowels open, all simple wounds may easily be healed in this manner. But poultices, greasy salves, or filling the wound with lint, will have an opposite effect. Even ragged or torn wounds may be drawn together and healed by sticking plaster, without any other salves or medicines. A broken shin, or slight ruffling of the skin, may be covered with lint dipped in equal parts of
vinegar and brandy, and left to stick on, unless the place inflames; and then weak goulard is the best remedy. Common cuts may be kept together by sticking plaster, or with only a piece of fine linen rag, or thread bound round them. The rag applied next to a cut or wound of any kind, should always be of white linen; but calico, or coloured rags, will do quite as well for outward bandages. Important wounds should always be committed to the care of a skilful surgeon.

Source: The Cook And Housekeeper’s Complete and Universal Dictionary, Mary Eaton

Corns

Apply to warts and corns, a piece of soft brown paper moistened with saliva, and a few dressings will remove them. A convenient plaster may also be made of an ounce of pitch, half an ounce of galbanum dissolved in vinegar, one scruple of ammoniac, and a dram and a half of diachylon mixed together.

Source: The Cook And Housekeeper’s Complete and Universal Dictionary, Mary Eaton

Plaster for a Cough

Beat together 1 oz. each, of bees-wax, white Burgundy pitch, and rosin, 1/4 oz. coarse turpentine, 1/2 oz. oil of mace; spread it on white leather, the shape of a heart; when it flies off, renew it, two or three times.

Source: The English Housekeeper, Anne Cobbett

Poultices

A Bread and Milk Poultice. — Put a tablespoonful of the crumbs of stale bread into a gill of milk, and give the whole one boil up. Or, take stale bread-crumbs, pour over them boiling water and boil till soft, stirring well; take from the fire and gradually stir in a little glycerine or sweet oil, so as to render the poultice pliable when applied.

A Hop Poultice. — Boil one handful of dried hops in half a pint of water, until the half pint is reduced to a gill, then stir into it enough Indian meal to thicken it.

A Mustard Poultice. — Into one gill of boiling water stir one tablespoonful of Indian meal; spread the paste thus made upon a cloth, and spread over the paste one teaspoonful of mustard flour. If you wish a mild poultice, use a teaspoonful of mustard as it is prepared for the table, instead of the mustard flour. Equal parts of ground mustard and flour made into a paste with warm water, and spread between two pieces of muslin, form the indispensable mustard plaster.

A Ginger Poultice. — This is made like a mustard poultice, using ground ginger instead of mustard. A little vinegar is sometimes added to each of these poultices.

A Stramonium Poultice. — Stir one tablespoonful of Indian meal into a gill of boiling water, and add one tablespoonful of bruised stramonium seeds.

Wormwood and Arnica are sometimes applied in poultices. Steep the herbs in half a pint of cold water, and when all their virtue is extracted stir in a little bran or rye-meal to thicken the liquid; the herbs must not be removed from the liquid. This is a useful application for sprains and bruises.

Linseed Poultice. — Take four ounces of powdered linseed, and gradually sprinkle it into a half pint of hot water.

Source: The Canadian Family Cookbook, Grace E. Denison

Boils

If on a part exposed to friction of the clothes — the neck for instance — a boil should be protected by a piece of boracic lint strapped on with plaster. The gathering and discharge of a boil is hastened and the pain relieved by frequent bathing with water as hot as can be borne with comfort, containing a little boracic powder, lysol, or other disinfectant. Apply with a pad of cottonwool, which should be thrown away after use. In some cases a poultice of linseed — not bread — may be helpful; but there is a danger of poultices spreading infection and causing a crop of subsidiary boils. Very large boils, among which may be included carbuncles, may require lancing by a doctor at an early stage to give an outlet for the pus. As a rule a boil of the ordinary kind should be allowed to “ripen” fully before it is pricked, as by that time a core will have formed, the removal of which will allow the wound to heal quickly. After discharge dress the place with boracic ointment or powder to prevent reinfection, and keep it clean. Since boils are the result of a bad state of the blood, a person troubled by a succession of them should endeavour to improve the blood by means of purgatives, if he be constipated, and by exercise; or by taking cod-liver oil, iron, and nutritious food if “run down.”

The following treatment is said to be very effective: smear a little vaseline upon a piece of lint, pour a little chloroform on it, apply quickly to the boil and bind in place. Change the dressing every hour or so.

Source: The Complete Household Adviser

Mustard Plaster

Use whites of eggs to mix a mustard plaster and it will not blister.

Source: 76: A Cook Book

To Make A Mustard Plaster

If you wish it to produce irritation immediately, mix some flour and water together quite stiff, spread this on your cloth and then sprinkle dry mustard on it quite thick, place a thin cloth over this and dampen with hot water. If you do not wish to raise a blister, mix the mustard up with the white of an egg and a little water. A poultice made in this way may be kept on an indefinite time without raising a blister.

Source: The Housekeeper’s Friend: A Practical Cookbook