Medical Properties of Charcoal

Medical Properties of Charcoal

Although not strictly a “herb” in itself, charcoal is derived from the incomplete combustion of many plant products. Usually obtained from a hard wood, charcoal is produced by slow combustion in a relative absence of oxygen. Although most hard woods can be utilized in the manufacture of medicinal charcoal, eucalyptus wood seems to be one of the best. In a home like setting, charcoal can be scraped or chipped from the charred hardwood. After being moistened with water, it is forced through a food grinder. Commercial sources of charcoal are also available, principally obtained from coconut shells.

Treatment with superheated steam, or another industrial method, can produce “activated” charcoal, which is capable of much improved absorptive effect, The use of medicinal charcoal goes back to ancient Egypt, and was found in an Egyptian papyrus dated around 1550 B.C. In the time of Hippocrates wood chars were used to treat various ailments. Charcoal’s adsorptive property is due to a myriad of micropores, the walls of which have surface areas that range from 400 to over 1800 square meters per gram! Thus, the surface area of powdered charcoal is phenomenal. Finely ground charcoal particles are so small that it takes about 50 million to make one pound! One should not confuse the properties of activated charcoal with burnt toast or charcoal briquettes.

Many poisons can be adsorbed by charcoal, although the properties are quite selective. DDT, dieldrin, strychnine, malathion, and parathion are some industrial toxins that become inactivated by this “miracle” substance. Many drugs are likewise adsorbed by charcoal. Several more common ones include aspirin, barbiturates, cocaine, opium, nicotine, morphine, penicillin, and sulfas. Inorganic substances are adsorbed, such as mercury, phosphorus, chlorine, iron, lead, and silver. For this reason, charcoal should be an important constituent of the emergency kit in every household. Better than the universal antidote in case of acute poisoning, a rescue worker has merely to induce vomiting, followed with a large dose of activated charcoal to render most substances harmless. Usually 30 to 60 grams, about ¼ cup, is needed, suspended in water and taken as soon as possible after the injection of any toxin. Charcoal may be employed to reduce or eliminate distress from intestinal gas. Its adsorbing and deodorizing properties are welcome in skin ulcers. For colostomies, place a tablet in the bag with each cleansing. Charcoal can act as an air purifier in a sickroom, in the refrigerator, or where recycling of air is necessary, as is common in a submarine.

Although a charcoal filter in cigarettes may remove three times as much of the toxic vapor as ordinary filters do, the carbon monoxide and nitric acid present in the smoke are not efficiently adsorbed. Charcoal has furthermore been used in the filtering of blood for the victims of kidney disease who must undergo repetitive dialysis. Depressed individuals who have taken an overdose of drug medication may additionally be saved with a specially designed charcoal filter that will revitalize the blood, while removing impurities.