CND-0137Swelling, pain and the whole body
Old claims, quoted verbatim: not medical advice. A warning sits above the claims and never hides them; no warning does not mean safe, only that no source here has flagged the plant.
It helps pains of the cholic, the stranguary and stoppage of the urine, procureth womens’ courses, and expelleth the after-birth, openeth the stoppings of the liver and spleen, and briefly easeth and discusseth all windiness and inward swellings.
the herb also bruised, and with some salt and vinegar and hog’s-grease, laid upon a hard tumour or swelling, or that vulgarly called the king’s evil, do help to dissolve or discuss them;
The juice thereof dropped in, or otherwise applied, consumes all colds, swellings, and dissolveth the congealed blood of bruises by strokes, falls, &c.
Used with salt, it takes away wens, kernels, or hard swelling in the flesh or throat;
The meal of barley and fleawort boiled in water, and made a poultice with honey and oil of lilies applied warm, cures swellings under the ears, throat, neck, and such like;
Bean flour is used in poultices to assuage inflammations arising from wounds, and the swelling of women’s breasts caused by the curdling of their milk, and represses their milk;
it cleanses the reins and kidneys from gravel and stone, by opening the obstructions of the spleen, and consume the hardness and swelling thereof.
Being fried with butter and vinegar, and applied warm, it helps all manner of tumours, swellings, and inflammations.
it also provokes strong vomits, and helps the pains of the sides, and swelling of the spleen, cleanses also the reins or kidneys and bladder of the stone, provokes urine abundantly, and hinders the growing again of the stone in the body.
The decoction of Coleworts takes away the pain and ache, and allays the swelling of sores and gouty legs and knees, wherein many gross and watery humours are fallen, the place being bathed therewith warm.
It comforts the sinews that are over-strained, mollifies all swellings:
the seed also of the same works the like effect, and is good for the dropsy, and those whose bellies are swelling with wind;
The wild Chervil bruised and applied, dissolves swellings in any part, or the marks of congealed blood by bruises or blows, in a little space.
The herb bruised, or the juice applied (with cloths or sponges dipped therein) to the region of the liver, and as they dry, to have it fresh applied, doth wonderfully temperate the heat of the liver, and is effectual for all imposthumes and swellings whatsoever, for all redness in the face, wheals, pushes, itch, scabs;
The root boiled in vinegar, helps all knots, kernels, hard swellings, and lumps growing in any part of the flesh, being thereto applied;
The mucilage of the seed made with water, and applied to tumours, or swellings, disperses and takes them away;
Being boiled in hog’s grease, it helps all sorts of hard swellings or kernels in the throat, being anointed therewith.
The distilled water hereof simply, or with Elder flowers and Nightshade, is a singularly good remedy against all hot agues, to drink two ounces at a time, and apply cloths wet therein to the head and stomach, which also does much good, being applied to any hot swellings and inflammations:
it assuages inflammations, and swellings in wounds:
The decoction of the herb, with honey of roses put therein, is very effectual to help the inveterate tumours and swellings of the almonds and throat, by often gargling the mouth therewith.
The Dill being boiled and drank, is good to ease swellings and pains;
Galen saith, that being applied in manner of a poultice to any swelling or inflammation, it digests the swelling, and allays the inflammation, and is therefore given in clysters to evacuate from the belly offensive humours.
as also to help the redness of the eyes, and swellings of privities, and of the breasts before they be grown too much.
Outwardly applied, they serve to temper the sharp humours of fretting ulcers, hot tumours, swellings, and pestilential sores;
There is also made hereof a singularly good salve to help imposthumes, hard tumours, and other swellings by blows and falls.
The seed and the roots much more, help to open obstructions of the liver, spleen, and gall, and thereby help the painful and windy swellings of the spleen, and the yellow jaundice;
The roots of both these sorts of Fern being bruised and boiled in Mead, or honeyed water, and drank, kills both the broad and long worms in the body, and abates the swelling and hardness of the spleen.
It helps all inflammations in any part of the body, and the pains that come thereby, as the headache and megrims, and all hot imposthumes, swellings, or breaking out of the skin, as blains, wheals, pushes, purples, and the like, as also the joints of those that are out of joint, the pains of the gout and sciatica, the burstings of young children, and the swellings of the navel, applied with oil of roses and vinegar.
Oil called Oleum Irinum, if it be rightly made of the great broad flag Flower-de-luce and not of the great bulbous blue Flower-de-luce, (as is used by some apothecaries) and roots of the same, of the flaggy kinds, is very effectual to warm and comfort all cold joints and sinews, as also the gout and sciatica, and mollifies, dissolves and consumes tumours and swellings in any part of the body, as also of the matrix;
The herb, whether it be bruised and applied to the throat, or boiled, and in like manner applied, it matters not much, it is excellently good for swellings in the throat:
takes away spots and blemishes in the skin, eases pains in the ears, ripens and breaks imposthumes, or other swellings.
The root thereof helps the ruggedness of the nails, and being boiled in wine helps the swelling of the throat, commonly called the king’s evil, as also the swellings of the kernels of the ears.
The green herb, or the decoction thereof, being applied, dissolves the hardness of women’s breasts, and all other hard swellings in any other part of the body.
It may safely be applied to inflammations, tumours, and swellings in any part of the body (save the privy parts) as also to St. Anthony’s fire, wheals, pushes, and creeping ulcers that arise of hot sharp humours, by cooling and repelling the heat;
and are good to assuage all manner of swellings of the privities, or women’s breast, or elsewhere, if they be boiled in wine, and either applied themselves, or the fomentation warm;
and is very powerful to discuss all tumours and swellings in the privy parts, the groin, or in any part of the body, and speedily to allay all inflammations.
The green leaves bruised, and boiled in old hog’s grease into an ointment, heals the biting of dogs, abates the swellings and pains that come by any pricking of thorns, or such like means;
The juice or distilled water being warmed, and hot inflammations, pustules or red wheals, and other breakings-out in the skin, being bathed therewith, doth help them, and doth no less the swelling heat and inflammation of the lower parts in men and women.
It is an excellent medicine for the quinsy, or swellings in the throat, to wash and gargle it, being boiled in figs;
It is of special use for the soreness of the throat, swelling of the uvula and jaws, and excellently good to stay bleeding, and heal up all green wounds.
The distilled water hereof taken by itself or with the powder of the herb or seed, is very effectual to all the purposes aforesaid, and is accounted one of the most sovereign remedies to cool all manner of inflammations, breaking out through heat, hot swellings and imposthumes, gangrene and fistulous cankers, or foul filthy ulcers, being applied or put into them;
The seed hereof taken in vinegar and honey, helps the swelling and hardness of the spleen.
The leaves bruised or rubbed upon any place stung with bees, wasps, or the like, presently take away the pain, redness, and swelling that rise thereupon.
The juice of Marigold leaves mixed with vinegar, and any hot swelling bathed with it, instantly gives ease, and assuages it.
The seed and flowers boiled in water, and afterwards made into a poultice with some oil, and applied, helps hard swellings and imposthumes.
and also in poultices for the same purpose, and to assuage swelling tumours in the spleen or other parts, and helps inflammations in any part of the body.
The decoction of the root, and so likewise of the leaves, is of great effect to dissolve the tumours, swellings, or inflammations of the throat.
and also it dissolves the swellings about the throat, if it be outwardly applied.
the same helps the swelling of the almonds of the throat, the mouth and throat being gargled therewith.
And Pliny saith, it is good for hot swellings under the throat.
The same, or the distilled water, assuages hot and swelling imposthumes, burnings and scaldings by fire or water;
It is also good to be applied where any bone is out of joint, to hinder inflammations, swellings, and pains that presently rise thereupon.
Matthiolus saith, The oil preserved out of the kernels of the stones, as oil of almonds is made, is good against the inflamed piles, the tumours or swellings of ulcers, hoarseness of the voice, roughness of the tongue and throat, and likewise the pains in the ears.
The root bruised and laid to the place grieved with the sciatica, joint-ache, or the hard swellings of the liver and spleen, doth wonderfully help them all.
and for swellings, hardness, or imposthumes, for it thoroughly cleanses and heals them;
Oil of Roses is not only used by itself to cool any hot swellings or inflammations, and to bind and stay fluxes of humours unto sores, but is also put into ointments and plaisters that are cooling and binding, and restraining the flux of humours.
the bread and the leaven thereof ripens and breaks imposthumes, boils, and other swellings:
The decoction of the herb and roots outwardly applied, doth wonderfully help all sorts of hard or cold swellings in any part of the body, is effectual for shrunk sinews or veins, and heals green wounds, old sores, and ulcers.
Where there is cause to repress the heat and sharpness of humours flowing to any sore, ulcers, inflammations, swellings, or the like, or to stay the fluxes of blood in any wound or part, this is used with some good success;
The roots boiled in wine or water, and drank, helps the stranguary and stoppings of the urine, the wind, swellings and pains in the stomach, pains of the mother, and all joint-aches.
made into an ointment, it open obstructions, dissolves swellings, and closes up the lips of wounds.
The same taken with vinegar, dissolves the hardness and swellings of the spleen.
The same also being drank stays the bloody flux and women’s courses, and helps the swelling of the spleen.
The said water, or the juice, or the bruised leaves applied outwardly, allay swellings, inflammations, St. Anthony’s fire, pushes, wheals, and pimples, especially used with a little vinegar;
for swellings also, and places out of joint.
The leaves of the Beech tree are cooling and binding, and therefore good to be applied to hot swellings to discuss them;
The leaves also are good to make lotions to gargle and wash the mouth and throat, wherein are swellings, sores, or kernels;
The fresh leaves, laid upon swellings, dissolve them, and stay the inflammation.
It is singularly good for the sciatica, and in joint-aches, ulcers, and cankers in the mouth, throat, or behind the ears, and no less for the hardness and swelling of the testicles, or of women’s breasts.
The decoction of them is good to gargle and wash the mouth, throat and teeth, when there is any defluxions of blood to stay it, or of humours, which causes the pains and swellings.
The leaves or the juice of them applied to sores or ulcers, cleanses and heals them, and dissolves swellings, and takes away inflammations.
The said water fomented on swellings and hot inflammations of women’s breasts, upon cancers also, and those spreading ulcers called _Noli me tangere_, do much good:
An ointment made of it takes away hot swellings and warts, helps the sciatica and dullness of sight, and takes away pains and hardness of the spleen.
or used with hog’s grease, it helps the swellings and pains of the secret parts in man or woman, also for the piles or hæmorrhoids;
All the Violets are cold and moist while they are fresh and green, and are used to cool any heat, or distemperature of the body, either inwardly or outwardly, as inflammations in the eyes, in the matrix or fundament, in imposthumes also, and hot swellings, to drink the decoction of the leaves and flowers made with water in wine, or to apply them poultice-wise to the grieved places:
stays inflammations and swellings, comforts and strengthens any weak part, or out of joint;
The herb boiled in oil of Camomile, dissolves knots, allays swellings, and dries up moist ulcers.
They are under the dominion of the Moon, and being made into a poultice, are excellently good for hot inflammations, swellings, cankers, sore mouths and throats, being washed with the decoction;
The ointment is excellently good for swellings in the privities, and will cure burnings and scaldings without a scar, and trimly deck a blank place with hair.
Sponges or linen cloths wet in the juice and applied outwardly to any hot swelling or inflammations, doth much cool and help them.
It also provokes sweat, digests humours, and discusses swellings and nodes in the flesh, and is therefore thought to be good against the French pox.
It cleanses the body of choler (who dares say Mars doth no good?) It provokes urine, helps surfeits, or swellings in the belly;
Nicholas Culpeper, The Complete Herbal, a new edition (London: Thomas Kelly, 1850). Project Gutenberg eBook #49513. SRC-CUL-1850