Endometriosis Treatment: How to Make Your Own Castor Oil Pack

After I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Endometriosis, I underwent a few surgeries in an effort to remove the endometriosis and be able to conceive a child. After several months of still not achieving pregnancy, I found out that the endometriosis had come back and I was right back to where I started! I was so frustrated and immediately started to research more natural ways to help decrease my endometriosis. During my research, I stumbled upon something I found really interesting and decided to give it a try! I want to make it clear that I have no medical proof that this was successful in shrinking my endometriosis, or in helping me achieve pregnancy. However, I was at a point where I was willing to try anything, so I did! What I found was Castor Oil packs! Here’s what you need to know about them and how you can make some of your own!

 

A Castor Oil Pack is basically just a cloth that is soaked in castor oil and then placed on the skin. This helps circulation and can promote the healing of the tissues and organs underneath the area of the skin that you place the pack. Castor oil has been used for centuries because of it’s incredible healing powers. It has anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal properties and promotes an immune response when used topically instead of orally.[1]

In regards to fertility, Castor Oil Packs can be beneficial in supporting ovarian health, supporting fallopian tube health, supporting uterine health, detoxifying before conception, and supporting egg health.[2] Castor Oil packs are specifically great for women who have endometriosis as castor oil has been shown to increase lymphocyte production. Lymphocytes are disease fighting cells and are great in combating endometriosis and in reducing the pain that endometriosis causes women each month.[3]

If you feel like giving this a try, here is how you can make one! At first, I was really overwhelmed. But after doing it, I found that it was not as overwhelming as I had anticipated and I actually really enjoyed the process.

What you will need:

·         One flannel/cotton cloth

·         One bottle of castor oil- This can be purchased at a health foods store or Amazon.

·         Plastic wrap- Cut this one to two inches larger than your piece of flannel/cotton cloth.

·         Hot Water Bottle (the floppy kind) or an Electric Heating Pad- Personally, I preferred the electric heating pad because I could control when it got hot and for how long, etc.

·         Container with a lid- This is to store your cloth once you are done. For me, a mason jar worked great.

·         Old clothes and Sheets- Castor Oil will stain your clothing and bedding.

 

How to Prepare Your Pack:

·         Place the cloth in your container and soak it in castor oil. Make sure it is saturated, but it doesn’t need to be dripping.

·         Place the cloth over the affected area of the body. For fertility purposes, this will be your lower abdomen.

·         Cover the cloth with plastic.

·         Place the hot water bottle or electric heating pad on top of the plastic. Leave it on for 30-45 minutes. This is a great time to rest and relax!

·         Remove the pack and cleanse the area with a dilute solution of water and baking soda.

·         Place the pack back into the container and store it in your refrigerator. Each pack can be used 25-30 times before it needs to be replaced.

For best results, women should use a Castor Oil pack 3 times a week for 30-45 minutes each time.

 

I hope you give it a try! I really enjoyed it, and although I don’t have medical proof that it worked, I really felt like it made a difference and the relaxing time you get while doing it was totally worth it!

 

- Kamryn

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[1] Bond, Miranda. (2015, March 24). Why Castor Oil Packs are great for Endometriosis. Retrieved from www.myendocoach.com/castor-oil-packs/

 

[2] Barton-Schuster, Dalene. ( 2015, November 1). Castor Oil Therapy for Reproductive Health. Retrieved from www.natural-fertility-info.com/castor-oil-therapy

 

[3] Bond, Miranda.