How To Make A Mustard Plaster To Relieve Chest Congestion

In case anyone is interested in making their own
from wikipedia

Mustard plaster, also known as sinapisms, consist of a mixture of dry mustard powder and a small amount of flour, mixed with water or egg white to form a paste, and applied to the chest or abdomen to stimulate healing. In times past and present, the mixture was spread onto a cloth and applied to the chest or back. The mustard paste itself should never make contact with the skin. Applied externally, Black Mustard is used in the treatment of bronchial pneumonia and pleurisy.
Mustard oil irritates mucous membranes; therefore, excessive internal use has been known to cause stomach problems and kidney irritation[citation needed]. Breathing the vapors of a mustard plaster can trigger sneezing, coughing, asthma attacks, and/or eye irritation. Leaving a mustard plaster on the bare skin for too long will lead to burning, blisters, or potentially even ulcers. A mustard plaster should never be left on for longer than 30 minutes. The actual mustard paste never comes in direct contact with the skin, just the cloth on which it is spread. The paste resembles the Chinese mustard sauce served with eggrolls in many American Chinese restaurants.
A typical mustard plaster recipe includes powdered mustard (amounts vary from recipe to recipe) and flour combined with water or egg white. This is then spread on a layer of cotton or flannel cloth and placed on the body. Some old sources suggest that the mustard powder be blended with egg white rather than water to prevent blistering of the skin.
Mustard plasters should not be used on children under the age of 6. Black Mustard should not be used in patients with ulcers, venous problems, or kidney disease.
Mustard plasters are common in Russia and other Post-Soviet states.It is a common belief there that mustard plasters stimulate the immune system, relieve pain and also have an anti-inflammatory effect. They are often used to treat common cold, runny nose, rheumatism and problems with the respiratory system.

Benson's Capcine Porous Plaster Slide Show

The firm of Seabury & Johnson was formed around 1874 to produce and market Benson's Capcine Porous Plasters. Private die stamps for the product, with their depiction of the Good Samaritan, did not appear until 1880. They continued to be issued until May 1, 1883. 2,938,320 were printed, all on watermarked paper.
The term "Porous" in connection with medicinal plasters had been copyrighted by B. Brandreth, and a lawsuit was settled against Seabury & Johnson shortly after the stamp appeared. Many copies of their stamp have the word obliterated either by a printed bar or a pen mark. This variety is given a separate catalog listing.
There is no information on the lake variety other than the supposition that only one sheet was delivered. It may have been a trial or an error. Obliteration of the word "Porous" indicates that it was prepared for use.
This cancel on a general issue proprietary stamp is believed to have been used by Seabury and Johnson.
Around 1885 Robert Johnson left Seabury & Johnson and went into business with his brother under the name Johnson & Johnson. This firm took over Seabury & Johnson in 1896 but continued to operate it as a separate unit, as can be seen in this 1899 cover. Johnson & Johnson, of course, is still active today.

A similar product is still available today from efood depotsee the slide with the Vorwerk label. It's German made

Porous Capsicum Plaster Quality:
price: $2.09 "The comfortable Remedy for Lumbago, The Relief Of Symptoms Of Muscular Pain And Stiffness And Cramp"

Benson's Capcine Porous Plaster

from american history suite 101

Brief History of Mustard Plasters
Home Remedy Has a Long History and Is Still Occasionally Used Today
Long the staple of many household first aid supplies, the mustard plaster has had an interesting history dating back two thousand or more years.
The use of the mustard plant for medicinal purposes goes back several millennia. Mustard was used as both a condiment and medicine by the ancient Egyptians, Sumerians and Chinese. The first century CE Greek physician, Dioscorides, prescribed mustard for everything from tonsillitis to epilepsy, and the Romans combined ground mustard seed with vinegar to make an ointment for snakebites and scorpion stings and chewed the seed to relieve toothaches.
However, the most common medicinal use of mustard through the centuries was the mustard plaster, first recommended by the father of medicine, Hippocrates, as a treatment for pulmonary illnesses and rheumatism. Although there are various recipes for making a plaster, all basically use ground mustard seed, preferably from the pungent black variety, and flour mixed with water. The paste is then wrapped in a flannel or other cloth and placed on the affected area, the original theory being that the heat caused by the substances in the mustard would draw out poisons from the body. If not applied properly or used too long, the heat generated could cause burning and blistering of the skin.
By the late 1500s, the use of mustard plasters had spread to England and other parts of Europe, and then to the New World. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, doctors in Russia were using them as a treatment for mental illness and Spanish missionaries in California for a variety of illnesses. Thomas Jefferson was growing mustard plants at Monticello, in part for their medicinal value, and the Lewis and Clark expedition relied upon various poultices, including mustard, for the treatment of bruises, wounds, infections, and muscular aches.
Valuable as a first line of defense against injuries, illnesses, and diseases, plasters, including those made with turpentine and belladonna as well as mustard, reached the height of their popularity in the 19th and early 20th centuries, both with doctors and as a home remedy, particularly in rural or isolated areas. Although the benefits could never match an 1801 Edinburgh newspaper’s claim that mustard could “cure rheumatism, gout, sciatica, headaches, numbness, palsy, and stomach complaints,” the heat generated from the mustard did increase blood circulation; and it was for this reason that when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated the first physician to reach his side immediately applied a plaster to the president’s chest. In addition, plasters could also help to break up chest congestion and temporarily relieve pain.
Newspapers and periodicals of that day regarded them as a necessary part of every household’s first aid remedies, along with bicarbonate of soda, camphor, and whiskey; and they were often mentioned in the literature of the day. In his short story, “Curing a Cold,” humorist Mark Twain told of having a large mustard plaster ready by his bedside only to see it eaten by his hungry roommate.
During the latter half of the 1800s, improvements were made to the product. Some users recommended using egg whites rather than water in order to minimize the risk of burning. Others suggested vinegar or alcohol. In 1874, “Fougera’s Ready-Made Mustard Plasters” were introduced to the market. Advertised as non-burning, clean, and cheap, the paper-wrapped plasters were activated by simply dipping them in warm water.
This period also saw the development of other ointments based on the mustard plaster theory, such as the camphor and menthol based analgesic heat treatments VapoRub™ and Ben-Gay™. Around 1910, the chemist, J. A. Begy, created an ointment containing mustard and turpentine to specifically replace plasters. Sold as “Begy’s True Mustarine,” it could be used without danger of skin burning or blistering. Imitators such as “Rawleigh’s Mustard Ointment” soon followed.
Although mustard plasters are no longer a common form of therapeutic medicine, they are still often recommended by herbalists and advocates of natural remedies. Powdered black mustard and ready-made plasters are available in some drugstores or online. And, the Internet is teeming with directions for the “perfect” recipe.