Allergy Lifeline Home
with links to my other websites

Webmaster's Bio
Meet Traute Klein,
AKA biogardener.

Allergy Lifeline Guestbook

First Aid for Respiratory Problems

When You Can't Breathe
My tried and proven remedies for asthma attacks. Links to the articles explaining each one: herbs, raw garlic, sage smudge, acupressure, and earache remedies.

Musterole

In response to the dozens of email requests for Musterole, I finally dug up an old tube of a Canadian product which has the same effect as Musterole. It relieves pain by heating the skin. It is called Antiphlogistine or RUB A-535. My tube is over 20 years old, but I checked at the pharmacy on December 2, 2002 and found about half a dozen products by the name of RUB A-535. They had labels like HEAT, ARTHRITIS, ICE, or CAPSAISIN which is cayenne pepper. It comes from Carter Products Division of Carter-Wallace N. S. Inc., Missisauga, ON, L5N 1L9. If someone could find out if it is available in the US, please email me so I can include the infomation here.

Homemade Horseradish Remedy

My mother used to make the equivalent of Musterole from another member of the mustard family. She cut horseradish root into a bottle and filled the bottle with hard liquor, Schaps, Gin, or Vodka. It makes a good rub for arthritis, but I bet it would work like musterole, too. It certainly smells like it.

Good Old Mustard Plaster

by Traute Klein, AKA biogardener

Mustard plaster is a tried and proven first aid solution for respiratory complaints. Learn to use it safely to avoid burning the skin.

For your viewing enjoyment:
If you are using MSIE as browser, hold the mouse over each graphic to read the caption.

Origin of the Mustard Plaster

I keep getting email requests for mustard plaster. It has been a Canadian folk remedy, but I do not know where it originates. It is not a remedy which I remember from my European childhood, and I hope that one of my readers will be able to tell me where the practice originates. I do suspect northern Europe, because mustard is a common weed in that part of the world and mustard condiments are prevalent in every northern European country.

Mustard Plaster to the Rescue

January 1962. I was teaching in a small southern Alberta town and boarding with a family who treated me like a daughter. Here I was, sick as a dog with the flu, barely able to breathe. My landlady, of Swedish origin, knew what would help me. She made a concoction which I had never heard of before and it worked. Here is the recipe, as I have used it many times:





• Put a tight-fitting T-shirt on the patient and tuck her into bed.
  
• Tear a peace of old flanelette off an old pair of pyjamas, nighty, or diaper, about 12" x 6".
  
• Mix 1/2 teaspoon of mustard seed powder with 1 tablespoon of flour. Use either bought mustard seed powder or grind your own seeds.
  
• Add cool water to the mixture gradually till it turns into a paste.
• Spread the paste on half of the flanelette.
  
• Fold over the flanelette.
  
• Place on a plate and warm in an oven or microwave to take the chill off.
  
• **Only warm slightly. Excess heat will turn the plaster into a brick.
  
• Place the pack on the patient's chest and secure with the T-shirt.
  
• Tuck patient back into bed.
  
• Check occasionally to make sure the skin does not turn raw.
  
• If you are alone and have no one to monitor the skin color while you are asleep, be sure to set an alarm clock to wake you in a few hours, because you don't want to turn into a boiled lobster.

You can vary the mustard/flour ratio depending on the patient's skin sensitivity and on the length of time you intend to leave the plaster on. I like to make it very mild and leave it on all night. That way, I won't have an accident if everyone should fall asleep and we all forgot about the mustard.