Puerperal mastitis treated with Fructus gleditsiae: report of 43 cases
Hsü, H.C.
Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi 11: 685-686
1973
ISSN/ISBN: 0376-2491 PMID: 4203053 Document Number: 68731
During a 3-month period, 43 cases of human puerperal mastitis were treated using a drug prepared from the leguminous pods of Gleditsia sp. The raw drug was ground into a powder and mixed with 75% alcohol; the resulting paste was wrapped in a gauze which was then inverted for 12 h into the patient's nostril on the same side as the affected breast. Oral doses of Ephedra sinica were also administered in cases of high fever. No antibiotics were used. 28 cases were cured after 1 treatment and another 8 after 2 treatments. The therapeutic effect of the drug is believed to be in promoting milk discharge rather than in any anti-inflammatory or bactericidal action. Use of this drug is recommended, although it should be confined to treatment of mastitis in the early stages.