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By Nina, Contributing Writer
I use many natural remedies in my home on a regular basis. Herbs, essential oils, homeopathic remedies. They all play a role in keeping my family healthy. Right now, I keep about 7 herbs in my medicine cabinet that I use on a regular basis. Of those, comfrey stands out from the rest because of all its goodness. This herb is a staple in my house and I use it for many reasons.
Comfrey Salve
I include comfrey in all of my skin healing balms because of its ability to speed the healing of sores, abrasions and bruises quickly. Comfrey’s mucilagenous property makes it soothing to irritated skin. I”ve used comfrey salve with success on scrapes, diaper rash and tattoos, among other things.
Several stories I”ve read reported that broken bones heal faster when a comfrey salve is applied. Comfrey promotes fast healing and much-needed pain relief. Added to an ointment it also does very well for treating hemmorhoids.
To make your own salve with the benefits of comfrey, I suggest trying the recipe for this homemade first aid ointment.
Massage Oil
Comfrey infuses well into massage oil and does a great job at easing those tender spots. My dad created his own muscle rub using comfrey and arnica that brings amazing relief to arthritis and other sore areas. I like to add lavender essential casino online oil for relaxation.
Ingredients needed:
- An oven-proof dish
- Fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth
- 2 cups olive or jojoba oil, or your favorite carrier oil
- 1 cup dried herbs (for this massage oil, use equal parts arnica and comfrey)
- Pure lavender essential oil (3-5 drops)
- Clean, dry glass jar to store your oil in
Turn your oven on to 200 degrees. To the oven-proof dish, add the oil and herbs. Stir it up so that all of the leaves are covered with oil. Turn off your oven, because it should be 200 degrees by now. Put the oven-proof dish in the oven, clean up your mess and go have fun for a few hours.
After 3 hours take out the dish and strain the oil from the leaves. Discard the herbs and add the infused oil to a glass jar. Add a few drops of your lavender essential oil, put the lid on and gently swish. Label your oil and put the jar in a cool, dark place.
Comfrey Infusion
Infusions are like a very strong tea. They are steeped in water for several hours in a tightly sealed jar. Using a quart-size canning jar is best because they can hold up well to boiling water.
Once prepared, you can add a comfrey infusion to baths for soaking wounds or sore muscles. For sore feet, I like to fill a large dish washing tub with hot water, epsom salts and comfrey infusion to make them feel better. Infusions are generally made using leaves or flowers.
Put an ounce of dried comfrey leaves in your canning jar. Fill the jar to the fill line with boiling water. Secure the lid tightly and let it steep until the water has completely cooled. Strain out the herbs and enjoy.
Used internally, comfrey is said to have many benefits, including healing stomach ulcers and hemorrhoids, as well as treating pernicious anemia with its high vitamin B12 content.
HOWEVER, young comfrey leaves contain poisons called pyrrolizidine alkaloids that are carcinogenic, so consuming comfrey is highly cautioned against. Thankfully, these alkaloids are NOT absorbed through the skin.
I bought a bunch of different oils from mountain rose herbs so I don’t need to infuse them. If I’m making a salve how much of the oils should I add to the coconut oil base? I have comfrey, plantain, calendula and some essential oils.
I work in a industrial Kitchen love my Comfrey ointment for Burns. Recently splashed Hot oil from the fryer onto the inside of my hand. (This oil is sitting at 190 deg plus) I applied cold running water then ice on my hand continuously Till I went home, in which I then applied my Comfrey ointment , paper towel then more ice. I only have a very small blister where i didn’t put the Comfrey. No time off work. And it was only applied once. It’s also fantastic for Mozzie or midge bits. Since using it for these my children no longer blister,
thanks for the comfrey writeup. I was wondering, when you say a 200˚ oven, you didn’t say if it was Celsius or Fahrenheit. 200˚ C is around 400˚ F and 200˚ F is around 95˚ C. That’s quite a big difference as you can see. The results will be vastly different. Thank you!
I am 60 y.o. laborer. I love to work and be physically active. I recently developed a condition whereby a sprain or strain to feet, ankles or knees develops into gout-like arthritic conditions. It is extremely painful and debilitating, taking 4 days to over a week to heal.
There are many natural therapys I have used. The simplest and lost effective for me is to STAY OFF the effected joint, and 2 or 3 times a day I use a dish towel to wrap steamed Comfrey leaves around my effected joint. I have a large and growing patch of comfrey growing around the back deck. A steady supply of fresh leaves is just outside. In October I bring in 3 arm loads of leaves to tie up and dry behind the woodstove for winter when frost, rain, and short days cause the years crop to flatten and die onto the ground. This mat of dead Comfrey leaves insulates the roots from winter cold snaps and recycles the nutients back down into the soil where the “critters” process it and make it available to the roots for next springs new growth. The Comfrey has spread from one plant in a 4″ pot I purchased from Raintree Nursery 15 years ago, to about 600 square feet of solid, lush Comfrey that gets 3-4 feet high before falling over at the first midsummer’s rain. Not to worry, for each blooming apical stem and side shoot just turn themselves back up to the sky and keep growing.
The bumble bees and humming birds forage Comfrey from first light to dusk.
I would suggest to anyone who wants to use Comfrey at home in recipes and remedies to plant some in early spring. If it does’t get stepped on and you can provide it’s roots with light, airy, fertile soil and it’s leaves with sunshine, then it will take off, spreading by root growth each year, and fill the biologicl niche you provide it.
Good luck…and if your Comfrey dies, try it again and again. If Comfrey just won’t grow around you, there are still lots of sources through the mail. I live in Western Washington. That has it’s drawbacks for growing many things I’d like to…but Comfrey ain’t one of ’em!
Scott