Medicinal clay

<p>The use of medicinal clay in <a href="/facts/Folk_medicine/WLUmXCHz">folk medicine</a> goes back to prehistoric times. Indigenous peoples around the world still use <a href="/facts/Clay/xnwouEkB">clay</a> widely. Such uses include external application to the skin and <a href="/facts/Geophagy/jQIGmdDu">geophagy</a>. The first recorded use of medicinal clay goes back to ancient <a href="/facts/Mesopotamia/f0mmbhTK">Mesopotamia</a>.
</p><p>A wide variety of clays are used for medicinal purposes—primarily for external applications, such as the clay baths in health spas (<a href="/facts/Mud_therapy/DPlBd4Lm">mud therapy</a>). Among the clays most commonly used are <a href="/facts/Kaolin/N7D6K65q">kaolin</a> and the <a href="/facts/Smectite/A1Sod7Hp">smectite</a> clays such as <a href="/facts/Bentonite/N9Hb8lX9">bentonite</a>, <a href="/facts/Montmorillonite/PxKtefgA">montmorillonite</a>, and <a href="/facts/Fuller%2527s_earth/Ye6yQlFd">Fuller's earth</a>.  However, their use is declining, and modern <a href="/facts/Evidence-based_medicine/InK1lB9l">evidence-based medicine</a> has ended the use of many types.
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Medicinal clay open-in-new

Medicinal clay