Turpentine: The Healing Oil?
If you can find a better, holistic solution to your aches and pains, would you try it? Skip the Advil, because you’re in luck! Turpentine oil has been used as healing medicine for generations to remedy soreness and muscle pains.
Turpentine oil has been largely used as a paint thinner and brush cleaner. It’s used as a raw material in the synthesis of resins, oil additives, synthetic pine oil and campor, according to Britannica. The oil can be obtained through cooking wood pulp, steam distillation of shredded pine, or from the distillation of the exudates of tapped pine trees.
Turpentine oil is colorless, oily, odorous and flammable and creates a warming sensation when applied to the skin. Many notice an immediate effect after applying, and their pain is reduced within hours. Use a small amount to either massage or swab on the affected area. For best results, apply the oil 3-4 times daily until pain or soreness improves.
Turpentine oil can be used for many ailments:
- Muscle Pain
- Toothaches
- Lung Congestion
- Joint and Nerve Pain
- Cold Sores
- Sprains
- Cramps
Cautions
Please use this oil at your own caution, consult a physician to be sure this the right product for you. Be sure not to apply turpentine oil to any open wounds or swallow in excess amounts. You can use it on cold sores only before they erupt. You can add the turpentine oil to a humidifier or vaporizer to inhale and clear lung congestion.
Make sure to wrap or cover the areas of the body where the oil has been applied for better penetration and avoid staining clothes or furniture. Turpentine oil is flammable, so be sure to wash your hands after each application.
Turpentine oil’s smell is intense, and to some, unpleasant. You can mix it with your favorite essential oils to create a better smelling remedy. Other essential oils have their own valuable uses; find out which oils are best for you.
About the Author
You Can Rewire Your Brain to Eliminate Chronic Back Pain
A groundbreaking new study shows the remarkable efficacy of a brain-based treatment for chronic back pain. It provides new hope for a debilitating problem.
One in five Americans suffers from chronic pain, most often without receiving many benefits from invasive and costly treatments.
The most common type of chronic pain is chronic back pain- in 85% of cases of which no physical cause can be identified.
Dr. Yoni Ashar is a clinical psychologist and neuroscientist who studies psychological treatments for chronic pain. He recently led a study at the University of Colorado Boulder to determine whether a psychological treatment can eliminate chronic back pain — something no other therapy has ever before been scientifically proven to do.
“Our society predominantly thinks about chronic pain through a biomechanical, medical perspective. The most common treatments are physical; they’re injections or physical therapy, something targeting the body. What we’re learning more and more is that in many cases of chronic pain the problem lies in the mind or the brain. And we now have decades of research, both in neuroscience medicine and psychology, showing that there are a lot of changes that happen in the brain during chronic pain. In many cases, these can cause the pain to persist after an injury has healed.”
An important distinction that should be made when discussing chronic pain is that between the two types — primary and secondary.
“With secondary chronic pain, the pain is secondary to some medical problem or disease. With primary pain the pain is the primary problem, it is not secondary to anything else. What really is driving it are neuroplastic changes in the brain, and fear and avoidance. Fear is at the heart of chronic pain, so pain is a danger signal. The fundamental function of pain is to guide a person or animal away from things that are dangerous and when we perceive things to be dangerous that can amplify or even create this pain in our brains.”
