Tooth ache in the woods

panch0

panch0

Joined
Jun 16, 2008
Messages
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My tooth is killing me and I can't sleep. This has me thinking about what the heck would you do if you were out in the middle of no where, and you tooth ache was unbearable. I just took 800mg of Ibuprofin and it hasn't helped a bit. I could just imagine being stuck somewhere that has no dentist near by. What say you?
 
Know that pain mate :yawn:

You can get local anesthetic? lotion to apply to gums.

If you have an absyss your F**KED. :foot:

Good luck. :o
 
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Well,it depends how tough you are ;)
Years ago my grandmother had somer serious toothache.The stupid dentist had removed the wrong tooht :eek: In the night her pains got so bad that she grabbed a pair of pillers and pulled out the hurting tooth.Man that should be quite painful :cool: She's really tough !
I don't think I could do that...:rolleyes:
 
Funny you should ask! I was taking a rafting group of 4 down the Kisaralik River in Western AK in '06. It was planned as nearly 3 weeks in the wilderness. Foul weather delayed the float plane put-in slightly. After a few days, one member of the party developed a bad tooth ache. We had several antibiotics and some prescription pain killers. As I recall, she didn't want to take the antibiotics and concluded that the prescription painkillers weren't working after just one or two. She toughed it out with a lot of Advil but the infection was pretty bad by the time we were picked up.

We had a satphone so she could have been emergency airlifted out by helo but she didn't want to do that.

Had it been my tooth throbbing, I would have used my antibiotics in an effort to suppress the infection and I would have kept taking the prescription painkillers because in my experience it can sometimes take a few doses for them to really kick in. [They were prescribed by an MD with extensive expedition experience in Africa, the Arctic, and Central America.]

DancesWithKnives
 
panch0 said:
My tooth is killing me and I can't sleep. This has me thinking about what the heck would you do if you were out in the middle of no where, and you tooth ache was unbearable. I just took 800mg of Ibuprofin and it hasn't helped a bit. I could just imagine being stuck somewhere that has no dentist near by. What say you?
Click to expand...

I don't know what grows in your area, but there is a shrub, some call, the Toothache Tree. More commonly known as Prickly Ash (Zanthoxylum americanum). I think kgd saw some when he was by for a visit. I've never used it, but they say it works.

There are also others that are supposed to work : Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Catnip (Nepeta cataria) and Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) to name a few, but nothing is going to take the place of prescription strength pain killers. BTW, Tom Brown Jr. says the sticky substance at the base of the green leaves of Cattail (Typha spp.) numbs the pain of toothache.

When I canoe or camp, I have Oxycodone with me because of kidney stones and I have no doubt it would keep a toothache, even as abscessed one, in check. Talk to your doctor, and see what he can do for you. Mine also prescribed Erythomycin in case of infections - not a true antibiotic, but an bacteriostat, IIRC (to keep infections from worsening, until medical help is available). The medicos on here can correct me if I'm wrong.

Anyway, look at it as an incentive to do some research. Better to learn now, than suffer later. :D

Please note, that I have never tried using any of the above plants for toothaches, so I am not speaking from personal experience.

Doc
 
Time to remember "pain is just information".
Useful information that remembers you that you should treat asap.

Maybe we could separate two distinct issues:
* relieving pain
* treating the problem

Relieving pain is ok assuming you're close enough to civilazation.
If you're too remote you'll have to consider treating.

I'll try to speak from my experience

First a few warnings:
I have some first hand experience but I don't pretend to an extended knowledge about tooth ache.
Assuming you don't have access to prupose made painkillers or antibiotics.
Only some personnal experience, use at your own risk

A few methods I've tried:
* live with it: after some time you developp some pain tolerance
* alcohol mouth wash: used some diluted medical alcohol (yes the camphored stuff, don't swallow)
* cold water (although not sure I'd recommand it in the field)

Some methode heard of:
* dried clove in the cavity or near it (reliable source).
* willow (salix) bark shavings contain acetylsalicylic acid aka Aspirin (reliable source but not sure about application details).
* oak shavings tannic infusion (mouth wash) - not sure
 
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Hey Ravaillac,

I've used the cold water method before and it does work, although it probably depends on what actually is causing the pain.

I would hold the cold water in my mouth to numb the pain and it would work for a short period, but then I would have to reapply. It was better than nothing. :o

Doc
 
DOC-CANADA said:
I would hold the cold water in my mouth to numb the pain and it would work for a short period, but then I would have to reapply. It was better than nothing
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Agreed I was just questioning the possibility to find edible cold water in the field, cause water from unknown source or that have remained in canteen for too long might increase infection risks.
Freshly purified water is probably OK. Water with slightly increased disinfectant product concentration (like micropure -use same amount except somewhat reduce amount of water for one capsule) might help.
 
Ravaillac said:
Some methode heard of:
* dried clove in the cavity or near it (reliable source).
Click to expand...
That will kill the nerve in the tooth quite reliably. So be sure to continue treating the infection even if it doesn't hurt any more.

* willow (salix) bark shavings contain acetylsalicylic acid aka Aspirin (reliable source but not sure about application details).
Click to expand...
Make a hot infusion (tea) of either willow bark or willow root, but aspirin in the woods might not be the best idea of all, cause it will thin your blood.
* oak shavings tannic infusion (mouth wash) - not sure
Click to expand...
This will treat an infection, just be sure not to swallow it.
 
I have had many experiences with a plant that will kill almost any kind of toothache. It is the Toothwort (Dentaria diphylla). I have used this plant many times and have had others also use it and everyone says it is fantastic.
It is a common plant and grows from way up North here all the way down to the Carolinas. I'm not sure how far west it grows. The only bad thing about this plant is that it is only a spring plant but once you become familiar with it you can usually find the roots. It has a very distinctive root and can't be mistaken for any other.
Sorry my computer skills suck so I can't post pictures but all the books show this plant.
It is also called Pepper Root in some of the books and there is a more southern variety called Cut leaf Toothwort (Dentaria laciniata).
Also in a pinch common Plantain (Plantago major) is quite as effective.
Oldman/Marty
 
I carry a small tube of Benzocaine. I have it principally because it is good for use in play with someone else but it great for what is was designed - a topical gel to numb tooth pain.

OTC here branded as Orajel. Tube is so small and tooth pain is so distinct it earns a place in my kit.
 
Oil of clove...learned that from Dustin Hoffman in Marathon Man and can recommend it highly based on personal experience.

The Orajel "Q-tips" are handy for a small kit, along with a few containing alcohol.
 
There are tooth aches and there are tooth aches. The ones caused by abscess have problems that go beyond the pain which is terrible enough in its own right. I have had teeth extracted and the toothaches that came before were about unbearable. Before I go into the bush for any length of time I see the dentist to make sure there are no surprises. The thought of having a toothache days and days from a dentist is is not good. Makes you appreciate how tough the old timers were, way out there for months at a time.
Great film from the Film Board of Canada, "Nahanni". Quote I love from the film, "It was going well this time. Better than last year when winter came early. Got frozen in, built a cabin, almost starved, got scurvy, toothaches, and he pulled his teeth with pliers". I would say that the the old guy was mighty tough.
 
I always keep one of these handy...

Ice_Skate.jpg
 
I usually keep a few pill of some serious painkiller (Vicodin, Flexoril) in my first aid kit. What a nightmare to be way out in the bush and be in horrible pain. :eek:
 
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