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Rubbing alcohol is commonly used in the home. It might seem a bit old-fashioned nowadays, but it’s still used widely for household cleaning and health purposes today.
There are numerous benefits to having a bottle of rubbing alcohol in your personal first aid kit. You can use it for a broad range of medical purposes, including:
1. As an antiseptic
Studies have found that rubbing alcohol is a natural bactericidal treatment, which is essentially a fancy way of saying it has the power to kill bacteria, but doesn’t necessarily prevent their growth. As an added bonus, rubbing alcohol is also effective in killing fungus and viruses. For this to work, though, you’ll need to use a a rubbing alcohol concentration of 50 percent solution or above. Any lower, and there’s no guarantee the formula will effectively kill off bacteria.
2. To ward off nausea
If you’re hit with a sudden bout of sickness, instead of reaching for your usual anti-nausea medication, you might want to try rubbing alcohol instead. According to a medical review, inhaling rubbing alcohol works 50 times more effectively in treating nausea than actual nausea medication. Just soak a bit of the solution on a cotton ball and hold it under your nose for long enough for the nausea to pass.
3. To disinfect surfaces
Medical facilities still use rubbing alcohol today to disinfect surfaces and other important medical items, like scalpels, scissors and thermometers. That said, this solution isn’t commonly used on its own in hospitals, as it’s not often considered reliable enough to be seen as hospital-grade. It’s also quite damaging to the outer coatings on some items, so it should be used with caution.
Even if you’re not using rubbing alcohol to directly treat a symptom or injury, you can still benefit from it for home health purposes. In this case you can use rubbing alcohol for:
1. Reducing pores
Rubbing alcohol is a natural astringent, which essentially means it can help to tighten pores, reducing the build-up of dirt and oil, and leaving your skin feeling refreshed. Applying rubbing alcohol to your skin after cleansing and before applying moisturizer can prevent acne breakouts and improve your skin’s smoothness. Keep in mind that rubbing alcohol can be very drying to skin, so it’s best not to use it on dry areas. Unsurprisingly, it’ll also cause a burning sensation if you try to apply it to areas of acne.
2. Keeping you smelling fresh
If you’re out of deodorant, don’t despair! You don’t need to lock yourself away out of fear of knocking everyone out with your lingering odour. Rubbing alcohol is an effective home remedy for deodorant that actually works. You can add it to a spray bottle and spritz it directly on your armpits, but be sure not to do this after shaving, or it will sting quite badly. You might also want to mix essential oils like lavender with the rubbing alcohol to give your natural deodorant an invigorating scent.
3. Evaporating ear water
If you’ve ever swam underwater in the pool or the sea, you’ll know how horrible it feels for your ear to stay clogged with water long after you’ve dried off. This can be more than just an annoyance, too - the bacteria in sea water in particular may reside in your ear and lead to an infection. You can resolve this issue by mixing a solution of half a teaspoon of rubbing alcohol and half a teaspoon of white vinegar, which you should then pour into your ear while your head is to the side. Leave for several seconds, then let the solution drain out.
4. Applying to aching muscles
Whether you’ve had too many long days at work, you’ve worked out hard at the gym, or you’re simply suffering from general aches and pains, rubbing alcohol might be exactly what you need to soothe your aching muscles. When you apply an alcohol-soaked cloth to an area of pain, it’ll produce a cooling sensation that will stimulate blood flow to the aching areas. You should feel a nice relief from pain after applying the alcohol, but be careful not to overdo it - your skin will soak up the alcohol, which can cause some pretty nasty effects if you were to put it all over your body.
5. Removing tics