If you use comfrey externally, it’s advised to apply it only to unbroken skin and don’t apply it for long periods of time, 10 days or less is advised.Symphytum officinale is a perennial flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae. The external use of comfrey to treat topical pain and swelling is considered safe but it would be best to consult a doctor before treating yourself with something that has the potential to be toxic. Avoid using comfrey if you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant. Never use comfrey internally as it can cause major damage to your liver and is possibly carcinogenic so has the potential to cause cancer. The leaves provide pain relief and reduce swelling. Often the root is used, but the leaves are useful when made into a poultice to place on sprains and joints. The FDA has banned the use of comfrey for internal use and insists a warning label is added to products containing comfrey for external use.Ĭomfrey has been used for thousands of years to treat bleeding both internal and external.When boiled down, comfrey forms a glue-like substance which is why it was so effective at stopping bleeding, it literally glues wounds together.The comfrey root paste stiffens while it’s drying and makes a firm cast capable of setting a limb. The roots can be boiled down and then spread onto muslin which is wrapped around the broken limb. Comfrey roots can be used to make an effective cast to set a broken bone.You can see where the name boneset comes from. This means it is the “ Grow Together Plant“. Comfreys official name come from the Greek “ Sympho” which means “ to make grow together”, “ phyton” meaning “ plant” and “ officinale” which is a title given to medicinally important plants and herbs.It is still seen as a viable treatment for external uses and has been known to give those suffering from osteoarthritis of the knees great relief as well as being an effective treatment for bruises, sprains and pulled muscles. It also contains carcinogens and has been linked to cancer. Today, comfrey is banned for internal consumption in a number of places because it’s been linked with high liver toxicity. Most of the comfrey grown in the USA can be traced back to this hybrid. This created a natural hybrid with common comfrey and in 1954 this hybrid was shipped to Canada and called Quaker Comfrey after the religion followed by the British researcher Henry Doubleday who was promoting the beneficial effects of comfrey. In the 1800s a different form of comfrey was brought to Britain from Russia. The fertiliser produced was particularly good for tomatoes and potatoes. Farmers in the 1900s would also use comfrey to make a powerful fertiliser by soaking the leaves in water and letting them ferment for a few weeks. By the late 1600s, many people were growing comfrey in their gardens to use it as a healing aid.ĭuring the Irish potato famine in the 1840s, comfrey was cooked and eaten often. The pharmacists then charged people high prices for plants, like comfrey, which people could have gathered themselves if they’d known what they were. Pharmacists had previously been referring to plants by their Latin names, which made those with less education think that they were special plants rather than common garden plants. The English botanist Nicholas Culpeper demystified comfrey and other medicinal herbs for the pooper population by writing about them in plainer English. The Cistercians, Benedictines and other monasteries are credited with furthering the cultivation of comfrey as they grew it in their gardens specifically to treat soldiers wounds.Ĭomfrey was regularly used as a medicine and by the 1600s it was also being used to treat gout and rheumatism. The monks suggest that it was effective for stopping internal bleeding, ruptures and hernias. He states that comfrey could help those suffering from internal trauma and abscesses as well as sealing wounds while reducing inflammation.Ĭomfrey also appeared in texts from monasteries in 1000AD. In later chapters of the book he talks about comfrey being used to help wounds heal faster and also helping to stimulate menstrual flows.ĭiscorides, who write the famous “Materia Medica” around the same time that Pliny the Elder wrote his book, also mentions comfrey. He states that comfrey can be used to treat bruises and sprains in his book “Naturalis Historia”. Pliny the Elder (23/24–79AD) is one of the first herbalists to mention the use of comfrey. Tea made from the leaves was used to treat internal problems and a poultice was made to bind wounds and broken bones. It was used by the Ancient Greeks and Romans to help bind wounds and to stop heavy bleeding as well as to heal broken bones. ![]() Comfrey has been used as a healing herb since at least 400BCE.
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