Land O'Lake Cheese

I spend time at an assortment of the local and large chain heath food stores talking to the customers and checking out the new and old products on the shelves. Yesterday was my monthly outing to Cambridge Natural's in Porter Square. I thoroughly enjoy spending time at the store, and conversing with its owners, employees, and customers.
Yesterday morning, the first customer I spoke with shared a wealth of information with me regarding fluoride in our water supply, aliens landing at Roswell, and much more. Indeed this customer was an interesting character. The final information shared was the effectiveness of using a slice of Land O'Lakes Cheese topically on the affected joint for arthritic pain. Now I honestly can not say if this proposed treatment would offer any relief; and based on my medical school education I am not likely to recommend it to patients any time soon. But, it does provide a decent introductory into the subject of topical applications, or poultices.
I do want to repeat that I have no experience with topical cheese applications, well actually there was an incident in college involving a can of spray cheese that went drastically wrong. I don't remember any medical benefits from that disaster. But I can see how placing shredded carrots over a sore throat may sound just as strange as putting a slice of cheese over an inflamed joint. I can however assure you that the carrots have proven benefits.

CARROT POULTICE

MATERIALS

· One medium sized carrot
· Cotton cloth (12” x 12”) - handkerchief, cheesecloth, etc.
· Wool scarf
· Plastic wrap

PROCEDURE

Grate the carrot and place it on the center one third of the cotton cloth. Fold the cloth on either side over the grated carrot and apply a single thickness side to the front of the neck. Wrap the plastic wrap over the exposed cotton cloth and use the scarf to tie it in place around the neck as comfortably as possible. As a variation, you can put a wool sock over the plastic wrap and tie it in place with an old nylon. Leave on for 15 minutes to one hour or as directed. For a hot application, you can apply a hot water bottle over the poultice or submerge the poultice in a hot water bath and wring out thoroughly before applying.

INDICATIONS
Acne, General Skin conditions, Sore throat, especially in young children.

*Dr. Swanz takes is not responsible for any discoloration of clothing that results from this procedure.