Is cactus effective in treating mumps?

Cactus can have a certain therapeutic effect in treating mumps, and it is also a folk remedy for treating viral mumps. For example, cactus, alum, and borneol can be mashed and mixed evenly, then applied to the swollen parotid gland, fixed with clean gauze, and the effect can be seen twice a day.

Prescription 1. Take 12 grams of thornless cactus, 10 grams of alum, and 9 grams of borneol, mash them and mix them evenly, then apply them to the swollen areas of the parotid gland, submandibular gland, and sublingual gland. Apply clean gauze externally and fix with adhesive tape. Apply twice a day.

Recipe 2: 200 grams of fresh cactus, 50 grams of indigo, 100 grams each of raw rhubarb and red bean, 5 grams of borneol, and appropriate amount of rice vinegar. First, grind the raw rhubarb, adzuki beans, and borneol into fine powder and sieve them, then mix in indigo. Then, mash the fresh cactus into a paste, mix well with the above medicines, and add an appropriate amount of rice vinegar. According to the size of the parotid swelling, apply a layer of medicine evenly, cover with gauze, secure with a bandage, and change the dressing every 3 hours.

Prescription 3: Take an appropriate amount of fresh cactus, make it into a paste and apply it on the parotid gland for 2 to 3 hours each time, 2 to 3 times a day, for one week. The gauze wrapped around the cactus should always be kept moist.

Prescription 4: Add a little gypsum to fresh cactus and mash it. Apply it to the affected area for 3 to 5 days.

Prescription 5. Mash the cactus with salt and apply it to the affected area, and add 10 grams each of honeysuckle and forsythia, 9 grams each of scutellaria, bupleurum, isatis indigotica, platycodon, selfheal, and seven-leaf lily, 6 grams of red peony root, and 3 grams of licorice. Take orally after decocting in clear water, one dose per day.

Prescription 6: Take 1-2 pieces of fresh cactus, bake them on an electric stove, remove the thorns, add 2-3 grams of alum, put them in a mortar, mix and mash them into a paste. Clean the cheek skin on both sides with warm water, apply the cactus paste evenly on the sterile gauze. The diameter of the application should be larger than the range of the swollen parotid gland. Cover the swollen parotid gland with the sterile gauze coated with Chinese medicine and fix it with adhesive tape. For patients with concurrent submandibular gland enlargement, the area of ​​external application should be expanded to the submandibular area; for patients with unilateral parotid gland enlargement, external application should be given to both sides at the same time, with the dressing changed 3 to 4 times a day. The number of external applications can also be increased depending on the condition until the parotid gland returns to normal.