The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Sprains
Posted by Wendy (London) on 03/02/2023
★★★★★
I walked home ricked my ankle maybe on uneven paving. Carried on no pain then walked home. That evening foot started to hurt then got worse and worse until I could hardly walk. Restless night in pain. Next day massaged my foot and ankle with castor oil 3 times and the following day, like magic the pain was all gone. I couldn't believe how wonderfully it worked.
Internal Use of Castor Oil
Posted by Glenn (Toronto, Canada) on 05/19/2020
★★★★★
I purchased the "food grade" castor oil and gave it to my teen aged daughter for a spring clean out. Even though I put it in a bit of orange juice, I was shocked that she drank it without any fuss. I remember when I had to take it as a child that it was very unpleasant to drink and I put up so much fuss. The dosage I gave her, 2 table spoons, should have had purgative effects on her but nothing happened!!! I was quite surprised so I checked the bottle to make sure I got the right stuff. It was fine and not expired but I noticed the oil was thinner and clearer than I remembered. Also the bottle said tasteless and odourless. I feel like whatever process was done to make the food grade / taseless / odourless castor oil somehow made it much less effective. My parents told me that when they bought castor oil in the past that there wasn't a "food grade " tasteless odourless option. I don't know if that's something new. I'm going to try the cold pressed hexane-free organic one, on myself first, and see if it works and is what I remember from my childhood. Has anyone else experienced the same thing with the new food grade tasteless odourless castor oil? Has anyone recently consumed a cold pressed hexane free organic oil and had good results? t.i.a.
Arthritis
Posted by Mama To Many (Tn) on 06/04/2018
Dear Sandy,
Some things I might try would be gentle oil pulling with sesame oil - it seems to be especially indicated for teeth problems.
If you have not tried Black Walnut tincture, it is something to try to remineralize teeth. We use 1 dropperful in a Tablespoon of water and swish for 1 minute and then swallow. We do this twice a day. We have healed cavities with this.
Bone broth is supposed to help with healing bones and also the gut, which may improve absorption of nutrients.
Comfrey is an herb I use for its cell regeneration properties. If you would be able to grow a plant you would have an endless supply of this, at least in the summer months. I use it daily. Comfrey's other name is "knit bone" because it heals bones and joints.
Some use cod liver oil, internally to benefit from the vitamin A and D. Perhaps the vitamin A would also benefit the eye issue you have been having.
If you could get some black walnut powder, this can be added to homemade tooth powder. My husband uses this when his teeth feel sensitive and it usually helps right away.
I hope you are able to try some things and that they help you a lot!
~Mama to Many~
Skin Health
Posted by Cindy (Illinois, Usa) on 05/13/2016 533 posts
I'd never used castor oil before but here's my take on why it makes your skin feel so good.
Castor oil is like organic (I got organic) Vitamin E that hasn't been extracted from its "home"! It's like herbs, with all of the elements and compounds that tell the active ingredient what to do!! And you don't have to take it (or vitamin E) orally (YUCK) because your skin is kind of like a great big tongue and soaks it right up!
Heavenly on the skin but watch for other improvements. If you're suffering from a lack of vitamin E, there should be other changes as well. I'll report back after I've used it a while. I'm going to take a picture of some spots on my arm and a scar and use it on those to see what it can do.
WOW! Castor oil! Amazing!
Eye Stye
Posted by Mona (Marietta, Georgia) on 03/07/2012
★★★★★
I felt my lower eye lid getting sore one afternoon last week and by 10 pm it was REALLY sore. I pulled back my eyelid. It was red and I could see the bump on my lid above the lashes. I took a q-tip and dipped in in Castor oil then rubbed it over the area letting some of the oil go into my eye. Almost immediately I got relief. I repeated this about 4 of 5 times before I went to sleep about every twenty minutes or so. My eye was not sore all night. The next morning upon wakening I could feel that under my eye it was swollen but no soreness and it was rather itchy. The sty had come to a head and I could see the white bump. I ran another Castored Q-tip over it with a light pressure and the sty drained. That was it! I had a bit of a dark spot (bluish) under my eye. The swelling went away within an hour and the dark spot was completely gone by next day. I've had miserable stys before that have lasted for days where my eye has swollen shut so this was nothing short of amazing!
Activates T Lymphocytes
Posted by Marcelle (South Australia) on 06/29/2023
That's incredible. Thank you for sharing that information.
Sprains
Posted by Jen (R) on 03/22/2010
★★★★★
Hey EC,
just wanted to let u know that castor oil works! I fell last Sunday. landed on my hand/wrist and thought 4 sure it was broken. swollen, blue, blood blisters, everything. I kept ice on it all night and when I woke up it was worse. so I went Monday morn to have it xrayed. to everyone's surprise, it was not broken so I went and bought castor oil. 5.99 and wrapped my hand before bed. i fell asleep and woke up 3 hrs later took the wrap off and to my surprise, I could open my hand all the way and had no swelling and no pain. i could nt believe it! i went and turned on the light to check for the bruising. it was still there but it looked like a week old. u know when it starts to turn brown. so I did it again the next night. and only left it on for an hour. the bruise was almost gone. and it's now Monday of the next week and you would never know that a week ago I was being xrayed for broken bones.
I posted a question last week asking about castor oil for hyperthyroid and no one answered but I'm going for it. with amazing results on my hand, i have figured I will try and let u know what happens. I have never used this before last Monday but I'm a firm believer now. thanks ec. thanks edgar cayce. thanks God!
Injuries and Bruising
Posted by Soulon (Dittmer, Missouri) on 03/17/2010
★★★★★
If you've ever been hit by a ball or smashed your finger then "Castor Oil" is your best bet. As soon as the hit or smash occurs, saturate the entire area with Castor oil and leave on. Really lay it on! This has been advice that was given by a medical practitioner some 40 yrs. ago and it works. It will also remove blood blisters, take the swelling down and stop the pain. I was hit in the arm muscle with a zinger grounder and immediately applied my Castor oil. It took out the pain and never swelled and where I did not go down my arm far enough it did bruise, but where I applied the Castor oil it did NOT bruise. It's awesome for toddlers who constantly are falling. Apply ice on top of the Castor oil if you wish, but many times it's unavailable and the oil is handy to carry on you in a small bottle.
Jammed Finger
Posted by Joshua (Windsor, WI) on 02/05/2009
★★★★★
i use castor for so many things, though i work in construction and one day bent my index finger back to quite a painful extent...instantly began to swell to the size of a big toe. i left work briefly and picked up ol'faithful...castor oil. i soaked and wrapped it thouroughly and finished the day of work. as well...i play drums and had three days worth of gigs lined up starting that night...i would simply keep it soaked and wrapped until i had to play and then rewrap when i was done. using this method led my finger to heal quickly, even with the extra abuse i had put it through. great for wrist problems as well.
Bells Palsy
Posted by Virginia (Cushing, OK) on 08/08/2007
★★★★★
I successfully used castor oil packs for Bells Palsy which my co- worker contracted. I was beginning to have double vision and my eyes were inflamed. I used the pack on both eyes one hour nightly for 3 nights but the directions called for 4 nights. Well, I got busy and didn't do the 4th night and the symptoms returned until I completed the 4 nights in a row...No more problem at all.
Also, for me the packs are a great pain reliever. I used just the castor oil right on my cheek when I had an infected tooth. Still had to go to a dentist but CO stopped the pain immediately!
Also, used it to remove a wart on my son's toe. Each night applied CO put a sock on him until the wart was gone which was less than a week.
Urinary Incontinence
Posted by Sharon (MI) on 10/07/2021
@Cindy,
Ok...I have found your posts so interesting...any more info on your Castor Oil Trials?
Arthritis
Posted by Mama To Many (Tennessee) on 07/11/2017
Dear Char,
The only side effects I can think of would be that it is kind of messy! And ladies should not use abdominal castor oil packs during menstruation because they increase blood flow.
Thanks for sharing your success story. I love castor oil for lots of things - knee pain included!
~Mama to Many~
Moles
Posted by P. Raghavan (Virudhunagar, Tn, India) on 04/03/2017
Jomi,
It looks like castor oil and baking soda will also work for skin infections and itching very efficiently. Thank you for your info.
P. Raghavan.
Side Effects
Posted by Ali (Wales) on 03/01/2018
Yes. Castor oil can help the body detox. It helps to pull or move gunk out of the lymph.
Dry Eyes
Posted by Jennywren (Perth, Western Australia, Australia) on 02/18/2012
★★★★★
Castor oil is great for dry eyes and, I've heard, cataracts too. But make sure any castor oil you either apply to the skin or drop in the eyes is cold-pressed, so perhaps try your local health food store. I've been experimenting with castor oil recently, rubbing it on the face, scalp and lash area and my eyes are certainly brighter and bluer. It's been ten days. :)
Melasma
Posted by Reina (Ny) on 04/12/2011
★★★★★
Castor Oil "palma christi" cold pressed is the best, took care of my melasma.
Eye Stye
Posted by Bee (Mo, Usa) on 09/26/2009
★★★★★
I just wanted to share my success with using castor oil for stys. I frequently get little bumps around my eyes that look like whiteheads, had some particularly irritating ones just on the edge of the eyelid that rubbed the eye. Ouch! I tried the baby shampoo which got rid of most, but some stubborn ones remained so I tried castor oil. First of all it's very soothing and didn't bother my eyes like the shampoo, especially since it was unavoidable to get in the eye bc of location. I just used a qtip and smoothed it over both lash lines and around the eyelid and let it sit overnight. My stys cleared up around 24-48 hours. I kept at it a little longer, it feels nice and hopefully will prevent anymore.
Application Tips
Posted by Stacey (Berlin, Germany) on 09/14/2009
★★★★★
Cold-pressed oil is considered superior to other methods of oil extraction because heat and solvent based processing often destroys the active ingredients in beneficial oils. You can find cold-pressed oils at a healthfood store. They are often organic as well, so expect to pay more. The are better than regular oil, but regular castor oil is better than nothing.
Warts
Posted by Elaine (Edmond, Oklahoma) on 08/21/2009
★★★★★
As a teenager I had five "seed" warts on my right middle finger. They drove me nuts for a about three years until my mother suggested I use castor oil. I would soak small pieces of of a cotton ball in the castor and then place it on the wart held on with surgical tape. After about three weeks of this all of my warts had disolved. There was no scar and the surrounding skin was not effected. I hear that castor oil is also good for longer, thicker eye lashes.
Diabetic Feet
Posted by Gita (Pune, India) on 03/13/2008
★★★★★
After reading about Edgar Cayce and castor oil I tried it on my mother's feet. She has been having a burning sensation on her feet which the doctor's medicine could not cure. I massaged her feet with castor oil and washed it off after half an hour. You can imagine my delight when she said the next morning that the burning was completely gone! I also told our maid to rub castor oil on a wound on her foot. She says it is better but since she went to the doctor after she started using the castor oil and the doc cleaned her wound with hydrogen peroxide, I do not know to whom or what the credit should go.
Cysticerci
Posted by Lhyn (Dubai, UAE) on 03/11/2007
★★★★★
I had cysticerci in my upper abdomen (left and right) in my calculation it is almost 60 cyst with the size of mung beans each of the cyst. After I zapped it with hulda clark zapper and put castor oil pack and the heating pad, some of the cyst was gone... i'll continue zapping and castor oil packs.
Tumors
Posted by Mi (Danton, TX) on 03/10/2006
★★★★★
I had a non-cancerous tumor on a salivary gland. I tried castor oil packs before surgey to no avail, but 2 weeks after surgery I had fluid build up in my neck, I had my doctor drain it and it came back. I did a castor oil pack for one hour and when woke up the next day and the fluid was gone. I have since continued the packs every other night to help me not form keliods or scar and every night I do one I see an acceleration in healing the next day.
Application Tips
Posted by Mama To Many (Tn) on 04/28/2017
Dear Rsw,
Thanks for your details about the castor oil packs! I did not know that the store bought packs had the plastic built in. That is great and I am sure more tidy/handy than what I do. I will be looking in to that further!
Thanks! Always something new to learn...
~Mama to Many~
