Ok everybody, before all you cabbage users out there panic, please let me
reassure you that although L. monocytogenes are found in silage and other
vegetative sources and isolated in 1 to 5% of human feces, listeriosis is
uncommon and occurs sporadically with a frequency of 2 to 3 cases per MILLION
population per year.  There have been outbreaks associated with the ingestion
of contaminated cabbage, pasteurized milk, and fresh Mexican style cheese.
 Transmission from the infected pregnant female to her offspring is well
established.

Therefore, do we prohibit all pg women from drinking milk, eating coleslaw or
Mexican cheese?  ARe we concerned that the L. monocytogenes is going to be
absorbed through the skin into the breastmilk?  Or that the baby is going to
get it off the skin?  Has anyone ever SEEN a case of listerosis in an infant
contracted from a mom who put cabbage on her breasts, or is this a
theoretical problem?  Should we tell women not to do something because there
is a theoretical problem?  IF so, then perhaps we should tell all women not
to drink milk or eat cheese because there is a possibility of contamination.
 Remote, but there.  Is this reasonable?

I'm not as convinced about the efficacy of gelpacks despite the article;
there were a few glitches in the study.  I believe the cabbage has some
properties in it - see the postings from a couple of months ago from Israel -
that affect the engorgement; otherwise, why not just use either (a) cold, or
(b) lettuce.  Nope, there's more to it than that.  Also, it doesn't work on
everyone, which is interesting.  But when it does work (about 85% of the time
in my practice), it works dramatically, as Toni says, and quickly.  And on
swollen ankles and other portions of anatomy.

I would recommend that we look at the risk/benefit ratio here and not delete
cabbage from our armamentarium unless we are going to delete cole slaw and
milk too.

Just my humble opinion.

P.S.  The above information comes from Harrison's Principles of Internal
Medicine.

Jan B.