When I cut my finger as a child, out came the jar of "Green Medicine" from the fridge. A little of this green, lard-like stuff was smeared on a bandaid and applied to the wound, splinter, bruise, etc. Within a day the splinter would be "drawn" into the bandaid or the cut closed and was well on it's way to healing.

My grandpa used to cook up this stuff in a cast iron skillet. In 1967, the recipe went with him to his grave. Though I do not personally know of anyone else who used "Green Medicine", there has to others who use it and know how to make it.

-- Steve Nelson (alpine1@prodigy.net), June 25, 2001

Answers

I remember Green Medicine being used on boils. Don't know how to make the stuff, though. Hope someone else does! You don't know how this thread title grabbed me out of the present and took me back 35 years to something I haven't thought about in ages. Ah, blessed childhood memories in Alabama. Even if I did have boils!

-- Jean (schiszik@tbcnet.com), June 25, 2001.

Hi Steve, I just did an online search through Google, using green+salve+old, and came up with an awful lot of sites. Maybe you should give it a shot, and see if you recognize any of the ingredients. Maybe you could remember the smell, and put it together with online clues? A lot of them seem to mention Comfrey. Good luck.

-- Rheba (rhebabeall@hotmail.com), June 25, 2001.

I too remember the Green Medicine. My mother always had a cure for everything. Unfortunately she's no longer around for me to ask for the recipe. Think I'll do the Google search too.

-- Grannytoo (jacres40@hotmail.com), June 25, 2001.

Hello,

I make a green salve that my niece's named (years ago) Auntie Anne's Magic Salve. It includes many ingredients, but particularly comfrey, plaintain, lavendar, jewel weed, beeswax and almond oil. This is very healing to cuts and wounds. Just used some tonight re: mosquito bites (swelling gone in 20 minutes) and have used it on multiple wasp stings with same result. Good for diaper rash as well as tough heels. Check out www.lapaixherbal.com which is where I took official classes years ago, still going strong. Tell her that Anne sent you!

-- Anne (HealthyTouch101@wildmail.com), June 25, 2001.

Sorry, that's lapaixherbaljourney.com

-- Anne (HealthyTouch101@wildmail.com), June 26, 2001.

Green Medicine is a "drawing" salve. Is that what the comfrey-based formulas would be considered?

-- Jean (schiszik@tbcnet.com), June 26, 2001.

Would the "Green Medicine" be the same thing as "Prid"? It comes in a little round, orange tin. It is a greenish color and is a drawing salve. I have used it many times, and always had good luck with it. I bought my last tin of it at Wal-Mart a couple of years ago. Works good to draw infection out of a sore. Winona

-- Winona in MO (thompsonwin45@hotmail.com), June 26, 2001.

plantain is definitely drawing. I use a simple poultice for drawing stuff. If I get a bug sting, i pick plantain, chew it up and spit it on the wound. It helps. I'll try making the comfrey/jewelweed/plaintainlavendar salve. I like the sound of the ingredients, but I'll add some propolis to it too....

-- marcee king (thathope@mwt.net), June 29, 2001.

I use a salve made by Burt's Bees (www.burtsbees.com) which contains Sweet almond oil; olive oil; beeswax; cocoa butter; wheat germ oil; vitamin E; lavender oil; comfrey leaf and root extracts. I use it on cuts (the lavender is antiseptic and the comfrey aids tissue regeneration and the vitamin E helps reduce scarring) I also use it on bruises and bites. Works great. Look for these ingredients in the recipes for your search.

-- Auntie Annie (sahamett@msn.com), June 30, 2001.

This thread started in a very manner for me! My daughter smashed her finger in the basement doors and the antibiotic the doctor prescribed wasn't helping the infection. I called the local healthfood store and mentioned the ingredients listed here, I sent my S.O. and he came home with a "Black Ointment" which brought the swelling down and thus the pain overnight. What a relief! Thanks all!

-- Epona (crystalepona2000@yahoo.com), July 08, 2001.