Tag: castor oil

Best Herbs For Cancer

Herbs For Treating Cancer

Note:  This article is meant for information only.  It is not intended that you follow any ideas mentioned here as a substitute for getting professional advice from a doctor or a health professional.  You must get professional advice if you have something wrong with you, or you suspect cancer.

Cancer Treatment Herbs are usually used in conjunction with specific therapies. A dietary regime which is high in cleansing and nutritious raw foods are eaten along with their freshly pressed juices. Serious and stringent regular detoxification practices are followed so that detoxifiction occurs as quickly as possible. This last measure is extremely imortant: This is because, even a highly nutritious diet of mainly raw foods is not enough on its own to beat some cancers.

The next thing to consider is that cancer patients respond better to ‘natural’ alternative treatments when the body has not been exposed to chemotherapy and radiation treatment. This is because chemotherapy and radiation severely undermine the health of the cells and the organs. Some people have undertaken, and had success with, natural therapies such as the Gerson therapy after having radiation and chemotherapy treatment. But Dr Max Gerson thought that a cure was almost impossible to effect using his alternative cancer treatment, if a person had had standard chemotherapy and radiation.

I have to dig up my copy of Dr Gerson’s book: It is currently packed away in my son’s garage, but I will procure it for reference very soon. Then I can give you the specifics of his treatments in detail.

Castor Oil Treatments is one of the main-stays of Dr Gerson’s therapy for cancer and other degenerative disease. This, of course, is an herbal treatments which has been used as a healing and detoxification medicine for centuries.

Dr Gerson arrived at a dose of 2 tablespoons of castor oil every second day as a standard treatment for all of his cancer patients. This was followed by another herbal medicine – coffee. One cup of black coffee, made from proper fresh coffee grounds, was taken right away with the castor oil. This increased the efficacy of the castor oil in cleaning out the gall bladder and liver, as well as the intestines.

Raw, freshly pressed vegetable juices are taken every hour on the Gerson therapy, and also on Ann Wigmore’s cancer diet. Walter Last also used raw juices in his treatments for curing degenerative disease and other illnesses.

Porridge made with Oats: Oats are high in silica and are an excellent invalid’s food. Oatmeal porridge provides good bulk in the morning, so that the intestines can do their work. This is an important part of the Gerson diet, and is in fact the only cooked food that you eat for quite a while. The porridge is eaten without dairy milk or sugar. The rest of the diet is raw food and juices.

Walter Last uses dates in his recovery diets. These are used to replace sugar in the diet. Dates are rich in Vitamin B, iron, chromium which helps process sugars, and other nutrients.

Iscador, which comes from Mistletoe, has been used by many cancer therapists with good results. Of course, for most people, no herb on its own will do thetrick in beating cancer: Herbs must be taken in conjunction with the special diet and detoxification as discussed above. But iscador looks very promising, from what I have read. It has been used by some homeopathic doctors, someof whom have been connected to the Rudolph Steiner movement.

All herbs which benefit the liver and aid detoxification are beneficial for people who are using natural methods for reducing and curing cancer.

Dandelion herb is very beneficial for the liver.  The root is valuable as a liver healing herb, but the green part of the plant is also effective in cleansing the liver.

The Neem Tree has been proven as an herb which can reduce the size of tumours. This plant is common in Ayurvedic medicine.  It is referred to in one herbal which I have, where it is recommended as an anti-tumour agent.  The leaves of the plant are used.

To be continued……..

Gall Bladder Stones Treatment

Gall Stones Treatment. Natural Remedy.

Should You Get Your Gall Bladder Out?

Keep your gall bladder if you can. Unless it is absolutely necessary, then gall bladder removal should not be considered.   Some people may need to have their gall bladder removed, but I have met so many people who, at the first sign of gall stones, have rushed to the doctor to get the gall bladder removed.

Gall bladder operations are very common, and I think that the reason that many doctors and patients go in for gall bladder removals is because they do not realize that there are treatments which work for removing gall stones. If you have been advised to get your gall bladder out, and you do not have anything else wrong with you, such as a cancerous condition, then you should get a second opinion from another doctor.  Go also to an alternative health practitioner such as an ayurvedic healer, a naturopath,  herbalist, acupuncturist  or chinese medicinal healer for advice.

The thing is, that there are many different alternative treatments for gall stones.  Unless it is absolutely necessary to get your gall bladder out, then it obviously might be worth a try to eliminate those gall stones naturally, so that you can keep your gall bladder.

Some of the more well known treatments for breaking up gall stones and eliminating gall stones are:

  • Castor oil treatment
  • Olive oil and lemon juice
  • Epsom salts
  • Fasting on juices using  fresh organic  vegetables and fruits helps to eliminate gall stones and break them up.  Herbs such as dandelion leaves and root will help to prevent stones from forming, and also help to break up existing stones.

Prevent Gall Stones From Forming:

  • Drink plenty of good water.  Don’t drink too much coffee and tea.
  • The Diet should be at least 50% fresh fruit and vegetables.
  • Keep the diet alkaline with plenty of cooked greens, and raw salads.
  • Avoid fried food.  Use olive oil and other ‘good’ uncooked oils on salads.
  • Go easy on acid-forming foods such as dairy produce, meats, wheat products, especially bread.
  • Eat Brown Rice instead of Bread: Use brown rice as a substitute for all those wheat products.
  • You will not only lose weight and keep trim, but you will protect your gall bladder, your liver, your heart, kidneys and brain.
  • Drink plenty of dandelion root coffee instead of too much ceylon tea and coffee.  Dandelion root and dandelion leaves help to break up gall bladder stones.

The Treatments:

Olive Oil and Lemon Juice: This is a very old remedy which many natural healers have used, as well as those doctors who have an alternative approach to medicine.  Dr Max Gerson, Dr Walter Last,  and Dr Wagner are some of the many doctors who have adopted alternative methods of healing in their medical practices. Dr Wagner discusses the olive oil and lemon juice treatment in his book ‘How To Stay Out of The Doctor’s Office’.  Walter Last also used this treatment.

Castor Oil Treatment

This treatment was made famous by Dr Gerson, but it actually has been in use for centuries as a method of getting rid of gall stones.

Max Gerson’s method was to take two tablespoons of castor oil every second day for the treatment of cancer.  However, castor oil for simple gall stone treatment does not need continuous treatment such as this.  One weekly dose of a tablespoonful is probably a sensible dose.  In Victorian times, a weekly dose of castor oil was almost mandatory, to ‘fix what’s wrong with you’.

Ask your naturopath or your Ayurvedic practitioner about gall stone treatments and taking castor oil as a remedy.

to be continued

Alternative Therapies For Cancer Do They Work

Alternative Medicine Therapies.

Alternative therapies for cancer – Do they work?

Doctor Max Gerson, Dr Anne Wigmore, and two New Zealand healers, Dr Walter Last and Dr Eva Hill, are some of my favourite alternative cancer therapists.

These doctors have all written books on their methods of natural healing.  They are  all highly qualified medical people who have turned to natural means to cure people of disease.  These people have  cured many, many people over the course of their careers, of cancer, and other degenerative disease, and helped many more to prolong their lives.

One is not to assume, though,  that their methods are infallible:  not everybody survives cancer, whether it is treated by orthodox radiation and chemotherapy, or by alternative means.

Note:  Do see your doctor or health professional if you think you have cancer.  This article is not intended for people who want to do a ‘home cure’, but is intended for information only.

All of these health pratcitioners used detoxification methods with a diet of optimum nutrition in the form of raw food and juices, to help cure their patients.

Raw food and raw vegetable and fruit juice is essential in these alternative therapies.  Raw food, which provides optimum fiber, is cleansing to the bowel. It is also rich in enzymes,  antioxidants, including Vitamin C and other nutrients, all of  which help to heal disease, including cancer.

Dr Max Gerson founded a clinic which is still run today in Mexico.  He originally began in the USA, but was chased out of America by the  FDA, medical authorities and the drug barons, who obviously were threatened by  his astounding success in healing disease without the use of drugs.

The secret is in the elimination of toxins.  Detoxifying the Body through natural means is essential.  Raw foods help with this, but it is important to hurry up the process of detoxification, especially in advanced cases of disease.

Castor Oil Treatment:  The famous components of Dr Max Gerson’s diet, apart from the regular juices and raw salads, and a breakfast of oatmeal porridge with grated raw apple, are castor oil and coffee enemas. Two tablespoonsful of castor oil are taken every second day with a cup of black coffee. This is followed by an enema within five hours. Dr Gerson was convinced that the healing properties of castor oil would help to save many lives.  He began administering this to his patients.  He noticed that for many people this was the answer, but saw that the more debilitated patients often had a major decline in their health on the third day after having taken castor oil, even when they had initially improved.

He put this down to the fact that the castor oil was releasing poisons from the liver too quickly for the intestines to eliminate them:  These poisons   were being reabsorbed into the blood, which was causing poisoning by auto-intoxication.  This was when he had the bright idea of introducing enemas, in combination with regular doses of castor oil every second day, to flush away those poisons in the intestines.

It was the simple enema, in combination with the castor oil which detoxified the liver, which was responsible for his success in turning the condition of cancer around so that it could be beaten.

Miracle Cure of Jacqui Davison.

Jacqui Davison, who survived cancer using the castor oil, enema, and raw foods with juices, also wrote a book on her recovery from cancer.  She had been given up by the medical profession to die.  Her daughter persuaded her to try the Gerson approach.  She agreed to the treatment, fully expecting that she would still die, as she had been given only days to live.  But, day by day, and then week by week, she still was not dying, but was, instead, slowly recovering strength.  She fully overcame the disease:  The ‘side effects’ of the castor oil, enema and high nutrient programme resulted in her growing a new head of hair and a new set of teeth after a year on the diet and detoxification regime.

Jacqui’s success story is no ‘wishy washy’, ‘pie in the sky’ story:  Her story is well documented.  It is a fact that she had been abandoned by the medical authorities.

Dr Anne Wigmore Cured Cancer: Dr Anne Wigmore’s case is interesting. She had been diagnosed with cancer after a growth was discovered.  She had read the Gerson therapy, as I recall, but devised her own method for curing herself of cancer.  The main cleansing tool which she used was wheat grass juice.  She got better, after between 6 months and a year,  using her detoxification method, and raw food later, but when she announced to the medical profession that she had cured herself of the cancer which they said she had, their response was:

  • “Oh, well it couldn’t have been cancer if you’ve  cured it, then”.  So she agreed, this time, to a biopsy which proved there had been cancer growing in her breast. She had been opposed to the knife going in, initially, as she felt that would spread the cancer about her body, but she agreed to this operation so that the medical authories would know for sure that she HAD beaten cancer.

Sure enough, the reults were positive – it was cancer.  But, as she had predicted, the knife cut caused the cancer to start up again, and this time it took her two years to beat the cancer properly.

Macrobiotic Diet As Therapy: I have heard of people who have recovered from cancer and other disease using only a macrobiotic diet, which is not raw food, but high fiber cooked rice and vegetables. I believe it is the elimination of dairy, wheat and sugar in this diet which helps its efficacy, but no doubt the combination of nutritious alkaline foods, eaten with brown rice, has a healing effect.

Then again, recovery using this type of diet, or indeed any type of diet,  will  depend really on the sort of cancer being treated,  how severe the disease is, what resources one has to grow or  buy organic foods and look after oneself, emotional support, and determination with a strong will to live.

Walter Last and Detoxification:  Dr Walter cured many people of disease in the Northland area before he went to Australia in the 1980”s.  He wrote a book called “Heal Thyself”.  His methods were similar to Gerson’s in that the enema was an all-important tool for quickening detoxification. Walter’s diet allowed you to eat millet or cornmeal porridge in the morning.  His maxim was ‘Never eat cooked food on its own without something raw’. Raw food, especially mung bean sprouts,  however, was still the basis of his diet. The  addition of two raw egg yolks a day, with sips of calf liver juice at meal-times  for extra enzymes, vitamins B6 and B12, iron  and other  minerals, were complimentary to  his diet.

Enzyme Rich Calf Liver Broth is another integral part of Walter Last’s diet for recovering from disease. See my post on how to make this.

Freshly Pressed Juices:  These are an integral part of many alternative therapies for cancer, including Walter Last’s approach, Dr Anne Wigmore, and Dr Gerson’s. These healers favoured freshly pressed wheat grass juice, but organic carrot juice, beetroot, celery, apple and other vegetables and fruits were used.  A  glass of fresh  juice was recommended  every hour on Walter’s diet, and also on the Gerson programme.

I don’t know  so much  about the specifics of Dr Eva Hill’s treatments, or if there were any,  except that she used raw foods as the main component:  I have only ever seen one book which she wrote. I must find this book again to refresh my memory on her methods.

When I had a breast lump about twenty years ago, I read Dr Eva Hill’s book, which inspired me so much.  I also had  the books by Dr Gerson, Dr Anne Wigmore, and Walter Last and devoured the information in these as well as  any others I could lay my hands on.  I devised a treatment for myself which was ‘do-able’.

I bought a juicer and proceeded. We were lucky enough to keep a good vegetable garden at the time, which meant I had the added therapy of not only eating plenty of organic fresh vegetables and fruits,  but of being out there in the life-giving garden much of the time.

I took castor oil every second day followed by a cup of black coffee, with an enema about two hours after the castor oil.  I used several enemas a day – from three to five in the beginning of the treatment.  I  had a fresh juice every hour, took  Walter’s calf liver juice at meal-times, had two raw egg yolks a day, ate heaps of sprouts in salads, used olive oil, used enemas, did meditation. After three months, the lump had gone away.  I was elated.  Thinking I was cured,  I began eating other foods again, including a bit of dairy, wheat  and cooked food. To my alarm, the lump began to grow again.  So I went back on the diet and eventually, after several months,  the lump went away for good.

See my other posts on  alternative therapies for cancer:

  • Ridding the Body of Cancer.
  • Cancer/ Programme for Anthony
  • Vitamin C For Cancer Patients
  • Preventative Medicine
  • Why dogs Get Cancer
  • Alternative Therapies for Cancer
  • Uses of Castor Oil

Vitamin C for Cancer Patients

Cancer and Vitamin C

Vitamin C  as a Cancer Treatment has been used for decades, in combination with other remedies.

The debate, Is Vitamin C Effective For Treating Cancer? ran tonight, 18 September, 2010, on ‘Sunday’, presented by John Hudson.

The most striking thing, I thought, was the difference between those doctors who were open to the idea of using Vitamin C as part of a cancer treatment, and those doctors who were closed to the idea of Vitamin C having any value, even though they had never tried it.

Someone in the know should really do some research into the psychology behind the closed-minded attitude which many doctors have, and compare it to the psychology of an open-minded and more positive  doctor. I know which of the two I would rather put my faith in.

Incidentally, the two doctors who were open to the use of Vitamin C were both women. The other doctors  who were against the use of Vitamin C  were adamant that Vitamin C was not effective, and trotted out with the usual phrases about there being no research which proves conclusively that Vitamin C is any good, and that it might even do harm, they said.  These are  ridiculous and unintelligent statements, considering their lack of knowledge about Vitamin C use – they haven’t tried it, let alone read about it – and ridiculous too when you consider that chemotherapy and radiation therapy actually harm the healthy cells whilst they are attacking the cancer cells, yet this aspect of conventional therapy was conveniently overlooked in the discussion.

Vitamin C has actually been found to be effective in minimizing the negative side effects of radiation and chemotherapy treatment.

It is an unfair response too, on the part of these negative-thinking doctors, when you consider that  many patients who have been administered Vitamin C  by the hospitals,  are only given it at the last moment, when all else has failed and the patient is very weak:

“See, it didn’t work” they will say when the patient did not recover.  Vitamin C or any other treatment  is not likely to do much good if it is administered just before death..

Other reasons for not giving Vitamin C to cancer patients was that  ‘It might interfere with the chemotherapy and radiation treatments”……”The kidneys might be damaged” they said,  about giving  Vitamin C  to a patient who was soon to die:  Again-  No mention of their  radiation and chemotherapy causing any damage to kidneys or other organs.  At this stage, anyway,  the worry about Vitamin C affecting the kidneys is not a realistic concern. What is wrong with giving Vitamin C a try, if the patient  is about to die, and  all  other ‘treatments’ for cancer are obviously not working?

Vitamin C for Pain Relief: At the very least, high doses of Vitamin C  help reduce pain and suffering: This is a FACT.  This alone, is good enough reason to administer Vitamin C, even if the patient is not expected to live.

Yet still,  these doctors, Professor Shaun Holt and Dr Michael Jameson, seem determined to undermine the benefits of Vitamin C,  publicly stating  that Vitamin C does not have an effect on cancer, and that they will not try it.

Proof That Vitamin C Affects Cancer Cells : This is a hot debate at the moment, because we were told on the news within the past couple of weeks, that New Zealand doctors had proved that there is definitely a link between Vitamin C and cancer, and that Vitamin C does inhibit some cancers, and even reduce others.  However, these reported findings were not discussed on tonight’s ‘Sunday’ programme.

We were fortunate to have the Christchurch hospital specialist who is in charge of the Otago University Research team on the show.  This specialist, who had a well considered and intelligent approach, was convinced that Vitamin C could help save people’s lives, but said that they needed more money for research to work out things like the best dosage, and what other therapies might be complimentary to Vitamin C therapy. She was hopeful that the government might give the university some money for research so that more could be learned about how to use Vitamin C for cancer patients.

Dr Sue Levin supported the use of Vitamin C in hospitals as part of a cancer treatment.  She said Vitamin C was ‘a necessary part of treatment’, but that Vitamin C was not a ‘stand-alone’ treatment.

Research money usually comes from the drug companies, who are not keen to be doing any research into the effects of Vitamin C – I wonder why?

Hospitals Refused To Administer Vitamin C: We had more controversy over the use of Vitamin C recently, when Auckland hospital denied the use of Vitamin C for a patient who had swine flu.  After the man’s family threatened to take legal action if the hospital did not administer Vitamin C, the hospital backed down, gave the vitamin C, and the man recovered.

This case was discussed earlier in the week, on Wednesday, TVNZ  Channel 3: “60 Minutes’ programme.  An Australian doctor, Ian Goodhope, who is a Vitamin C specialist, had much to say on the issue of Vitamin C:  “Anyone who deprives a patient of the use of Vitamin C is guilty of neglect” , he said.  He is promoting the use of Vitamin C for Swine flu, and has had good results on the use of Vitamin C.

It would be good to have Dr Goodhope’s thoughts on the use of Vitamin C for cancer.  He said that there is ‘plenty of research and good material on the use of Vitamin C’ – I know that there is much literature on cancer treatments, and the use of Vitamin C as a complementary therapy:  Dr Gerson used Vitamin C as part of his cancer therapy in the middle of the 20th century, and he has written a famous book about some of his cases and the treatments which he used.

The approach of medical people into the use of Vitamin C is interesting:  Many doctors are still are looking for a ‘cure’ as such.  Vitamin C is a great complementary therapy for cancer, as it is a powerful antioxidant and detoxifyier, but it should never be regarded as being the only thing required to cure someone of cancer.

The important things to consider in really curing someone of cancer are high nutrients in the form of raw foods and juices, and detoxification:  When someone has cancer, detoxification has to be done very speedily, to stop the cancer from growing, and to begin the process of reduction.

Dr Gerson never used such huge doses of Vitamin C for treating cancer, as I recall.  The more important thing is that toxins are cleared quickly form the bowel, in order to beat the cancer.  Vitamin C helps in negating poisons, and in helping to clear the bowel.  However, it is ESSENTIAL that the bowel be cleared quickly in advanced cases of cancer. The two most important tools to get this achieved are castor oil and enemas.

High Fiber Foods  and Maximum Nutrient Value: Raw food and their juices provide maximum nutrition, but also provide large amounts of fiber which is essential in reversing the situation of cancer.

Dr Gerson was adamant that people should NOT have chemotherapy and radiation treatment if they wanted to recover using his method.  Radiation and chemotherapy harm the organs and the cells so much, that dietary and detoxification methods are less likely to achieve a cure if these orthodox treatments have been used first.

In the case of the poor young 20 year old boy, who died from cancer while this programme was being made,  I believe that if he had been able to use the other treatments in the Gerson therapy, namely enemas and castor oil,  he might still be alive today.  It still may have been too late, of course, especially with his having undergone radiation and chemotherapy, but many people who have been abandoned by orthodox medicine because it is believed they have only a short time to live, have recovered when these two extra therapies have been administered.

Castor Oil Pack

The Castor Oil Pack for Healing

The Castor Oil Pack is a valuable healing medium.  The Castor Oil Pack  was recommended by Edgar Cayce, the psychic healer, to many of the sick people who came to see him for psychic readings regarding their health.

Dr Max Gerson used  the castor oil pack in his clinics as part of his treatment to heal cancer and other disease.  He also advocated the taking of two tablespoons of castor oil every second day for his cancer patients.

In New Zealand, the well-known Austrian healer, Walter Last, helped many people recover from cancer and other diseases with the help of castor oil.

Castor Oil Packs help to remove toxins from the  body.  The action of the castor oil penetrates through the skin and into the body organs.  It has the effect of increasing qi, or energy, and releasing pent-up energy and negative elements from the tissues.

The Castor Oil pack not only  helps to  remove toxins from the body tissues, it  helps remove mucous and other matter from the intestines.  It aids nutrition, because it  assists  the assimilation of vitamins and minerals in the digestive tract.  It helps to heal internal disturbances.  It helps to counteract the effects of radiation.

To Make a Castor Oil Pack:

The two requirements are Castor Oil and a piece of flannel.  But some other things are necessary in using the castor oil pack.  This is the method:

  • Castor Oil:  a 50ml bottle will be enough.
  • A  piece of flannel or white linen.  For general use on the stomach area, you will need a piece of flannel about the size of a computer keyboard.  This will be folded in half so that you end up with a nice squarish pad.

Note: Do not use any coloured cotton, linen, or flannel.  The cloth must be white.  And do not use any synthetic material. The cloth must be pure cotton, or linen or woolen flannel.  This is because castor oil is such a potent detoxifyer, that it will react with the chemical dyes and synthetic fiber chemicals:  It will draw these out, instead of acting on the poisons in your body. This will have a counter-healing effect, so don’t do it.

  • You also need a tin or a jar with a lid to be used for storing the castor oil pack in.
  • You wil also need a piece of plastic to cover the pack with, and an old towell to go over that.
  • Simply pour over a cup of castor oil onto the pad.  You might need more or less, depending on the size of cloth you have selected, and the thickness of this cloth.  Cover the whole of the cloth and let the cloth soak up the castor oil.

To Use: Warm  up the pack gently in the tin or jar by  putting  this into a warm  oven for about five minutes.  Do not microwave, as this energy remains within the microwaved article, which will be harmful to your vital energies.  Microwaving will destroy some of the valuable properties of the castor oil.   Castor oil is  very sensitive to microwave radiations.   Take care not to burn the castor oil, or to cook it.  It should not be so hot that you cannot touch it comfortably with your bare hands when you take the container from the oven.  Just warm.

Alternatively, you can use the pack cold, with a covering of plastic and then an old towel, and use a hot water bottle,  which is not too hot, on top of that. This works just as well, but the cold castor oil straight on the stomach is uncomfortable to begin with.

Place the pack over the stomach area, or the area which needs the treatment.  You can fold the cloth down so that it fits onto the area.  Be generous with the size – it is good to treat as much of the stomach as you can, covering the liver area and all of the lower belly. This will benefit the liver, kidneys, bladder, reproductive parts, and the intestines.  Put over the plastic,  then wrap the towel around.

How Long to Leave on the Castor Oil Pack:

The Castor Oil Pack works best if you  leave it on for at least three hours at a time.  Over night is best.

The Three Day Treatment:  If you have cancer, or some other serious internal disease such as  a nervous condition,  then  you should keep the castor oil pack on the stomach  overnight, and repeat for three days in a row. Then leave off the pack for three consecutive days before beginning the three day treatment again.  You can continue ad infinitum with this routine of three days on, three days off, until the disease  has improved and your good digestive function  is restored. Keep a good sized castor oil pack specifically for the treatment of the stomach area.

In serious disease, with pain, you can safely leave the pack on for the whole of the three day period, taking the pack off only to shower. Then, of course, a three day period without the pack must be sustained.

It is a recommended by all the famous healers that enemas be used during the period of castor oil pack use, so that the toxins which are released via the castor oil treatment will be expelled quickly.

Useing the castor oil pack on the  stomach area is helpful even if the cancer is not within this area, as digestion is improved, and toxins eliminated, which helps improve your digestive qi, increase energy flow,  and to improve your immunity.  An improved  immune system will  help you in conquering the disease and recovering.  The area with the cancer or other disease can be treated seaparately with another, separate pack which is of the size requred.

When you have finished using the pack, put the pack into the storage container  which you are going to keep specifically for  your castor oil pack. It can be used over and over again.  Of course, eventually, you should replace the pack, especially if you are using it frequently, but a castor oil pack should last for months when it is kept in an air tight container.

Note:  Do not share the Castor Oil Pack.  One pack for one person is the motto.  The one pack can be used many times over by the one person.  You might need to add more castor oil to moisten it up,  say add some more castor oil once a week, if you are using the pack frequently.  Eventually you should discard the castor oil pack and make up a fresh one if you are using the three day on, three day off plan.  One pack will last indefinately kept in a tin or a jar.