How to Use Garlic as an Antiseptic

According to "The Herbal Home Remedy Book," garlic's antibiotic properties can help a wide spectrum of illnesses, including colds, sore throats, strained muscles and earaches. Garlic cloves contain a compound called allicin, which can numb painful areas and kill outside bacterial invaders. The only way to release the allicin is to break open the cloves. One of the easiest ways to use garlic as an antiseptic is to make garlic oil from fresh garlic and olive oil and then apply the oil to the troubled area or consume it.

Things You'll Need

• Glass container with a lid
• Olive oil
• Muslin cloth
• Small glass jar with a lid
• Cotton balls
• Eyedropper
• Old rag

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Instructions

• 1

  Peel and mince 8 oz. of fresh garlic cloves and dump the minced garlic into a glass container. Add just enough olive oil to the jar to completely cover the garlic and then tightly screw on the lid of the container.

• 2

  Allow the garlic oil to rest in a warm place for about three days. Pour the oil and garlic mixture into a large square of muslin and press the liquid through the cloth into a small glass jar. Discard the garlic and the cloth. Store the garlic oil in a cool, dark spot.

• 3

  Treat cold symptoms, such as sore throats, coughs and chest congestion, by ingesting the garlic oil. Take 1 tsp. each hour while symptoms persist. If the oil is too strong to swallow as-is, try mixing it into chicken broth or spreading the oil on toast.

• 4

  Soak a cotton ball with the oil and insert it into your ear to treat earaches. Leave it in place for 10 to 15 minutes, and repeat the treatment every few hours. Make sure not to slide the cotton ball too deep into your ear; inserting it just deep enough to remain on its own will suffice.

• 5

  Suck several drops of the garlic oil up in an eyedropper. Tilt your head back and drop one to three drops in each nostril to clear up nasal congestion and help with chronic sinus infections.

• 6

  Pour several teaspoons of garlic oil onto an old rag. Rub the rag on sore muscles to alleviate pain associated with sprains, strains and overtired limbs.