Thus, they should always be dried or cooked for consumption. The leaves and bark are no longer used in modern practice. However, they are included here for the sake of completion. Once upon a time, Elder leaves were used both internally and externally. Leaves boiled in linseed oil also made a soothing application for hemorrhoids.
Some old herbals mention the use of Elder leaves for nervous headaches.
For this purpose they were heated between two hot tiles and applied to the forehead. Internally the leaves were used as a purgative, diuretic, diaphoretic and expectorant . Both the leaves and the root bark were given in cases of renal or cardiac dropsy, presumably for their diuretic action. In the days when purges and emetics played an important role in medicine Elder-bark ranked among the most popular remedies. The strength of its action was considered proof of its efficacy.