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Herbs & Cultures

From plant to use

Compress, poultice and paste

A warm or cold cloth soaked in herbal tea, or crushed herb applied directly to the skin.

Herbs prepared this way (194)
Level
Easy
Ratio
For a compress, a double-strength infusion: about 2 tablespoons of dried herb per 250 ml of water.
Time
Leave on for 10–20 minutes; repeat with a fresh compress if needed.
Shelf life
Always make fresh and do not store.

For a compress you soak a clean cloth in a strong infusion or decoction and lay it on the skin. For a poultice or paste you apply the crushed herb itself, often between layers of gauze. It is one of the oldest applications and appears in almost every tradition, from plantain leaves in Europe to herbal pastes in Ayurveda.

Suited to

External, local use on unbroken skin.

Step by step

  1. Make a strong infusion or decoction and let it cool until pleasantly warm, or cold.
  2. Soak the cloth, wring it out and lay it on the skin.
  3. For a poultice or paste: crush fresh herb, or mix dried herb with a little hot water into a paste, and apply it between two layers of gauze.
  4. Remove after 10–20 minutes and discard the used herb.

Tips

  • Some traditions alternate warm and cold. When in doubt, choose lukewarm.

Registry

Herbs prepared this way

Herbs on this site whose description mentions this preparation. That does not mean every herb is safe to prepare yourself: read the safety information for each one.

  • Caution

    Europe · Herb · № 86

    Greater plantain

    Plantago major

    The leaf is traditionally bruised and applied to insect bites, small wounds and grazes, and taken as tea for coughs. Clinical evidence is limited.

    Monastic and folk knowledge+9Folklore
  • Caution

    Central America and the Caribbean · Herb · № 397

    Sweet acacia

    Acacia farnesiana

    Traditionally attributed effects: astringent, soothing, cleansing; for bleeding gums, gonorrhoea; gum as a substitute for gum arabic.

    Ayurveda
  • Caution

    North America · Herb · № 968

    Western dock

    Rumex occidentalis (syn. R. aquaticus var. fenestratus)

    A large dock with broad leaves and a yellow root. The root contains tannins and anthraquinones, which are mildly laxative.

    Kwakwaka'wakw medicine
  • Caution

    Africa · Herb · № 810

    African wormwood

    Artemisia afra

    A bitter, aromatic herb widely used in southern Africa for coughs, colds, fever and flu.

    Traditional healers of Southern Africa
  • Caution

    Asia · Herb · № 767

    Sour jujube seed (suan zao ren)

    Ziziphus jujuba var. spinosa

    Traditionally attributed effects: nourishes heart yin and calms the mind in insomnia and restlessness; curbs night sweats.

    Chinese medical traditions+2
  • Caution

    North America · Herb · № 634

    Wintergreen

    Gaultheria procumbens

    Traditionally attributed effects: expels wind and dampness and cools heat in hot, swollen joints and muscle pain, drains damp heat in the urinary tract and moves stagnant qi and blood in pain.

    Haudenosaunee medicine+3
  • Caution

    North America · Herb · № 598

    White oak

    Quercus alba

    Traditionally attributed effects: strongly astringent; strengthens lax tissue (diarrhoea, inflamed gums, chronic nasal congestion, weak bladder), stops bleeding (nosebleeds, internal bleeding).

    Indigenous healing traditions of North America+2
  • Caution

    Africa · Herb · № 547

    Castor oil plant

    Ricinus communis

    Traditionally attributed effects: oil mildly laxative; leaf juice emetic in poisoning, leaf decoction laxative, promotes milk and menstruation; compress on boils and swellings, for flatulence in children; root decoction for lumbago, rheumatism and sciatica.

    Ancient Egyptian medicine+4
  • Caution

    Central America and the Caribbean · Herb · № 632

    Yerba mansa

    Anemopsis californica

    Traditionally attributed effects: expels wind and dampness in joint pain that worsens in cold, wet weather, opens blocked sinuses and dries dampness in slow-healing wounds and swellings.

    Curanderismo+2
  • Caution

    Asia · Herb · № 478

    Zedoary

    Curcuma zedoaria

    Traditionally attributed effects: stimulating, carminative, expectorant, soothing, diuretic, skin-irritant, purifies the blood.

    Ayurveda+3
  • Caution

    Asia · Herb · № 424

    Wormseed

    Artemisia maritima

    Traditionally attributed effects: antipyretic, mildly laxative, stomachic, tonic, expels worms, stimulates the heart; against worms, compress for inflammation, tumours and foul ulcers.

    Ayurveda
  • Caution

    North America · Herb · № 150

    Black cohosh

    Actaea racemosa

    Mainly sold for menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes. NCCIH reports that study results are mixed and there is not enough evidence that it helps.

    Indigenous healing traditions of North America+4
  • Caution

    Asia · Herb · № 135

    Black pepper and long pepper

    Piper nigrum

    Important warming spices in Ayurveda, used for sluggish digestion and colds. Piperine from pepper increases the absorption of some substances, such as curcumin.

    Ayurveda+5Folklore
  • Caution

    North America · Herb · № 576

    Black walnut

    Juglans nigra

    Traditionally attributed effects: cleansing, laxative, astringent, antibacterial, antiparasitic, antifungal; cleanses and strengthens the large intestine, for skin problems, traveller's diarrhoea, sinusitis, underactive thyroid.

    Indigenous healing traditions of North America+3