Onion Poultice Practices

Mar 4 / Jennifer Anne Tucker

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A safe and affective poultice to use on children, adults and the elderly when handled, applied and monitored correctly.

Evelyn Snook’s recipe from Eddie Smith and handed down to me. I’ve used this poultice many times on myself and on others for chest colds, unresolved lingering coughs long after the acute infection is over, pneumonia, sore throat, chronic and acute ear infections in children due to food allergies and over-use of antibiotics, fever and colds. It is always applied hot.

Onion Poultice

Prepare the area where the person wearing the poultice will rest.
  1. Prepare the area where the person will rest reclined, ideally a bed. Put a moisture blocking plastic garbage bag down on the mattress first, then an old sheet and towel.
  2. Blanket to cover.
  3. Cookie sheet pan.
  4. Cotton soft and porous cut for the size of area to be covered by the poultice.

Directions: 
  • One or two large onions, chopped, diced and placed in a non-aluminum frying pan.
  • Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of organic apple cider vinegar over the onions in the pan. (additional salt/vinegar by teaspoons if seems too dry to “sweat the onions”)
  • Turn on heat to medium and stir gently as it heats. This is NOT a sautéed onion it is a careful heating process that blends the chemistry of the ingredients, evaporates the raw onion “water” and heats “sweats” the onion.
  • Spread to one-half inch thickness or more, on pre-prepared cloth laying on the cookie sheet. Fold the sides over like an envelope.
  • Carry the wrapped poultice on the cookie sheet to the person laying on the pre-prepared bed.
  • Test the temperature on your own wrist area before placing it on the person’s skin, the poultice should be hot, but not scald or burn. Press gently in place.
  • Option to place plastic wrap over the top part of the poultice pad once it is place on the skin and in position to minimize leaking and to keep the heat from escaping place a towel over the area and then cover the person with a blanket.
  • Ideally, they are comfortable enough to fall asleep. The timing of the onion poultice is not critical. When the person wakes or feels restless or “cold” it is time to remove and discard and spent poultice and wash the area gently with warm water.

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Rarely but in some instances, I’ve experienced a rash in the area where the poultice did its work. In the case of myself, I was on antibiotics that were too much for my system when I had pneumonia, and I interpreted it as toxins coming out through the skin. Because the poultice did it’s good work to loosen the tightness in my chest and begin the productive expectoration of the mucus. In that case I laid on the poultice and wore one on my chest.


Evelyn’s Ways is still available for purchase through Jennifer Anne Tucker. For book sales inquiries, please reach out via email at evelynsways@gmail.com.



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