Charcoal is an amazing substance. It adsorbs more poisons than any other substance known to mankind. It can adsorb lead acetate, strychnine, DDT, many drugs (including cocaine, iodine,penicillin,aspirin,phenobarbital),and,inorganic substances (chlorine, lead, and mercury).
It can adsorb thousands of times its own weight in gases, heavy metals, poisons, and other chemicals; thus it renders them ineffective and harmless.
It can adsorb intestinal gas and deodorizes foul-smelling gases of various kinds.
Charcoal can do these various things because of its ability to attract other substances to its surface and hold them there. This is called “adsorption” (not absorption). Charcoal can adsorb thousands of times its own weight in harmful substances. One teaspoonful of it has a surface area of more than 10,000 square feet.
The British medical journal, Lancet, discusses the amazing ability of the human skin to allow transfer of liquids, gases, and even micro-particles through its permeable membrane and pores, by the application of moist, activated charcoal compresses and poultices which actually draw bacteria and poisons through the skin and into the poultice or compress! The article describes the use of charcoal compresses to speed the healing of wounds and eliminate their odors. But the poultices must be kept moist and warm for this healing process to occur.
Ancient Egyptian doctors, as well as Hippocrates (the Greek physician), recommended the use of charcoal for medicinal purposes. North American Indians used it for gas pains and skin infections. It eases inflammation and bruises.
A 1981 research study found that activated charcoal reduces the amount of gas produced by eating beans and other gas-forming foods. It adsorbs the excess gas, along with the bacteria which form the gas.
Activated charcoal helps eliminate bad breath, because it cleanses both the mouth and the digestive tract. It also helps to purify the blood.
It relieves symptoms of nervous diarrhea, traveler’s diarrhea (turista), spastic colon, indigestion, and peptic ulcers. For such problems, take between 1-1½ tablespoons of powdered charcoal up to 3 times a day. Because food will reduce its effectiveness, take it between meals. Swirl the charcoal in a glass of water and then drink it down; or mix it with olive oil.
Charcoal was placed in gas masks during World War I; and it effectively counteracted poison gas.
Bad odors, caused by skin ulcers, have been eliminated by placing charcoal-filled cloth over plastic casts. It has been used externally to effectively adsorb wound secretions, bacteria, and toxins. And, in poultices and packs, it treats infections of the face, eyelids, skin, or extremities. It is one of the best substances in poultices for mushroom poisoning, insect stings, brown recluse spider bites, black widow bites, and various types of snake bites.
It is used in water purification, air purification, and for removing undesirable odors and impurities in food.
Charcoal is the most-used remedy when many different types of poisons may have been swallowed. It is also used for diarrhea and indigestion.
It is used for jaundice of the newborn, poison oak and ivy reactions, and many other illnesses.
All research studies show charcoal to be harmless when it is accidently inhaled, swallowed, or in contact with the skin. (But if much is swallowed, it can cause a mild constipation.) No allergies to it have been reported. But it is best not to take charcoal longer than 12 weeks without stopping. Do not take it regularly for long periods of time.
The most effective type of charcoal is the activated form. This process renders it 2 to 3 times as effective as regular charcoal.
Simply place some in water, stir, and swallow. Or apply it to the skin’s surface. It is odorless and tasteless. Powdered, activated charcoal achieves maximum adsorption within a minute or so after absorption.
Charcoal can also be placed in empty gelatin capsules and swallowed. (Gelatin is usually processed from animals.) But they will act more slowly than swallowing the powder mixed with water. Charcoal can also be mixed with a little fruit juice before being swallowed; but, of course, it will adsorb that also.
Charcoal poultices that are kept moist and warm actually draw toxins and poisons out through the skin tissue. This is because skin is a permeable membrane, which permits a variety of liquids and gases to enter and exit the body.
Make the poultice just large enough to cover the injured part. The paste may be made by mixing equal parts of flaxseed meal or corn starch with the activated charcoal, in a bowel, and then adding just enough hot water to make a moderately thick paste. Then spread the paste over a porous cloth, covering over the top with another layer of that same cloth.
Place the poultice over the area to be treated and cover it with a piece of plastic. Cover or wrap with a cloth, to hold it all in place. Secure by a tie, stretch bandage, or pin.
Apply the poultice for 1 or 2 hours. If applied at bedtime, leave it on overnight. Adsorption takes place almost immediately. When it is removed, wash or gently cleanse the area with cool water. Repeat when needed. Poultices should, at the most, be changed every 6-10 hours. Do not put charcoal directly on the broken skin; because it may cause a tatooing effect, blackening the skin for a period of time.
Activated charcoal is required by law to be part of the standard equipment on many ambulances, in case poisoning is encountered. It is the first choice of the medical profession.
Scientific experiments, conducted over a period of many years, attest to the effectiveness of charcoal as an antidote. In one experiment, 100 times the lethal dose of cobra venom was mixed with charcoal and injected into a laboratory animal. The animal was not harmed.
In other experiments, arsenic and strychnine were thoroughly mixed with charcoal and then swallowed by humans under laboratory conditions. The subjects survived, even though the poison dosages were 5 to 10 times the lethal dose.
Because medicinal drugs are chemical compounds, they are all poisons to a greater or lesser degree. Because of this, if charcoal is taken with them, or soon afterward, it will tend to adsorb and inactivate the drugs. Therefore, physicians recommend that you only take charcoal two hours before or two hours after taking a medicinal drug.
Physicians primarily use charcoal for eight different purposes. Here they are:
1 – To treat poisonous bites from snakes, spiders, and insects.
2 – To treat poisonings in general, as well as overdoses of aspirin, Tylenol, and other drugs.
3 – To treat some forms of dysentery, diarrhea, dyspepsia, and foot-and-mouth disease.
4 – To disinfect and deodorize wounds.
5 – To eliminate toxic by-products that cause anemia in cancer patients.
6 – To filter toxins from the blood in liver and kidney diseases.
7 – To purify blood in transfusions.
Although activated charcoal can be used as an antidote in poisoning from most drugs and chemicals, it will not be effective against the following: cyanide, alcohol, caustic alkalies (such as lye), mineral acids, or boric acids. Strong alkaline and acid poisons need to be treated with solutions with the opposite pH.
When mixed with water and swallowed to counteract poisoning, charcoal adsorbs the poison or drug, inactivating it. It then carries it inert through the entire length of the digestive tract and out of the body.
Never give charcoal, or anything else, to an unconscious person to swallow. Contact a physician or ambulance immediately.
Do not give charcoal before giving an emetic (to get him to vomit), because the charcoal will neutralize the emetic. Remember that charcoal will not work in cases of poisoning by strong acids or alkalies.
Here is a sampling of over 100 substances which are adsorbed by charcoal:
Acetaminophen / Aconitine / Amitriptyline / hydrochloride / Amphetamine / Antimony / Antipyrine / Arsenic / Aspirin / Atropine / Barbital, Barbiturates / Ben-Gay / Benzodiazepines / Cantharides / Camphor / Chlordane / Chloroquine / Chlorpheniramine / Chlorpromazine / Cocaine / Colchicine / Congesprin / Contact / Dalmane / Darvon / Delphinium / Diazepam / 2-, 4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid / Digitalis (Foxglove) / Dilantin / Diphenylhydantoin / Diphenoxylates / Doriden / Doxepin / Elaterin / Elavil / Equanil / Ergotamine / Ethchlorvynol / Gasoline / Glutethimide / Golden chain / Hemlock / Hexachlorophene / Imipramine / Iodine / Ipecac / Isoniazid / Kerosene / Lead acetate / Malathion / Mefenamic acid / Meprobamate / Mercuric chloride / Mercury / Methylene blue, and many more.
