CASTOR OIL: MODERN USES FOR AN OLD FOLK REMEDY

It was a long haul flight. By the time I got to my hotel room, I was in agony, barely able to stand up straight. Even lying down on the bed was painful. 

What was I to do? I didn't know anyone in the city, and I was scheduled to attend some important meetings the following day. The staff at the hotel reception desk couldn't tell me how to locate a chiropractor.

I wasn't interested in going to a doctor for a prescription painkiller or muscle-relaxant. I remembered the advice of castor oil packs for various aches and pains, and I remembered having read of this remedy's effectiveness in cases of sciatica.

I purchased a bottle of castor oil. No doubt the pharmacist thought that I was bent over because of constipation! 

Back at the hotel, I soaked a towel in the oil and wrapped it around my lower back. In a proper castor oil pack, a cloth of wool or cotton flannel is folded in several layers, then saturated with warm castor oil, and placed on the affected area. But I had to make do with a hotel towel and room-temperature oil. I also didn't have access to a heating pad or hot water bottle to add the prescribed warmth to the pack. The idea is that heat allows the oil to penetrate the skin and work its way deep into the tissues. 

I figured that the heat generated by my body would have to do. 

Finally, I cut open some plastic bags and spread them on the bed before lying down, to avoid getting oil on the sheets. 

Tired from the overnight flight, and exhausted from the pain, I drifted off into a deep sleep. When I woke up a few hours later, I was drowsy with jet-lag, but the pain was gone! It had completely disappeared, and I was able to sit, stand, and walk normally. 

An impressive result for a clumsy first attempt with makeshift tools! 

Since that time, I have witnessed the powerful healing force contained in castor oil on numerous occasions. My family and I have successfully used castor oil packs and rubs for various kinds of abdominal complaints, headaches, inflammatory conditions, muscle pains, skin eruptions and lesions. Castor oil is a staple item in our medicine cabinet at home, and whenever we travel, we pack a small bottle of castor oil.