Like most herbs, comfrey grows wild or cultivated as a perennial plant in various places of the world. There are several varieties of this herb, and the most useful for medicinal purposes is the Russian Comfrey, or Symphytum x uplandicum. While internal uses of comfrey are considered controversial even among practicing herbalists, it is not necessary to ingest comfrey to reap its greatest medicinal benefits.
Used externally, comfrey is completely safe, even for babies, and it is in its use as a wound dressing that comfrey’s magic shines through. The next time you get a wound, sprain your ankle, burn yourself, or even break a bone, turn to comfrey for comfort.
The nickname knitbone is one key to just how powerful this particular herb can be for particular external uses. Specifically, comfrey contains a natural compound known as allantoin, which is able to quickly speed up the replacement of cells in the body. This means it’s able to produce rapid healing for broken or sprained bones, and cuts, bruises, or other open wounds.
Comfrey has restricted uses in many countries, the United States, Canada, and the U.K. included. The restrictions are generally related to internal uses only, and they’re in place because comfrey contains substances known as hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, or PAs. These PAs can cause a liver disease which could in turn cause liver failure.
Some practicing herbalists feel that the internal use of comfrey is quite safe, while others feel that some variations of the herb are safe while others should be avoided. And there are those who simply use comfrey for external applications as well.
The external applications alone are quite amazing to anyone who has never encountered them before too. Simply mixing a bit of comfrey with oil, aloe vera, or even beeswax or petroleum jelly will create an instant useable salve which does wonders for a variety of common health problems.
Staph infections for instance, which are caused by Staphylococcal bacteria, are quickly killed by simply applying comfrey directly or comfrey salve directly to the infected area. Open wounds heal extremely fast – usually within 24 hours or less – and usually leave no scar behind as well. Broken bones are known to heal faster when comfrey is applied outside the affected area, and torn ligaments and tendons also heal quite quickly when a comfrey salve or poultice is applied externally too.
Not only does comfrey start the healing process quite fast, it also helps relieve pain as soon as it comes into contact with the injured area. It’s also excellent for bringing down swelling and reducing inflammation.
Hmm…this sounds interesting. I might try it out. I usually use good old Vaseline or papaya ointment – however, you’ve described comfrey in such detail that I’m curious.
We have a couple of health food stores down the road so I might just pop in and see if they have it.
Thanks for enlightening me on this.
take care…
I’m sure you’ll like it, but let me know how it turns out.
What’s interesting is that the reported effect of comfrey is to speed up healing by increasing cell growth at the injury site. Most salves I know about are bactericidal, which kill bacteria. So perhaps some combination of a bactericidal (like tea tree oil) and comfrey would be a great combo for simultaneously killing germs and speeding up healing.
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This is the first time I heard about comfrey and its healing wonder. It just goes to show that nature has already provided us with a lot of things we can use. It’s just a matter of finding out how we can use them. Great post again.
By the way, is it just my monitor or is it really hard to leave a comment here as I can’t see what I’m writing on the required fields?
It is my first time to read or heard about Comfrey. Does it really helps heal broken bones? My brother had a broken bone when he fell while playing basketball.
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I wanted to try this one not for myself but for my grandma, thanks for this post.
Well, I went out and checked it out and that’s definitely the plant I have. It has some very small thorn type things on its branches though. Not sure how to prepare it for use. Should it just be ground up wet or should it be dry first? I’m assuming it would work better in a wet form so I guess I’ll try that first.
I already experienced the wonders of Comfrey when my knee broken in an accident.
I do go for herbal products rather if it does not bring any kind of side effects. Breaking bones and Swelling are very much often things. I had never heard of Comfrey yet. going through the blog it was really helpful and informative for me.
Hoping to see you with more and more informative blogs.
regards, Royal
Cheers
It’s weird how lots of chemical based products can get to the market without any problems and something as natural as comfrey has the darndest of trouble. But I do take the liver damage and cancer warnings seriously. If you want to try it, it’s available in the commercial form Kytta-Salbe which has more than 99% of its pyrrolizidine alkaloids removed.
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I know Chinese Comfrey, which usually is used for blood disorders. Russian Comfrey and the external applications of Comfrey are really new to me. But I believe they might have something in common. Thanks for the knowledgable post.
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Comfrey seems to be another jewel in herbal medicine. It amazes me that a single herb has the potential of curing a wound, a sprain, a burn or a broken bone. What is it in this herb that the wounds are healed so quickly?
Years ago my teenage son came home with a serious ankle sprain from playing basketball. It was very swollen. I am an RN and just finished a shift in the ER. I knew if it was broken, they would wait for the swelling to go down anyway so I immobilized it, put ice on it, then remembered my Russian Comfrey plant. I put the leaves in a blender, made a paste of chopped leaves, packed it over and around his entire ankle,covered with some wet cheesecloth (thin cotton fabric ) . I wrapped his foot and ankle in a trash bag using an ace wrap to secure everything. He went to sleep with ice and it was elevated overnight. In the morning he walked into the kitchen, I asked how his ankle was. What ankle? he said, then, oh it’s fine, the pain was gone.
Looking down, except for some bruising and soreness, it looked totally normal . My husband said not to tell anyone as they would think I was crazy. He is now an ex. This is not medical advice. See your doctor for any suspected fracture or severe sprain (which could be a fracture). My son just happed to greatly benefit from my readings about herbs and natural healing.
My rescued, large Dane-Lab just incured a knee injury (partial tear) -we have tried water therapy-PT, and Chinese herbs (from the Holistic Veternarian-always consult your vet) . Tonight he is limping again.
He is still a puppy (large) so I don’t want to subject him to surgery,which always leaves them with arthritis in the joint. I know, I have a Lab who went through the surgery. Tonight, and for the next several nights, I am trying the Comfrey overnight poultice. I am securing it with an old leg from a stocking, and an ace wrap. I will let you know how “Big Ben” does with this ancient cure for tendons. Wish me (us) luck. Will keep you posted…
Jane and “Ben”
I just broke my tail bone in 2 places and herniated a disk. Someone told me about Comfrey and I got some today so I can see what its all about. Hoping for good results.