Health Journal - January 4th (toothaches)

One night, in the wee hours of the morning, Ben woke me up with a toothache.  He had a tooth that was loose, but it would not come out.  He had been wiggling it and pushing on it earlier in the week, but to no avail.  Now the gum surrounding the tooth was very red and swollen.  The pain was keeping him awake, so he figured it was time to call on mom. :) 

As I walked to the kitchen, cloves came to mind.  Consulting with my herb books confirmed my plan.  I grabbed my mortar and pestle and my container of cloves.  After crushing some clove buds, I put them in an empty tea bag.  I wet this down with a few drops of water and added ONE drop of Clove Bud Essential Oil.  Placing the tea bag between his sore tooth and lip, Ben curled up on the couch hoping for relief.  I decided to join him, and we slept together for a few more hours until it was time to get up.

When Ben woke up, he discovered that the tooth felt much better.  I gave him ONE more drop of the E.O., this time on his finger, and he rubbed it on the gum.  There were no more complaints.  At breakfast, lunch, and dinner I gave him some Vitamin C and garlic to help with the swelling and possible infection.  That afternoon the tooth came out and by the next day the gum had returned to normal.

Clove oil is anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, analgesic (pain-relieving), and antifungal.  Because it is so potent, you should use it with caution for children under six years old.

Em and I have another great use for cloves....more about that in my next post! :)