Shelagh (Palm Beach Gardens, FL) on 09/14/2008:
Clove powder is a natural anesthetic; dentists still use clove oil for treating toothaches. You can find clove oil at a pharmacy or your local natural foods store; I will numb a painful hot spot before treating it with my herbs, if I have the option.
The clove tincture is good also for humans: for a painfully sore throat; gargle as deeply down in the throat as possible, I recommend not swallowing this.
When my son was 6 he had a horrific tumble off his bicycle. His beautiful face was embedded with rough gravel and sand. I calmed him by reminding him to breath; in/out in/out. I reminded him how much I love him & asked if he had faith in his mommy... I honestly told him this tincture would sting like crazy, but only for a couple of seconds, then all the pain would be gone. I told him it would hurt less if he screamed as loud as he could while I dabbed it on... and then I told him I would scream with him, which he thought was hilarious. I had him pour the clove tincture onto the wash cloth, then I told him to take in a deep breath for a good long scream and with wash cloth at the ready...
He did. I did. A minute later he was laughing as I plucked gravel out of his face with tweezers. Spike is 24 now, he has no scars from this crash & burn, but good memories of how to calm a panicked child.
TS (Rajah) (Wimbledon, UK) on 02/17/2008:
Chewing cardamon or clove works quite effectively for bad breath.
Donny (Miami, FL) on 05/31/2007:
I rarely get sick. I am in pretty good shape, don't always exercise like I should, but I don't allow myself to get out of shape. However, every now and then I do catch something. Caught a sore throat the other day and instead of buying medicine from the store, I decided to go natural on the problem. I'm drinking only citrus juices (grapefruit is my preference), water, and tea with lemon and honey. For on the go relief I may take an aspirin (no more than 3 in 24 hours), and I take a couple whole cloves (not garlic, the spice), nibble on them a bit, and hold them between my teeth/cheeks and just suck on them. A little bitter, but instantly numbs the sore throat, and on the plus side, keeps your breath fresh and smelling like cinnamon! Excellent strategy, and I WILL use it in the future.
Donnie (War-Town, GA) on 01/24/2007:
Tried the whole cloves, only took a few minutes, and seems to be working great!
Brenda (San Diego, Ca) on 03/01/2004:
For No-see-ums in the ears, be sure to dilute a concentrated solution of oil of cloves, since it will cause your skin to peel. Start out with a very small diluted amount and work up a little at a time until no-see-ums are gone.
