What is Kambo?
Kambo is the venomous secretion of Phyllomedusa bicolor (the giant leaf or monkey frog), a bright green tree frog native to the Amazon basin. It can be found in the rainforest regions of Brazil, Peru, southeastern Colombia, and parts of Venezuela, Bolivia, and the Guianas. In many regions outside Brazil, both the frog and its secretion are known as sapo (or ‘toad’).
The secretion of the Kambo frog has been used by the Amazon natives as a medicine for generations and each tribe has developed their own traditions, and legends around the discovery and use of Kambo. It contains a powerful combination of peptides, neuropeptides and biopeptides that perform very specific and positive functions in the human body.
About
Jill Gerena
Jill is a certified Kambo practitioner through the Rainforest Healing Center.
As a practitioner she hopes to share the knowledge gained on her journey. By sharing her experience with the frog medicine, her goal is to offer a new way in which one can live a happier and healthier life.
The medicine is applied to the skin after small superficial burns are made with a hot glowing ember stick called a Tamishi. Only the top layer of the skin is gently burned. Traditionally, the points are placed on the lower leg or upper arm. The amount of points used depends on the number of times that the person has already received treatment, the reason for the application, physical condition, and overall assessment by the practitioner based on her/his knowledge.
The immediate effects of kambo are intense and unpleasant but short-lived, usually lasting no more than 30-40 minutes. They include a rise in temperature, sweating, shivers, and dizziness as the heart rate becomes rapid. Some people report a tingling or burning sensation like electricity that starts from the points and spreads through the body.
Overwhelming nausea is generally unavoidable with kambo and purging is likely - either by vomiting, defecation, or both.
Scientific studies show that the secretion is made up of many peptides that are beneficial to the human body. Some of these peptides traverse the blood-brain barrier and stimulate the endocrine glands of the brain, resulting in an immune effect and a deep cleanse of the body. Kambo has antibiotic properties and strengthens the immune system, while physically destroying pathogenic microorganisms. Kambo is traditionally known to be anti-inflammatory, to relieve joint pain, to heal eyesight, and to ease pain.