revulsive

A doctor applies a revulsive to the patient's skin.

Definition

1. Adjective:

   • (Medicine) Causing a revulsion; specifically, referring to a substance or treatment that induces a counterirritant effect, drawing blood or disease away from a deeper or more vital part toward the surface of the body.

2. Noun:

   • (Medicine) A medication or agent that produces a revulsive effect, such as a counterirritant used to relieve inflammation or congestion in an internal organ by causing irritation on the skin.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • The doctor prescribed a revulsive ointment to treat the patient's deep-seated chest congestion. (The ointment works by drawing the congestion to the skin's surface.)
  • Revulsive therapy was once common for treating pleurisy, using mustard plasters to create surface irritation. (Such therapy redirected internal inflammation outward.)

• Noun:

  • Mustard plasters are classic revulsives, applied to the chest to ease respiratory distress. (They are agents that cause a counterirritant effect.)
  • The apothecary prepared a revulsive from hot peppers and camphor. (A medicinal agent designed to draw blood away from an internal site.)

Advanced Usage

• "Revulsive action": the process by which a revulsive agent works.

  • The revulsive action of the poultice reduced the patient's joint swelling. (The counterirritant effect relieved deeper inflammation.)

• "Revulsive effect": the observable outcome of applying a revulsive.

  • The revulsive effect was evident as the skin reddened and the headache subsided. (The surface irritation correlated with relief of internal symptoms.)

Variants and Related Words

• Revulsion (n): a strong feeling of disgust or repulsion; also, in medicine, the act of drawing disease or blood from one part of the body to another.

  • The patient felt revulsion at the taste of the medicine. (Strong disgust.)
  • Revulsion therapy involves applying a counterirritant to the skin. (Medical sense.)

• Revulsive (adj): relating to or causing revulsion (medical sense).

  • This revulsive liniment is used for muscle pain. (Counterirritant.)

Synonyms

• Counterirritant (n): an agent that produces irritation in one part of the body to relieve inflammation in another.
• Derivative (adj): in medicine, referring to a treatment that draws material away from a site.

Phrasal Verbs

Related Idioms

Note: "Revulsive" is a technical term primarily found in historical or medical contexts. It is rarely used in modern everyday English, having been largely replaced by "counterirritant."