Cabbage leaves?

[else]

Anyone else ever tried cabbage leaves to take down swelling?

I used them on my knee after surgery a few years ago - and again now with my new knee tattoo.

I have no idea why it works but it feels wonderful.

[Delicious]

are they cooked? raw? applied directly to the knee?

and how did your tiger turn out? are you please with it?

[else]

Raw cabbage leaves - they're commonly used for new breastfeeding moms - after my knee surgery, way back when, my acupuncturist suggested I try it and it worked like a charm.

They feel really cold going on and then within a few minutes the cabbage leaf is all warm and wilted and the swollen area is less so. It's nice - and cheap!

(But looks a little funny!)

Very happy with the tiger - right now it looks totally awful though. I'm so swollen you can't tell there's any bones in there at all and really oozy :(

Oh well, it'll be fine before I know it.

- - - Updated - - -

Bonus! Knee surgery scars are covered!!

[gougetheeyes]

Crazy, never heard of this! Doing it next time I get my thigh/knee urea worked on.

[ailsa]

A good article about it, LEARN AND LIVE WELL: CABBAGE LEAVES RELIEVE PAIN AND SWELLING

Definitely doing this for my next tattoo!

It can't be applied directly though can it?

[else]

I didn't click over to read the link but what I do is just peel off a big ol' cabbage leaf, soften it up a bit in my hands, and then put it on wherever is swollen. It's nice over the knee because the shapes match well. And then I just leave it there until the leaf doesn't feel cool anymore.

I haven't done this on either of my other recent tattoos - it didn't occur to me - but the swollen knee was so reminiscent of the old knee surgery that I remembered it.

[VCarter]

Hmm, never heard of this one! In my mind it seems like the leaf is basically acting like a heat sink, and absorbing the heat given off by the inflamed body part (heat being one of the cardinal signs of inflammation), leaving the underlying tissue cooler and thereby feeling less irritated.