date:Apr 09, 2014
oil works the same as, if not better than, chemical-based anesthetics like benzocaine, which can exacerbate respiratory symptoms and lead to a blood disorder known as methemoglobinemia.
Benzocaine, like many other anesthetics, can cause allergic reactions and other side effects that some people find unpalatable, writes New York Times columnist Anahad O'Connor in the paper's Really? section, which focuses on the science behind alternative medicine. But one natural alternative is clove oil, an es