Herbal Suppositories

To Place Beneath: Bringing back the medicine of suppositories one herbalism group at a time.

A suppository is a medicine that is inserted into the body via the rectum or vagina rather than orally. In fact, the word suppository from the Latin “supponere” means “to place beneath”. Suppositories are made to deliver a medicinal effect to the immediate tissues as well as systemically to the bloodstream. They are typically made from cocoa butter or glycerin with added herbs, oils, and extracts shaped to insert and designed to dissolve at body temperature.

Not surprisingly, like many of our traditional medicines, suppositories find their origins in 2000 B.C. Babylonia, as well as ancient Egypt and Greece. Going down the rabbit hole (pun intended), we see early cultures not only using suppositories for medicinal purposes but also for ritual and worship by employing mind-altering substances. Later in the mid-1800s, the first pharmaceutical application of suppositories was a method of dosing opium. Suppositories have continued to improve and evolve over time, providing relief for localized tissues or administering medications when oral administration is not feasible. However, suppositories have moved away from being the medicine of choice and moved towards the medicine of necessity.

Examples of use for immediate tissues are to treat rectal tears and inflammations, hemorrhoids, and prostate inflammations, as well as vaginal and cervical tears, inflammations, and infections. In their more recent history, any number of medications are administered systemically due to the abundant amount of blood vessels accessed through the rectum. My personal favorite applications here are rectal hypnotics for sleep or rectal treatment for respiratory infections.

It is my height of mischievous joy to introduce suppositories to my herbalism students. I proclaim to my students, “We are normalizing butt medicine one herbalism group at a time!”. While teaching students to make this underrated medicine, I whip up a batch of sleepy time inserts (recipe below), knowing they will take them home and try them (some hesitantly) to great success. Our budding herbalists often report back with stories of passing out promptly to a deep sleep of vivid dreams. Then there are the morning effects. Waking up to the undeniably smooth silky feeling of a cocoa butter-moisturized behind. It’s one of those experiences that you must try to understand. Then they, too, will awkwardly sing the praises of suppositories to all the people they know.

My other favorite suppository experience to share with students is lung inserts. Using a respiratory essential oil in a suppository inserted in the rectum results in a unique experiential effect. Within moments of the suppository dissolving, you can taste the medicine in your mouth and are effectively washing the lungs with soothing, bronchodilating camphor notes with every breath. It immediately brings a whole new understanding of layering your medicine. We treat the spirit, the emotional body, and the physical body with smoke and sound, nature, massage, topical medicine, oral medicine, and rectal or vaginal medicine.

Many students raise concerns about nocturnal leakage. To that I say, “Your anus has got you!”. It is unlikely that your sphincter muscles will relax enough in your sleep to allow for leakage. That being said, it’s not a bad idea to wear PJs that you don’t care about.

In my experience, once someone has discovered the magic of this traditional medicinal application, they will be searching high and low for makeshift suppository mold options, the easiest of which is tinfoil and anything that assumes a bullet shape (Sharpie marker lids are a perfect example). My personal experience of surprising mold discovery took place in a small gas station in Walsenburg, CO where I found a tiny ice cube tray with very small pyramid receptacles. Although I cannot imagine a need for tiny pyramid ice cubes, I proclaimed much too loudly, “This is perfect for suppositories!”. Needless to say, that purchase was met with strange, silent glances from customers and the cashier alike. The best $5 I’ve ever spent.

All in all, I urge you, the reader, to become a part of the suppository renaissance, rediscovering the time-honored tradition of using medicine in all your orifices.

Sleepy Time Suppository Recipe

Sleepy Time Suppository

Ingredients:

4oz Cocoa Butter
1 tsp Slippery Elm Powder
1 drop Mandarin Essential Oil
1 drop German Chamomile Essential Oil

Drop 1 drop of each essential oil into chosen suppository mold.
Melt Cocoa Butter with Slippery Elm powder in a double boiler.
Stirring immediately before pouring, pour ½ teaspoon of melted butter into mold.
Refrigerate for an hour.
Demold and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until use.
Use one suppository as needed in the evening for restful sleep.
Makeshift Suppository Mold
4×4 inch square of tinfoil
Sharpie Marker Lid

Mold the center of the tinfoil square around the shape of the sharpie marker lid. Fold down the four corners of the tinfoil to create a stable upright structure with the shaped mold in the center.

Some other essential oils to consider:

Tea Tree – broad spectrum anti-infectant
Ravintsara – respiratory antiviral, expectorant
Eucalyptus Radiata – respiratory bronchodilator
Calendula – anti-inflammatory, demulcent
Lavender – antiseptic, anti-inflammatory

This article was written by our Herbalism instructor, Martin Hansen. He has been an Herbalist and Aesthetician since 2000. He also teaches for our sister school, The School of Botanical and Medical Aesthetics. Martin is a treasure to our school – his understanding of herbal medicine, both physically and spiritually, and his ability to share his unique experiences with these medicines endears him to all who learn from him.