[YEA]  12/19/2009: Paul from Midland, Ontario: "When I was nine, I stepped on a rusty nail while at summer camp. I didn't tell anyone and by the time I got home my foot was sore. The next morning I woke to find that a red streak had appeared all the way up my inner thigh almost to my groin. We had no health insurance at the time and my mother (God bless her) took me down to the kitchen where she pulled out a bag of dried bread loaf ends that were being saved for turkey dressing, boiled some water, dripped just 6 or 8 drops of the boiling water onto the middle of the very dry bread. She then taped the wet spot of the bread over the opening left by the rusty nail. The sore was open and running. She then put on my socks and shoes and told me to go out and play. It hurt a bit to walk on at first but as the day wore on I forgot all about it until after supper when my mom asked me how my foot was doing. When she took off the shoe, sock and poultice the red streak had retreated to just above my ankle and the piece of bread had a handful of green puss on it. Another piece of bread was applied that night and when I got up the next day the red streak was gone and the bottom of my foot was pink and healthy instead of angry red. I have used this remedy throughout my life and on one occasion actually extracted a living parasite from my leg that I had picked up on an adventure trip to Belize.

The way it works is very simple. The bread is very poreous and by dripping water onto the middle of the bread, capillary action moves the water through the bread. Attach that wet spot to an OPEN infection and the water in your body joins the parade along with the poisons from the infection. When the drops are applied they also turn the bread that gets wet into a kind of sealing paste around the wound to ensure that the "cyphon" works properly. If you don't believe me just try this on your body (somewhere discrete).with the bread taped on but exposed to the air. You will give yourself a "hickey".

Live long and thrive! Paul"

08/03/2011: Julie from North Pole, Ak replies: "Paul, Does the bread have to be dried? And what if the wound site has already healed up but there is infection under the skin?"

[QUESTION]  02/04/2009: Marc from Jacksonville, Fl: "possible blood poisoning. I scratched my arm with a piece of metal about a week ago. Now in that area it is swollen and red. I have my tetanus shot, what will bring the swelling down, and heal my arm?"

02/07/2009: Dianna from Austin, TX replies: "the first thing that comes to my mind is a bentonite clay poultice. mix up some clay and glob it on and let it dry. if you get red stripes on your arm or it continues to hurt and stay red go to the ER.
djh"

02/07/2009: Joyce from Joelton, Tn replies: "Hello Marc, If you haven't gotten started on that swelling/redness by now, run, don't walk to the nearest Dollar Tree or such and get a 2 lb. carton of Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) and start doing hot epsom salts compresses 4 times a day to take care of it.

Mix it about 1/4 cup per quart of water as hot as you can stand to wring the cloth out without burning your hands."

[YEA]  05/26/2007: Nancy from Mt. Airy, NC: "Hello, I just love your website and I just wanted to tell your readers about another wonderful old time remedy for blood poisoning and infection. We have used this many times in my family and I couldn't tell you how many times I have seen it work. For a nasty infected cut or in my worst case a nasty puncture wound from a rusty nail. Within about 6 hours I had a red streak going up my leg from the blood poisoning. My mother took an Irish potato and washed it, cut it in half and scraped out a pile of mushy raw potato. She put it on a piece of plastic bag to hold in the potato juice and wrapped it around my foot. The next morning the red streak was gone and my foot was healing with no sign of infection. Over the years I too have used this folk remedy on my family. Just make the potato poltice leave it juicy and use it inside bandaging for an infected wound. Plastic helps to keep it wet and keep you dry. Leave it on the wound overnight. Then take it off and examine the wound if it's still infected clean it off again and reapply the poltice. Somehow it draws the poison and infection out. Mother nature is simply amazing!"

10/09/2009: Mdelaugh from Dallas, Texas Usa replies: "Nancy, from Mt. Airy, NC, Does it have to be an Irish potatoe or will any white potatoe do?"

06/04/2011: Elizabeth from Wolfville, Ns Canada replies: "Before antibiotics, we had boils (staph infections) and my mother would get Antiflogistene at the drug store (a clay like product ) heat a handful in boiling water and apply it as hot as we could stand and keep it on as long as it was hot. The heat would draw out the infection. One time the doctor came and stuck little pointed scissors into the boil which was on my eyebrow and then opened them to let the matter out. I will never forget that pain!

Use heat for that kind of infection, but be careful not to let it get worse. It is serious to have blood poisoning."

12/08/2012: Deb from Nantucket, Ma replies: "Thank you for this wonderful site. I'm just using it now for earache but want to share my potato story as I've found the personal commentaries so helpful.

Last summer, I stepped on a scallop shell (on our street) & within a few days was limping and in pain with a 1 inch gash in my heel. A few days later, my husband noticed 2 4-inch long red streaks running up my leg from my heel. I had begun to experience sharp stabbing pains as well.

Since I haven't had an antibiotic in 20 years & see a naturopathic doctor as my primary physician, I wasn't anxious to go to the ER (it was also a weekend) but knew I needed help; sepsis is very real... I found your site & since I had some organic yukon gold potatos called my auntie who confirmed my grandmother used to use crushed potato to draw out boils. I decided to give it a try.

I chopped finely a potato, packed it onto the wound, wrapped w/ Saran wrap, elevated my leg/foot & lay down to focus on healing. My husband photographed my foot at intervals thruout the day. (Well-intentioned neighbors were waiting to drive me to the ER. )

Within hours the red streaks had begun their retreat & the sharp stabbing pains literally "rounded" over. I was very much present w/ this journey. Within 6 hours, the red streaks were gone completely!! I changed the potato 3 - 4 times over the course of the day/night & by morning, the layers of my foot had turned outward. I wish I could put the photos on this site. It was truly remarkable.

One word of caution: Potato juice stains are challenging to remove from fabrics so just make sure you have an old sheet or towel under the site of the potato....!!

I've told SO many people about your site & so many people witnessed first hand the amazing healing property of the simple potato that day... My neighbors thought I was crazy at first! Thank you for providing this forum... It's truly a gift & how we can keep alive these old home remedies. They WORK!"