A mustard bath is a traditional therapeutic remedy for tired, stressed muscles, colds, fevers and seizures. The

mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...

was thought to draw out toxins and warm the muscles, blood and body. It was a standard medical practice up until the first part of the twentieth century and continues to be used in

alternative medicine Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alt ...

. The ancient Greeks and Romans, Europeans, and the Ayurvedic tradition of India have all used mustard in this way. Around half a cup of ground-up mustard seeds are placed in a very hot bath, and the patient relaxes in this for about ten minutes.

References

*Minnie Lee Crawford,''Why When and how to Bathe a Fever Patient'' American Journal of Nursing AJN, 1910 10(5): 31

* William Merrick Sweet, ''The American Journal of the Medical Sciences'', Southern Society for Clinical Investigation (U.S.), Daniel and Eleanor Albert Collection,Published by J.B. Lippincott, Co., 186
Page 240
* ''The Lancet'' Published by J. Onwhyn, 1840 . Item notes: v.2 (1839-1840) Original from Harvard Universit
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* James Braithwaite, ''The Retrospect of Practical Medicine and Surgery: Being a Half-yearly Journal Containing a Retrospective View of Every Discovery and Practical Improvement in the Medical Sciences'' Published by W.A. Townsend, 1866
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Balneotherapy Traditional medicine {{treatment-stub

See also

References