Comfrey

Comfrey is a plant as pictured below. It's a medicinal herb that is used for all sorts of things from healing wounds to broken bones. I've never understood the latter, but I often see it written in natural health circles. I'm also told the plant is sometimes referred to as 'knitbone'.

Some people use Comfrey internally, while others believe it to be toxic. I don't drink Comfrey tea, but I do make a highly concentrated Comfrey tea and use it on wounds.

Because of the controversy around it, it's not available in natural health products in some countries, even for topical use. This makes it hard for some BXO sufferers to even experiment with it to see if it helps them.

My hope, by showing you what it looks like, is that you may be able to spot it growing in the wild. Comfrey is a rampant plant with a deep-growing tap root, so once it's planted it can be difficult to control. This means that there's a fair chance you can find it growing in the wild.

The leaves are quite tough and reasonably furry. The telltale patterns on the top of the leaves should give it away. You may also find purple flowers, which are evidently sterile.

Pick some leaves, then leave them to dry. Once fully dried, simply break them up and add them to boiling water. Leave them soaking for several hours, before filtering the leaves from the liquid. Then, boil the liquid away until the mixture is heavily concentrated.

Allantoin, the healing compound in Comfrey, is reportedly stable up to 80 degrees. I've boiled it at 100 with no issue, but you may want to keep the temperature lower and let it evaporate off. Then, when you think it's strong enough, simply pour the liquid into an ice cube tray and freeze. You'll have a source of topical Comfrey you can apply as often as you like. I do it once or twice a day, because I make it so strong.

When holding the ice cubes, be aware they melt quickly!