My throat has been very, very sore since Friday. It all seemed to hit at once after one of my back teeth crumbled away leaving a long, sharp spike which caused a very painful wound on my tongue.
My immediate thoughts were “what would someone have done during WW2 with such a problem?” I am almost sure that dental care was likely to be expensive and sporadic and quite honestly I don’t even have a dentist! (if you live in the UK you’ll likely know the reasons why!)
Home tooth surgery was in order. My trusty nail file (for my toe nails – I know you’ve just gone ewwww) was disinfected thoroughly and it took me 30 minutes to file what was left of my tooth down to a short and smoother nub. I simply couldn’t take the pain anymore…
My throat has been causing much pain too during the last few days when trying to swallow, even drinking is pretty ouchy! So when a subscriber (thank you Cindy!) to my YouTube Channel suggested a sage tea salt water gargle, I immediately ran (OK walked slightly faster than I did at 299 lbs) down the garden to pick sage leaves.
Making the sage tea was so easy! The taste was so refreshing and I am going to actually bring fresh sage leaves to work with me (just to be even odder than I already am) so I can make more of this delicious elixir! Anyway, 2 or 3 teabags (1/4 oz tea) a day doesn’t go very far when you are living on WW2 rations so this will provide a pleasant alternative.
Making the gargle was easy too. I simply added 1/2 teaspoon of salt to 1/4 cup of the sage tea and went for it!
Here is the recipe…
Sage Tea (to make 2 mugs)
- Several fresh sage leaves
- Very hot water
- Teapot
Method
- Heat water to almost boiling point
- Lightly bruise (or you can snip the leaves in half) the leaves
- Add to teapot and add two mugs of very hot water
- Stir then leave for 5 minutes to infuse
- Pour and drink!
Hope this helps, it seems to be helping me!
If you have any herbal drinks you recommend, please let me know!
C xxxx
The tea sounds lovely!
That dental tale made me shudder!!
Reminds me of something my Granddad told when I was a kid. Coming from a very impoverished background, dodgy tooth removal was nothing simpler than one end of a piece of string around the offending molar, and the other tied to a door knob. Then take a deep breath and… SLAM!!
As for other herbal drinks, an ex of mine used to swear by mint tea last thing at night. She claimed it was soothing for a good night’s sleep.
Same method as your sage tea, but with fresh garden mint leaves.
Not a fan of them myself! LOL!!
I don’t live in the UK. Why don’t you have a dentist?
I believe she means finding a dentist locally who still does NHS treatment.
Not everyone has the available funds to afford private treatment.
Hi there, exactly what Sean sa
Exactly what Sean said. I’ve been trying for 3 years to get on an NHS list as I know I have a lot of dental work that needs doing. I will have to go private I think and just do a little bit each year xxxx C
Sorry, Sage is not for me. Can’t stand the smell or taste of Sage.
Hope everything is going well for you and yours
Paul, currently on NB Adreva
What about dental schools? Our university has treatments available but it takes a longer time because its students.
I came across a young monk fruit juice recipe for improving lung health especially during wildfire season. I’ve only tried it in cough syrups and for sore throats though. It’s also a sugar substitute better than stevia.
The nearest university dental school (that requires subjects for their students) to Carolyn is in Bristol. Not really practical tbh.
I am not sure if honey and lemon are on your rations list but they seem to work well for sore throat, along with good old salt gargle..
It is nice to walk out in your garden and pick a remedy like our ancestors relied on. As for teeth you can restore the natural minerals that fight against tooth loss. Calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus-rich diet helps.
They sell natural tooth powders that claim to restore minerals and enamel.
In wartime, lemons would have been as rare as hen’s teeth!
And talking of teeth, you can indeed assist the health of tooth enamel with diet. It’s called ‘remineralisation’.
Thanks Sean, I will look that up on Google! C xxx My teeth that crumbled were the ones that had large fillings from when I was a teenager so have had 40 years – my fault as when the fillings started coming out I should have had them dealt with but simply couldn’t afford the treatment at the time and over the years they have broken down xxx C
Thanks so much for that advice Mary Ann xxx
When my husband and myself had covid a few years ago, we both had really bad coughs, and l read in my herb book that thyme tea is a old country recipe for bad coughs. We found it worked great and l will never again buy the expensive sugary cough mixtures from over the counter ever again. if anyone tries it , google first about the dosage etc as some herbs can have some side effects on some people.
ooo Jackie, I must try this too! I have a small thyme plant, thanks for the heads up! C xxxx I will Google!
I hope you feel better. I will have to give this a try. (Although my sage plants are done for the season – perhaps I will start some inside!
Thanks Lille, feeling much better thank you! I must pick some sage leaves and take them to work with me this morning so I can have a couple of cups of sage tea today! C xxxx
Do I remember correctly that you collect Beryl ware?
I do have some Beryl ware (green), I would like to collect some more next year. I find it very comforting for some reason! I do remember this still being used in canteens and old peoples homes when I was a teenager!!! (in the late 70’s/early 80’s) C xxxx
I have far too many ceramic jugs to be practical, and I think one of them just happens to be Beryl ware ( green). I’m clearing out non- essential stuff/ kitchen ware from my pantry as we unpack and you’re welcome to have the jug if you’d like it, free of course. My email address is lesleymorgan@gmx.co.uk if you privately message me your address and I’ll happily post it to you. It’s quite a large one, will check the capacity, but hold a few pints I think, and is in perfect used condition 💕
Oh gosh, how lovely! Are you sure? I’d love to add to my collection! That is really kind of you! I am just heading off to work right now but this evening when I catch up with emails/messages, I’ll send you my address (you will have to share yours too as I will send you a little something too!). Thank you xx
I’m sure. You’ll get much more pleasure from it that I will with it sitting in my pantry! Just knowing that you can use it will give me pleasure 👍
And I hope that you’re feeling better with each day. Health problems can bring us low. I’ve got everything crossed that the salt water sage gargles and the tea help!
Hi Luffy, all is back to normal, no sore tooth or throat. Thank you xxx C
I’m actually more than a little concerned about this. If the tooth is abscessed underneath, please please please don’t mess around with salt water, it can’t necessarily reach deeply enough to clean out an infection. A septic infection in the head is nothing to play around with, and the sore throat makes me think that it is actually an infection. Check yourself for fever regularly through this, and maybe go to the emergency room if necessary- swelling, hotness on the cheek, running a fever. (I get not having the money or means to get to the dentist, no matter what country.)
If the pain is localized, say an exposed nerve from a rotten tooth, I recommend clove oil (make sure that it is food-grade), but I am not a dentist, or health care practitioner of any kind so do your own due diligence on herbal cures.
Thanks, Haley for your thoughts, very sound advice! Luckily it was a tooth that had caused an abrasion to my tongue and cheek as it was sharp but I also had a sore throat, it was a double whammy but all is OK and everything had improved after filing the sharp spike down and drinking the sage tea, all back to normal now BUT I DO need to find a dentist, even if it’s a private one so I can start to get my teeth sorted out during 2024. xxxx C
I am so relieved to hear that you’re doing better. I’ve followed your site for years. It’s good to see on an upward trend again.
Yes indeed, clove oil was a very old and popular remedy for toothache. My old Gran swore by it.
As is rubbing a little whisky on the offending molar. Make sure the whisky doesn’t trickle down the throat… you don’t have to try too hard with that last bit mind you…