ONION. 191 



Medicinal Properties and Uses. — The Onion, reduced 

 to the state of pulp by boiling, and exhibited either in sub- 

 stance or decoction, is serviceable in many diseases of local 

 or general irritation, such as catarrh of the lungs, urethra, 

 and bladder. It is most frequently used as an aqueous 

 decoction with sugar,- honey, or milk, and in this form may 

 .be given in obstinate coughs, asthma, phthisis, and other 

 pulmonary complaints. Externally, cataplasms of the boiled 

 bulb, or the bulbs roasted and split, are applied to inflammatory 

 tumours, boils, &c, to diminish painful tension and to promote 

 suppuration. When crude, the Onion has no longer the same 

 emollient and demulcent effects ; on the contrary, when applied 

 to the skin it produces redness and inflammation, and taken in- 

 ternally its acrid stimulating quality is manifested in the mouth 

 by pungency, in the stomach by a sense of heat, and on the 

 digestive organs generally by irritation more or less marked ; in 

 this way it increases the appetite, excites urine, cutaneous trans- 

 piration, and pulmonary exhalation, and appears in some in- 

 stances to favour the efflux of the menses. From experiments* 

 it has been considered lithontriptic, although but little con- 

 fidence is now granted to it ; nevertheless, as a diuretic it is 

 unquestionably useful in relieving retention of urine and dropsy. 

 Lanzoni f saw a case of ascites disappear in a subject who 

 used it for a month, both in substance and decoction, and 

 Murray J relates a case of anasarca which was cured by the 

 simple application of the raw pulp to the hypogastric region, 

 and to the soles of the feet. Taken abundantly against scurvy, 

 it acts in the twofold character of nutrient and stimulant, 

 and forms a medicinal aliment in affections of the kind§. 

 The expressed juice dropped into the ear, or applied upon 

 cotton, is recommended for deafness, and a small bulb roasted 

 and applied as hot as can be borne, is often beneficial in ear- 

 ache. The juice is also applied to burns, chilblains, and the 

 bites or stings of insects. In fine, Onion has all the properties 

 of garlic in a smaller degree. 



* Lobb, Exper. 96—102. 

 -\- Lanzoni, Oper. torn. ii. p. 501. Obs. 207. 

 £ Murray, Appar. Med. torn. v. p. 138. 

 § See Lind on Scurvy, p. 182—88. 



