Monthly Archives: January 2010

Comfrey – The “Knit Bone” Herb

Comfrey knits broken bones back together and doubles the rate of cell growth, rapidly speeding up healing rates. It is my favorite herb. Comfrey is a sweet, cooling herb with expectorant, astringent, soothing and healing effects. It reduces inflammation and controls bleeding.

Comfrey contains a special substance called allantoin, which is a cell proliferative. In other words, it makes cells grow faster. This is one of the reasons why comfrey-treated bones knit so fast, wounds mend so quickly, and burns heal with such little scarring. Comfrey is often called knit-bone or healing herb.

My first experience with comfrey happened about 30 years ago. It was before the advent of car seat laws, and I was driving our two-door sedan around a curve in a nearby countryside. My seven year-old was seated on the right side, and had fallen asleep against the door. As I rounded the corner, the door, which sometimes did not latch properly, swung open, and she rolled out onto the road and into the ditch.  As you can imagine, my mother heart almost stood still, aghast at what I thought I would see as I stopped. To my relief, she stood up, so I knew that she hadn’t broken a leg, or rolled under the wheel. But she HAD gotten severe road rash. The skin and flesh was rubbed away to the bone several places on her face, knuckles, and hip.  Other areas were severely brush-burned. My husband’s mother came to the rescue, introducing me to comfrey and recommending that I make a tea of it to soak the wounds. After cleaning the wounds we soaked them in a strong, comfrey leaf tea.

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Cayenne “The Remarkable Healer”

Cayenne is one of the best all-around herbs to use and have on hand. Its name comes from the Greek “to bite.” It aids in increasing circulation, stops bleeding and heals things quickly. It is an inexpensive, effective herb to use. Keep a small bottle of the powder and one of tincture in each car and in your medicine cabinet and you will always be prepared for an emergency like shock or bleeding. It can be given with complete safety.

Cayenne – a Blood Stopper

My phone was ringing. “My foot is bleeding, and I am all alone with 5 young children. What can I do to stop it?” asked a distressed young mother. “ I cut it and the blood keeps running unless I put my foot up and pinch it tightly.”

“What happened?” I asked.
It was a foolish thing. I dropped a jar and broke it. Then I accidentally stepped on a piece of the broken glass. I tried to brush it off with my foot and accidentally cut my other foot rather deeply.”

“Do you have any cayenne?”
“Yes,” she replied a bit hesitantly. “But won’t it burn?”It shouldn’t. Pack it into the cut and hold it tightly for a bit. Wait for a bit. If that does not stop the bleeding, do it again. Call me back if it does not work for you and I will take you for stitches.”
In about ten minutes my phone rang again. “It worked!” she said happily. “There was only a slight sting and the bleeding stopped almost at once. I added a bit more just to be safe and then I bandaged my foot and I can even walk on it.”
“Good,” was my response. “That is usually how it works. And it works very quickly.” Time and again I have found this to be the case, even in more serious situations.

Cayenne Can Help With Pain

If you are suffering from the pain of pulled muscles, stiff neck or arthritis you might find relief with a topical application of cayenne in vinegar.  I read this in an old herbal as I was studying and inserted it into “Be Your Own Doctor” just before it went to press.  It made sense to me, and who knows it might help someone someday.  After all, both of these are things that most of us have in our cupboards.

Mix 1 teaspoon of cayenne powder into 1 pint of apple cider vinegar (raw is best- others work)

Reports began to come back to me of how it was working.  This is nice because pain has thankfully not been a big part of my life.

The first exciting one was an older gentleman with severe arthritis.  He was badly disabled because of this and was on steroids and pain meds but he was still not comfortable.  I had the privileged of shaking his hand as he was experiencing the difference made by cayenne and vinegar.  This man’s brother had died and he lived a few states away.  To be at his brother’s funeral the gentleman needed to take an 8 or more hour drive which he sorrowfully felt unable to do.  Someone suggested that he try the cayenne/vinegar and rub it on often to see if it would help him.  He tried it, not at all sure that it would help. Who can blame him?  The first application did not bring dramatic results but he continued and in a short time, he felt well enough to make the trip.  The amazing thing to me is that he was off ALL his pain medication when I met him at the funeral, and he was thankful.  This is the kind of story that really inspires me, especially when I meet the folks involved.

Another story that stands out to me is one where I got a phone call asking for Deep Tissue Oil (I do not sell it anymore) for her rheumatism.  She said she could not walk anymore.  It was a Saturday AM and I told the distressed caller that I would mail it Monday but that it would take a few days to go clear across the US. She responded that she needed it NOW! I told her I was sorry but I could not email it to her.  Then I remembered the cayenne/vinegar.  I told her how to do it and said good bye.  On Monday morning she called me early and told me not to ship the oil.

Why not?  She had applied the cayenne/vinegar to her both knees and in just a few applications, she had no more pain and was up and walking around.  Way to go!

With stories like that to ponder and no possible problem but a bit of burn if your skin is too tender, why waste money on pain meds. if it would work for you. Try it, you might like it.