A Home-Grown Cure for Mouth Problems

Aloe Vera is a plant that has been used to heal skin for more than 2000 years. A review in the journal of the US Academy of General Dentistry reports that it can also be used to treat many oral health problems, including ulcers, cold sores, herpes simplex viruses, lichen planus (a disease of the skin and oral mucus membranes) and gingivitis (inflammation of the gums).

You can grow your own Aloe Vera in a pot indoors: the plants are readily available from nurseries. Place it near a window and water when the soil is dry - do not over water. If you snip off a small length of leaf and squeeze out the gel inside, this can be applied to the problem area. Best to check first that it is colourless; the bitter yellowish juice is a laxative. You can also buy aloe drinks in health-food shops.

There are several variations of the aloe plant, but only one variety has a legendary medicinal reputation dating back thousands of years: the Aloe Vera. Vera, which means true in Latin, was added to the appellation of this particular specimen in order to distinguish its primacy among the aloe plants.

Aloe Vera is considered by many to be a member of the cactus family. In reality, it is a member of the lily family. There are over 200 species of the aloe plant, but only one true Aloe Vera. Only the authentic Aloe Vera provides the potent therapeutic effects which nature has built in it.

Aloe Vera plants

It is only recently that Aloe Vera has been "re-discovered" and has come back into general use. Ironically enough, it was the invention of the Xray and the atom bomb, which again focused attention upon the plant. It was found early in the search for protection against radiation burns that the best treatment was Aloe Vera gel. As chemical, medical and physical scientific research has progressed, many old remedies have been found to be worthless because they were based upon faulty information and reasoning. Some, however, have been discovered to be infinitely superior to many synthetics.

Aloe Vera is one of the old natural remedies that have come into their own in the Space Age as one of the modern "miracle" drugs.