I have an amazing experience to share regarding the effects of cabbage.  My
husband had an apicoectomy (oral surgery) Monday.  Thanks to Diane
Wiessinger's post on 4 Mar 1998 about the success her son had in using
cabbage leaves to minimize swelling and discomfort, he gave it a try.  The
oral surgeon recommended applying the usual ice on for 20 min., off for 20
min., etc.  My  husband used ice for 20 min., cabbage for 20, then choose to
apply cabbage leaves continuously for the rest of the day, holding the ice
pack over it alternately every 20 minutes.

The result?  NO SWELLING.  NO DISCOLORATION OR BRUISING.  BARELY ANY PAIN.
He had it done at 3 p.m. The next day he was able to present  a full day
conference on violence in schools without any problems at all.  We'd both
been concerned that he'd look like a poster child for victims of violence+ADs-
but thanks to what we've all learned about cabbage's effect on reducing
breast engorgement and thanks to people like Diane who've shared their
experiences, he gave it a try and had an unbelievable recovery.

What makes this so miraculous is that we can compare this to my recent
experience with an apico just one tooth over.  I had considerable swelling,
bruising, and pain and had to take time off from teaching my childbirth
classes because public speaking would NOT have been possible for several
days.

I  now highly recommend cabbage leaf application after dental surgery.  And
wonder, if it works for this, what other ways might applications of cabbage
be useful?  Swollen joints maybe? Sports injuries?

A question the parents in my breastfeeding class frequently ask is WHO first
thought of using cabbage on breasts or WHAT were the circumstances leading
to its use for this purpose originally.  Anyone know?

Joyce Blangiardo RN, FACCE, IBCLC
LamazeLady+AEA-msn.com
Rockville Centre, NY