Hi'iaka's Healing Herb Garden

HEALING SKIN AND BONES WITH COMFREY

I was happy to see a friend using a comfrey poultice on his injured wrist recently. It reminded me what a wonderful, healing plant comfrey is, so I thought I'd write about this important herb this month and also discuss how to make a simple healing poultice.

Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) is a familiar plant to many of us. I've seen it growing in many backyards and farms on the Big Island, but I always wonder if the land's caretakers are using it for the many healing purposes it's famous for.

According to one of my favorite web sites, "A Modern Herbal," by Mrs. M. Grieve (www.botanical.com), comfrey has many nicknames, including Knitbone, Knitback, Consound, Blackwort, Bruisewort, Slippery Root, Boneset, Gum Plant, and Ass Ear. It's a member of the Borage and Forget-me-not tribe, Boraginaceae. Comfrey has been cultivated since about 400 BC as a healing herb. The word comfrey, derived from the Latin word for "grow together," reflects the early uses of this plant. Greeks, Romans and ancient Europeans used comfrey to stop heavy bleeding, to treat bronchial problems, and to heal wounds and broken bones. It's very common throughout England, and it especially likes to grow in damp areas. I've had trouble keeping it alive in my dry lowland climate, but with a bit of irrigation, it survives.

Mrs. Grieve reports, "The plant is erect in habit and rough and hairy all over. The leafy stem can grow to 2 or 3 feet, with lavender colored flowers that hang like little bells. The lower leaves are very large, up to 10 inches long, elongated in shape and covered with hairs which promote itching when touched. It has a branched rootstock: the roots are fibrous and fleshy, spindle-shaped, an inch or less in diameter and up to a foot long. Inside, the root is white, fleshy and juicy."

CAUTION: Recent studies have shown that comfrey contains alkaloids called PA (pyrrolizidine alkaloids), which can be toxic to the liver and are a possible carcinogen, according to the Perdue University web site (www.hort.perdue.edu). This means that you should not regularly drink comfrey tea or take other forms of this plant internally (such as dried plant material in capsules). It's generally all right to use it for a short time for a specific purpose, as I did after my hip replacement surgery (the properties contained in comfrey are valuable for bone healing, both internally or applied externally, which is safe). Michael Tierra reports in his book The Way of Herbs, "This information is still a point of controversy among herbalists. While it has been demonstrated that feeding 6-week-old rats 30% to 50% of their diet comfrey root did cause tumors to develop, humans have never manifested tumors from regular long-term ingestion of comfrey plants."

Regarding external use, Mrs. Grieve says, "Comfrey leaves are of much value as an external remedy, both in the form of fomentations, for sprains, swellings and bruises, and as a poultice, to severe cuts, to promote suppuration of boils and abscesses... The whole plant, beaten to a cataplasm and applied hot as a poultice, has always been deemed excellent for soothing pain in any tender, inflamed or suppurating part... It is useful in any kind of inflammatory swelling."

Recipe for Comfrey Poultice

A poultice is simply something that you apply to your skin to help heal an external wound, bite, burn or other skin ailment, or an internal injury such as a break, bruise or sprain. You can prepare a comfrey poultice in several ways.

1. Put fresh leaves and/or root in a blender or food processor with a small amount of water, and then grind it into a paste.

2. Chew the fresh leaves into a wad if you're out in the wild and have no other way to prepare it.

3. If you buy dried, powdered comfrey, just mix it with a little water so that it makes a thick paste.

4. My favorite method is to brew a "decoction," which is just a strong tea. To make a decoction, first boil about 2 cups of water in a non-metallic pan such as Pyrex. Chop up about 1 cup of fresh comfrey leaves and/or root, or use about one-half cup of dried plant material. (I always recommend using fresh plants if they're available.) Reduce the heat to a simmer and then cook slowly for about 20 minutes. Allow it to cool before you apply it to your skin.

You can then take your juiced or brewed comfrey "goo" and apply it to your wound or sprain. I sometimes use adhesive tape to hold it in place, because the longer you leave it on, the more effective it will be. You can leave it in place for several hours or overnight, and then re-apply a fresh wad the following day if you feel it is necessary.

You can also use the liquid portion of your poultice. It's especially helpful for skin ailments that cover large areas, such as sunburn, or the way a staph infection can spread to cover an entire body part, such as a leg. To use it, sit on the side of your bathtub (or in it if you're treating an area such as your back). If you're treating your leg, you can sit with your foot in a large bowl. Then slowly pour the "tea" over your injured part and let it remain for a few minutes without washing it off or drying it.

CAUTION: For serious injuries, staph infections, or broken bones, always seek the help of a qualified medical professional.

EXTRA! Recipe for "Voggy Mary" Tincture

I recently had a sinus thing happen, perhaps due to the vog. So I made a tincture from the following herbs and added it to tomato juice-pretty good! Chop up and combine equal amounts of burdock, echinacea, ginger, turmeric, garlic, white-ripe noni fruit, and apple cider vinegar in vodka. Let it steep for one month, then strain and bottle your concoction. It's a good one to keep in the medicine cabinet for those voggy spells.