An onion poultice can be an effective remedy for congestion, and it’s simple to make!
Onions are one of those foods that are easy to grow and that most people have on hand. It’s important to know how to use easily accessible and inexpensive remedies, so let’s learn how to make a poultice for congestion from this humble food!
How To Make An Onion Poultice
- Bake an onion in the oven at 300 degrees for about an hour or until you start to smell it cooking and it’s softened, or lightly saute onions in a pan with a little water for a few minutes until soft. You want the onion slimy, but not browned!
- Place onions in the center of a cloth (cheesecloth or a thinner dish towel)
{Note: You can also rub olive oil on the chest and place really warm (not hot) onions directly on the chest and wrap gauze or cloth around the body to keep the onion warm and in place.} - Roll up the cloth over the onion burrito-style
- Place the onion poultice on the chest and cover the patient with covers to help the onion stay warm and let it do its decongestant work!
- Be sure that the poultice is not too hot, especially for babies
- Check the poultice from time to time to be sure it isn’t irritating the skin
- Leave on all day or overnight.
- Repeat as needed until congestion is cleared.
Onions are useful for more than just cooking. From ear infections to congestion, be sure to keep some on hand!
Tip
To keep onions fresh longer, store them in a root cellar or dark corner of the garage. They store best between 40 and 50 degrees. They also require ventilation: keep in a mesh bag or pair of panty hose. Slip the onions inside and tie a knot between each bulb. Or, use twist ties between bulbs so you don’t have to cut the material to get the bulb out, thus allowing you to reuse the same bag/hose.
Linked to:
Little Natural Cottage Deep Roots at Home
I can’t wait to try this when I get sick! I always get really sick at least once every winter!
It is an easy remedy, but I do hope you don’t need it this winter, Missy. 🙂
I remember my grandmother making such poultices and using them on me when I would get really sick back in Peru. If I remember correctly it worked wonders.
Onion does work wonders! I use it in my homemade cough syrup and it works better at helping coughs better than anything I’ve used! Gotta love onions! 😉
I just tried this overnight, I’ve been coughing a lot less since. Thanks and God Bless!
That’s great! Thank you for sharing – I love these updates! 🙂
I’m trying this poultice for the first time right now. It already seems to be helping. 🙂 Thanks!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing, Anna! 🙂
My son is 5 months old and caught a terriable bug. He had so much congestion he was struggling to breath. Took him to the doctor was told to use an over the counter cold medicine. It did not help. I’m so thankful I found your onion pulltice. Its amazing and cleared my son right up. Seiously, thank you.
So glad it worked well for you! Thanks for sharing – love to hear these testimonies!! 🙂
I am going to try your onion poultice to relieve the congestion from my whooping cough. After the poultice goes cold, should I reheat or continue to use cold?
It is important to keep it warm while using it. Hope you are better soon!
Thank you. I used a heating pad over the poultice, and felt like it worked really well. I rested much better during the evening than previous nights.
Oh wonderful! So glad it helped! 🙂
Thanks, Jill! I am trying this right now on my earache!
Onion and garlic both work great on earaches! Another way to do this is to insert an unnicked, peeled garlic clove, or the center piece of an onion in the ear. Place something warm, like a warm rice sock over the ear. Hope you feel better soon!