Shane is still having a lot of trouble recovering from having his lower wisdom teeth removed. They were so deeply embedded that it's just going to take several weeks for him to heal.
Last Friday, at a second follow up appointment, he asked the dental staff to remove all the gauze packing that they'd placed in the wounds because it alone was driving him nuts. They reluctantly did as he asked, and told him that if the wounds started bleeding again, he should try biting down on some wet tea bags. I suppose the tannin in the tea helps stop the bleeding.
All of last weekend he was in more pain than he was before they removed the packing. He was initially prescribed hydrocodone, but he doesn't tolerate that medication well. He was then prescribed Tylenol with Codeine; he can tolerate it well, but it wears off quickly for him. I don't know if he thought he was bleeding or not, but for whatever reason he decided to chew on a tea bag. He said the pain relief was surprising and was working better than the prescriptions!
We drink a lot of iced tea around here, but Shane usually doesn't drink hot tea. But since last Friday, he's been drinking cups of hot black tea, then biting on the tea bags when he's done. I know that tea, especially green tea, has a lot of healing properties, but I've never read about using it for pain relief. Hey, I'm all for it! It's cheap, it's natural and it tastes great. What more could you ask for in a medicine?
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Forget The Hard Drugs...Munch On A Tea Bag Instead
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Health Issues
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7 comments:
Wow--who knew! I sure hope he heals soon--mouth pain has to be one of the worst pains ever. I love hot tea in the mornings--it wakes me up without making me freeze even more than I usually do. I do drink lots of cold tea throughout the day though just not with ice.
Hot, iced, or at room temperature, it doesn't matter to me...I like it all! (But I do have to have sugar in it.)
When Anna had her wisdom teeth out they said to do that. SHe didn't she just complained and wouldn't get out of bed. She swelled terrible, she actually looked like a freak. (said with love). Her teeth were in her sinus cavity. Every time she blew her nose it was just blood.
I hope he gets better soon! Sending healing thoughts!
SonyaAnn: He had his top wisdom teeth out last year and had no problem with them. He also had sinus surgery several years ago and recovered from that quickly. I think these bottom wisdom teeth are are kicking his butt, though. He swears he's never getting them remove again!
Chewing on tea bags for pain relief? Really. I have never heard this. I will definitly remember it the next time I have a tooth ache though! Hope he feels better and heals soon.
Beth: I hadn't heard it could relieve pain, either, but this excerpt from Wikipedia says it might:
Tannins not only heal burns and stop bleeding, but they also stop infection while they continue to heal the wound internally. The ability of tannins to form a protective layer over the exposed tissue keeps the wound from being infected even more. Tannins are also beneficial when applied to the mucosal lining of the mouth.
Tannins are sometimes used to treat poisons from poison oak or from bee stings, causing instant relief.
Excellent! What a frugal pain reliever! So glad it helped Shane.
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