GETTING PLASTERED
If there are memories I would just as soon forget, one would certainly be that era in which application of a counter-irritant was considered th be the best way to cure a chest cold or other such ailment. The do-it-thyself procedure was not complicated. Drs.”Mom”, Grandma and Pa, after closed consultation, started with a large cloth - probably wool – or some designated fabric. That cloth was doused with water and a mat of dry mustard powder sprinkled upon it as I recall. The pad was then styled as a semi wrap-around pad for the chest area of the victim-patient.
Firmly in place and covered with a thick towel,,i felt good enough. It was, maybe, a bit chilly to start with, but it warmed up gradually, then some more and changed aggressively until it, proceeded to cooking temperatures I always felt.
You would hear the spoken word of the treatment staff: ”There, now! You'll feel better!” And, oddly enough I did. The coughing was gone. I felt warm, on the edge of being too cozy and drifted off to sleep.
I could dream of a parallel in which a large group of foresters were fighting a terrible fire along a mountain range. They went ahead of the advancing flames and started a smaller fire of their own. When the main fire came to that point there was nothing left to burn run and it would die out. That could, I suppose, be called counter- irritant action. Unless, the wind changed directions in the meantime, I suppose, that could be called and example of counter-irritant action.
There were frills which could be added,of course, but I only remember one occasion when the staff thought general slices of raw onion must be added to the mustard plaster application. I have heard such added touches were intended to alleviate the scalded, red appearance of the skin of the chest area which was often evident the next morning and for a time thereafter
That onion additive proved to be damaging in a psychological way for both patient and staff. It did little for the the patient to look up and see everyone looking down at tearfully.
Seriously, we have made tremendous strides in the treatment of all manner of illness for both man and beast since those days They were real, however, and it is often a bit scary to think of how primitive our present-day medical treatments are going to appear to have been a hundred years hence.
A.L.M. October 15, 2003 [c436wds]
