Castor Oil – Because it’s Awesome.

I was reminded the other day, while seeing a patient, how many people don’t know about all of the cheap and easy old-timey remedies that people used to rely on to use at home.  Many of these remedies have been used for centuries, simply because they work.  Castor oil is one such cure that really does fix just about everything as well today as it did in it’s first recorded use 3000 years ago.  If it’s been working for 3000 years, chances are it’s going to keep working.

There are internal uses for castor oil, but I wouldn’t necessarily suggest them simply because this isn’t a gentle plant – it’s a kick in the pants.  Castor oil taken internally is a laxative strong enough not only to induce bowel cramping and diarrhea, but even to induce labor contractions in pregnant women.  That’s a lot of cramping. The reaction is so strong that castor oil is even reputed to have been used by fascist mobs in Italy in the 1920s as a form of intimidation.  Essentially these mobs would force feed their victims castor oil and turn them lose to have an agonizing and embarrassing bout of violent diarrhea. This, I suppose, made the victims then comply with whatever it was the fascist mob wanted in the first place.

While I’m obviously not a fan of internal use in all but the most dire circumstances, topical use of castor oil is a miracle strong enough to balance the drama of internal use.   The uses for topical castor oil are threefold:

1. Digestive – castor oil over the liver and abdomen helps to treat constipation, inflammatory bowel, liver congestion, gall bladder disease, bowel adhesions, lymphatic congestion, hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and  even infections in pelvic organs such as bladder and vaginal tract.
2. Skin – when used over other areas of the body castor oil can help with bacterial or fungal skin infections, rashes, acne, boils, abscesses, age spots, sebaceous cysts, warts, preventing stretch marks, ringworm, skin keratosis, swollen lymph nodes and eczema.
3. Pain – topical castor oil can also be used to relieve pain and inflammation from many causes.  This includes uterine cramping and abdominal pain related to the menses, joint pain and inflammation from arthritis, bursitis or tendonitis, muscle and ligament sprains, pain due to fluid retention in extremities, painful lymph nodes, even pain from appendicitis (although it’s still a good policy to get to the ER post haste)

The reason for it’s dramatic success in so many areas is simply the size of the primary molecule, ricinoleic acid, which comprises about 90% of the oil’s volume.  Ricinoleic acid is strongly anti-inflammatory and is a small enough molecule to penetrate into the deepest layers of the skin as well as into the lymphatic channels.  This penetration and effect is even better if you use heat on the area being treated. The best news is that 8oz of organic castor oil will run between $5 and $10 depending on how fancy a store you like to shop in.  That 8oz will last most of your natural life because there’s really only so much you can use at once.

There are two ways to use castor oil, the traditional method, and Dr. Amy’s slightly lazy method.  Both of them can be found in this convenient downloadable document. Don’t you just love it?

The castor bean plant, also called Palma Christi, or palm of Christ.  Possibly because of its hand-shaped leaves, possibly because it’s as close to a miracle as I’ve ever seen.

This photo is aptly named CASTOR-OIL PLANT © Dirk Sigmund | Dreamstime.com