Castor Oil Helped Prevent Knee Surgery

Q. Any idea where we can find Castiva?

Castor Oil is a life-saver for joints, especially knees.
A few years ago, my husband hurt/twisted his knee while getting in and out of a huge truck. The pain only increased as time went by, so we went to urgent care. After x-rays, etc., my husband was told that it really required surgery to repair and fix his knee, which was NOT in our budget at the time. What to do?

We had already heard about using castor oil on joints from a couple of doctors (M.D.) with knowledge in natural remedies, also.

According to instructions, I massaged castor oil into his whole knee area; then I wrapped the whole area with an old cloth (that I would continue to keep stored/sealed in a zippy-bag, for re-use) and with saran-type-wrap, because castor oil is both oily and staining–it will not wash out. After that, we put a heating pad on the area (SET ON LOW heat) for an hour. We kept the wrappings on his knee over night.

I had to beg my husband to let me apply the castor oil and wrappings on the first night. The second night, he reminded me to fix up his knee again. Night number three, he did it himself, on his own. He woke up the next morning, with his knee feeling great.

If/when he or I ever hurt any joint, both of us know to rub with the castor oil, wrap with a cloth, cover for a while, and get relief. Heat does not have to be applied, but it helps.

There is nothing like castor oil for knees and joints. It’s messy, but who cares, if it helps prevent or STOP the need for surgery and if it stops pain?

PS. A few years ago a non-oily version of castor oil came out on the market: Castiva. We always kept a tube or two around the house; we can not find it now, though. Any idea where we can find Castiva?

A. Castiva Arthritis Pain Relief is still available. You can find it online or in independent pharmacies. Castiva contains a castor oil base and comes in both a warming formula (capsaicin) or a cooling formula (menthol and methyl salicylate). Capsaicin (the hot stuff in hot chili peppers) has long been used to ease joint pain. Combined with castor oil we think this is a winning formulation.