A hot, wet poultice used on painful, inflamed areas. The usual form is a towel dipped in tea and applied hot or warm to the swollen tissue, being changed when it cools.
(See also POULTICES.) Any warm application to the surface of the body in the form of a cloth. Usually, the fomentation cloth is heated by being wrung out of hot water.
Compresses consisting of a cloth or other suitable absorbant material immersed in a herbal tea and wrung out. Almost any herb may be used for this purpose. Before application the skin is smeared with Olive oil to avoid burning. May be hot or cold. Heat relaxes, cold tones. Wrung-out material is held in position by a plastic cloth or other suitable protective covering. Fomentations have many uses: they convey heat and medication to arthritic joints and to cold extremities in old age (Ginger, Prickly Ash). May be given for abscesses (Slippery Elm); tennis elbow (Comfrey); abdominal inflammation (Castor oil); Neuralgia (German Chamomile): Marshmallow or Blue Flag stimulate activity of the lymphatic system for swollen glands; and disperse local congestion of the circulation. They relax surface nerve-endings, dilate blood vessels, alleviate pain. ... fomentations
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