Recipes · Home Remedy
Warm Onion Poultice
Reader ratingsA whole onion baked until soft, wrapped in cloth and held warm against the chest, neck or the outside of the ear. A folk comfort measure that has never been tested; the warmth is the part you can count on.
A folk remedy for earache and chest colds, and one of the poultices Barbara O’Neill teaches.
Safety
- Burns and scalds: onion holds heat well and children’s skin burns easily. Test the heat on your own forearm first, never leave a child alone with it, and do not use it on a baby or on anyone who cannot tell you it is too hot, including people with numb skin from diabetes or nerve damage.
- Hold it against the outside of the ear only. Never put onion, onion juice or oil into the ear canal, and do not use any poultice if there is discharge from the ear or a possible burst eardrum.
- See a doctor promptly for earache in a child under 2; earache with fever, discharge, hearing loss, dizziness, or swelling and redness behind the ear; or pain lasting beyond about 48 hours. Most children’s ear infections clear on their own, but pain relief and a check matter, and an onion cannot treat an infection.
- A boil that is large, very painful, keeps coming back or comes with fever or red streaks needs a doctor, so do not squeeze it or rely on a poultice. A chest cold with breathlessness, chest pain or wheezing, or symptoms beyond about 10 days, needs medical review.
- Onion can cause contact allergy in a few people. Stop if the skin itches, blisters or reddens.
Why it’s good for you
Gentle warmth is soothing for many people with a stiff neck, a tight chest or a sore ear, and a baked onion is a free, drug-free way to hold it.
Evidence
Traditional use
Long history of use; little or no direct research on this preparation.
No study has tested an onion poultice for earache, boils, coughs or anything else, so its reputation rests on tradition alone. What research does show is that most children’s ear infections get better on their own (about 60% were better within a day whether or not they were given antibiotics), that paracetamol or ibuprofen may ease ear pain better than placebo, and that a Cochrane review found too little evidence to say whether ear drops, herbal or otherwise, work. Any comfort from this poultice most likely comes from plain warmth.
General information from research and traditional use — not medical advice, and not a treatment for any condition. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication or managing a health condition, check with your clinician first, and seek care for symptoms that are severe or do not improve.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Bake the onion on a tray for 40 to 50 minutes, until it feels soft when squeezed with an oven mitt. Steaming a whole unpeeled onion for 25 to 30 minutes also works. Do not boil it.
- Rest the onion for 10 minutes, then peel off the papery skin and cut it in half or into thick rings. The inside is very hot and steamy, so work carefully.
- Wrap the cut onion in 3 or 4 layers of thin cotton cloth. Test it against the inside of your forearm for 10 seconds: it should feel comfortably warm, never hot. If in doubt, let it cool a few more minutes or add another layer of cloth.
- Hold the wrapped onion against the chest, the back of the neck, or the skin around the outside of the ear, and keep it there with a hat or scarf. Never use plastic wrap over it, because plastic traps heat and steam against the skin.
- Check the skin every 5 minutes and take the poultice off straight away if it feels too hot or the skin turns red. After 20 to 30 minutes, remove it, dry the skin and throw the onion away. Make a fresh one for any repeat.
Tips
- A hot-water bottle wrapped in a towel gives you the same gentle warmth with easier temperature control.
- For ear pain, the treatment with the best evidence is plain pain relief. Ask a pharmacist about paracetamol (acetaminophen) or ibuprofen at the right dose for age and weight.
- Cut onions sting the eyes, so keep your hands away from your face until you have washed them.
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