Clove Oil

A story about clove oil that you may or may not find interesting.  About a month and a half ago, I developed a sore inside my gum line below my bottom back teeth.  It was tender to touch and I just thought it was a canker sore or something.  After three or four days, it wasn't healing.  In fact, it was getting worse.  After each time I ate, it would get extremely sore and at times I could feel my pulse pounding in the tooth above it.  The entire area started getting inflamed.  I had read something about clove oil being good for mouth sores, so I started putting full strength clove oil directly on the area with an eye dropper.  It doesn't taste great, but not horrible.  It does burn, but I think that means it is working :)  The clove oil would help with the soreness immediately, and seemed to help with the swelling.  This went on for another week or so with me applying the clove oil usually twice a day, morning and evening before bed.  Of course I couldn't stop poking at the spot with my tongue or my finger.  One day I felt something kind of poking out, I scratched it with my finger and a splinter of something came out.  Not sure if it was a piece of fish bone, a particularly sharp piece of vegetable matter, or what, but I am convinced that the clove oil cured the infection I was getting from the splinter.  After the splinter came out, within a couple days, the combination of the clove oil and the splinter being removed healed the sore completely.

Trace Oswald wrote:A story about clove oil that you may or may not find interesting.  About a month and a half ago, I developed a sore inside my gum line below my bottom back teeth.  It was tender to touch and I just thought it was a canker sore or something.  After three or four days, it wasn't healing.  In fact, it was getting worse.  After each time I ate, it would get extremely sore and at times I could feel my pulse pounding in the tooth above it.  The entire area started getting inflamed.  I had read something about clove oil being good for mouth sores, so I started putting full strength clove oil directly on the area with an eye dropper.  It doesn't taste great, but not horrible.  It does burn, but I think that means it is working :)  The clove oil would help with the soreness immediately, and seemed to help with the swelling.  This went on for another week or so with me applying the clove oil usually twice a day, morning and evening before bed.  Of course I couldn't stop poking at the spot with my tongue or my finger.  One day I felt something kind of poking out, I scratched it with my finger and a splinter of something came out.  Not sure if it was a piece of fish bone, a particularly sharp piece of vegetable matter, or what, but I am convinced that the clove oil cured the infection I was getting from the splinter.  After the splinter came out, within a couple days, the combination of the clove oil and the splinter being removed healed the sore completely.

Wow, Trace, that must have been extremely painful. My mother used clove oil a lot when we were kids and our teeth were not being taken care of properly. Clove oil numbs pain, so that had to have helped. Our parents and grandparents knew a lot of things way back when that we've forgotten or never learned. I'm trying to learn as much as I can about herbal medicines now to be sure I've got what I need planted in the yard for when the world comes to an end....

Diane Kistner wrote:I'm trying to learn as much as I can about herbal medicines now to be sure I've got what I need planted in the yard for when the world comes to an end....

Same here.  I'm brand new to herbal medicine, so I have a lot to learn.

Another thing to add to your medical kit.  A couple of years ago, I put together a "Dental Medical Kit".  It is just a ziplock bag with things only for dental emergencies.

Something to have on hand is the denture cream as it can be used in case a filling falls out.

Another suggestion if you don't have clove oil use a mouthwash made with salt.  It stops bleeding and heals sores.  A tea made from rosemary is a good mouthwash also, I believe it has antibiotic properties so keep a few sprigs of dried rosemary on hand.

That's a great start, Trace! Clove oil is even still used by some dentists, because it's so effective. Other things that can be helpful - though they don't do as much for pain as clove oil - tea tree, activated charcoal, lavender, calendula, and comfrey. Yarrow is fantastic at healing wounds, including in the mouth, but take care, when using it, as it can cause things to heal so fast that it will heal around an infection, trapping it under the skin. I've actually experienced this a couple times.

Anne, within my first aid kit, I have several smaller kits: one for dental, one for eyes, one for minor surface wounds, one for surface trauma, one for joint wounds, one for bugs(a nit comb, for nits, fleas, & ticks, tweezers, an old id card, for scraping stuff away, a pot of activated charcoal & bentonite drawing salve, lavender for stings).

My next goal for my whole kit, is to label & add the uses for everything, just in case I'm the one in need, and unable to give direction, in the moment.

I love clove oil for oral infections and MRSA infections. I also use powdered clove, like what's used in cooking as an ingredient in my tooth powder. And I use diluted clove oil for cleaning my ears. Glad to here that it helped with your issue, Trace.

Clove oil was one of my mother's go to meds.

Hi!
I've taken a few essential oil classes, and while I'm by no means an expert I'd like to throw a caution out there. There are only a few oils that are safe to use undiluted and it's recommended that they are only used undiluted in emergencies (example-full strength Lavender on a burn).  Even using dilutions as low as 15-20% is dangerous on a regular basis for many oils. What is best to do is start with the lowest recommended dilution rate and work your way up if that's not effective. The lowest dilution is usually a 1-2%. Medicinal and should only be used under supervision of an aromatherapist warnings start at about 13-15%. Besides the health risks associated with various oils when you use oils full strength you risk sensitizing yourself to them. Clove is considered a 'hot' oil and can physically burn if you use it undiluted. Personally for clove I use 1-2 drops in a Tablespoon of coconut or organic olive oil, and that is usually sufficient.
 A couple links that discuss dilutions:
           
              A bigger overview of why dilute, and how to:
      https://naturallivingfamily.com/diluting-essential-oils/

 
            A chart of dilutions in terms of cups and teaspoons- :) Hopefully helpful, usually I use ml or oz to drops as I like my rollerballs and spritzer and ointment bottles!:

https://thefamilyfreezer.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Homemade-Cleaners-and-Lotions-with-Essential-Oils-FREE-PRINTABLE1.jpg

 Cheers!
   

My mother was very old world.  Clove oil was her standard go to for any mouth sore.

A coworker used clove oil for aromatherapy once. We shared an office. My “uh-oh, the dentist office“ unconscious response was immediate!  No calming clove aromatherapy for me!

I can’t recall a dentist using it, but the office must have smelled of it when I was a child.

we use clove for insect repellant (soak lots of cloves in alcohol for a month or so and spray on. strain and add a bit of mineral or veg oil if you're worried about skin irritation.) for working in the garden and for visitors-- we throw a lot of parties on our back porch in the garden and guests often have children and don't want to use commercial insect repellant. It works well for about 2 hours before you have to reapply. It stains clothing though, I wonder if there is some way to use clove essential oil for the same purpose.

Tereza Okava wrote:we use clove for insect repellant (soak lots of cloves in alcohol for a month or so and spray on. strain and add a bit of mineral or veg oil if you're worried about skin irritation.) for working in the garden and for visitors-- we throw a lot of parties on our back porch in the garden and guests often have children and don't want to use commercial insect repellant. It works well for about 2 hours before you have to reapply. It stains clothing though, I wonder if there is some way to use clove essential oil for the same purpose.

There is:
  https://naturallivingfamily.com/essential-oils-for-bug-bites/

ESSENTIAL OIL MOSQUITO REPELLENT SPRAY
INGREDIENTS
1 ounce carrier oil (mixture of neem, fractionated coconut oil, and soybean)
15 drops essential oils *  (i.e. clove)
Glass spray bottle
INSTRUCTIONS
Drop essential oils* into glass spray bottle.
Add in carrier oil and shake vigorously.
Spray over and rub onto exposed skin right before going outside.
Reapply every 60-90 minutes.

             Being totally oil based this would stain clothes.  There is also a spray you can make with water and witch hazel and clove (or other insect repellent oils) but imho it's not quite as effective.

Love clove oil for an itchy insect bite.   I guess I should say use with caution, but when I've used it, I can feel it working within 20-30 minutes, and the bite seems to heal faster as well.