Corn silk was all we had to smoke when we were kids, lol.

Hi rockguy,
Demulcents are given scant attention, because herbal products are trying to show they have active ingredients like the pharmaceuticals claim work.
Sometimes a cure is a natural progression of the body doing the actual work, in spite of what gets ingested.
But demulcents can make the healing process more comfortable.
You sound too old to vaporize corn silk; just keep it around to infuse, if ever have to pass any kidney stones (different types of kidney stones may vary the demulcent potential).
Corn silk is a genito-urinary(G-U) tract demulcent; it's viability to soothe the G-U tract is sustained during it's course through the body.
It probably contains an extremely stable, non-reactive silica compound destined for normal xeno-biotic urinary excretion.

Gringojay, Having just gone through a very painful and body pounding bout of passing Kidneystones. What does corn silk do to help pass them? At this point i'm willing to try anything within reason. I went through this last April and after $80,000 in hospital bills, decided to pass them at home with ocycontin and DR,s blessing this time around. And no there's nothing i can do to prevent them.
Would really appreciate any info on cornsilk. Would i just google cornsilk to get info.
Thanks

Hi goshen,
Corn silk is not, in itself, a curative herb.
Demulcents act like a lubricating agent (think of a skin care product's unctuous emollient), The surface between the stone & the G-U tract tissue is where the corn silk compounds get to on the way to urinary elimination.
Once the G-U tract tissue has the demulcent barrier between it & the micro-scopic edges of the stone the painful irritation is less. In a sense the action of corn silk both eases the pain & facilitates the out bound glide of the stone.
(I can not tell you if the corn silk compounds actually bond to the stone's surface irregularities, just gets hooked/dragged along like a sheet or binds for any length of time to the surface of the sensitive G-U tract tissue.)
Online will be assorted herbal kidney stone formulas & corn silk, if not mentioned, can be added to them.

Depending on the type of stone (calcium, uric acid, etc), changes in diet, most notably removing all dairy, alcohol & fats, increasing fiber and lowering protein intake can aid in reducing and/or eliminating the recurrence of stones. High levels of vitamin C intake can create calcium oxalate & produce stones, as of course does decreased water intake, a combination frequent in winter months. Understanding the makeup of the stones is integral to eliminating risk factors as each type of stone responds to specific dietary changes.

Marshmallow root is a demulcent used to aid in easing the passage of stones. Corn silk, being high in potassium, falls into a similar category as dandelion for urinary tract health & is more of a diuretic than a demulcent but can be of benefit to facilitate the passage of stones.

Hi simplemary,
Thanks for the potassium correction verses silica.
Corn silk both soothes & relaxes the G-U tract in practice.
There is indication it too contains anti-oxidant properties. The volume of this resource discarded world wide is a wasteful practice.
36 different compounds have been isolated in corn silk. Some readers may be interested to hear of the most common volatile extracts found & recognize their chemical activity.
Here are the abbreviated compounds & % ratio of total volatile extracts:
a) terpineol = 24.2 %
b) oxidoacor = 18 %
c) citronellol = 16%
d) pino-camphor = 5.75%
e) eugenol = 4.3%
f) thujanol = 2.5%
g) sabinene = 2.25%

BTW, we used to smoke cornsilk, too-- in the cob. Lots of uses, corn...

Hi simplemary,
? So, you used to be know as MaryDread ?
(Just pulling your locks.)

How do you think I got so simple?

The Native Americans were using all parts of the corn plant before we ever heard of cornsilk. It is my general understanding it's good for the kidneys and is a DIURETIC.