Comfrey has been used extensively in both western and eastern herbal medicine. In China, it has been used as an “herbal medicine” for more than 2,000 years. Comfrey is also known as “knitbone”, no doubt due to its traditional use as a poultice for healing bone breaks, burns, sprains, swelling and bruises. In western herbal medicine, Comfrey was, and still is, used topically to address inflammatory disorders, such as arthritis, gout and thrombophlebitis, and internally to ease diarrhea. While it may soothe and heal GI tract tissue, its use internally may be best left to the experts, because it is said to come with some potentially significant side effects and contraindications, which we will discuss later.

Comfrey is thought to be a cell proliferant, meaning that when it is used externally as a poultice, fomentation or liniment, it may speed up the healing of broken and wounded tissue, including broken bones and sprains. Comfrey has also been suggested to have antifungal and anticancer activity, and it has a history of being used to address musculoskeletal and inflammatory disorders. Unlike some other plant-based extracts, the whole Comfrey plant has been shown to be highly effective when used topically.

It has been suggested to ease gastric ulcers and hemorrhoids. However, its use in general is usually redistricted to external use, because when used internally, it has been shown to have a certain level of toxicity. This is due to the fact that Symphytine, one of the components of Comfrey, has been shown to have a potentiality of causing cancer in rats.

Also, while many contemporary herbalists see Comfrey as a valuable herbal extract, they also view it with some ambivalence because of its potential risk of liver toxicity. This is why its use is almost always limited to external use, which we believe makes it a poor choice for addressing hemorrhoids or varicose veins. In fact, it has not been shown to strengthen the tissues of the vascular system, which is the mechanism needed to ease these conditions.

• May aid the healing of breaks, sprains and bruising when used externally

• Potentially toxic when used internally
• Not a known varicose vein solution

For those seeking out a product that may ease sprain, strains, breaks and bruises, Health Herb Comfrey Leaf may well ease these issues. However, it has not been traditionally used to ease varicose veins. There are holistic and over-the-counter products that may lessen the symptoms of varicose and spider veins, such as itching, burning, swelling and pain. There are also products that may prevent and sometimes reverse these issues.

For instance, Diosmin 95® has just arrived on the U.S. market after being used extensively in Europe to ease varicose and spider veins, as well as hemorrhoids. It has been shown to directly increase the activity of neuramediators in the veins in order to prevent and reduce the discomfort and appearance of varicose and spider veins. It has become very popular among many people, but unfortunately, very few product developers have gotten up to speed, so finding products that contain Diosmin 95® may be difficult, but it is not impossible.