Medical Uses For Baking Soda

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Sentry18

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  • Medical Uses For Baking Soda

baking-soda-pixabay.png

Baking Soda (image by pixabay)
Some folks in the preparedness community consider themselves ready for any disaster if they have some food, water, and a means of personal defense. Being prepared, however, is more than that. You have to be able to treat medical issues. And not just that: Attention to hygiene is equally important in preventing some of those issues.

Those concerned about a long-term event should know that the expenditure of various supplies over time will be a major problem. What will you do when you run out of one item or another? You have to find substitutes that can serve double (and triple) duty. The more versatile the item, the more useful it is to store.

baking-soda-1.jpg

Arm & Hammer baking soda was not named for oil tycoon Armand Hammer, although he eventually bought the company!
Baking soda is one item you should have in quantity. Yes, baking soda. Many years ago, one of our readers wrote an excellent article on baking soda in survival settings. He opened our eyes to its many uses.

WHAT IS BAKING SODA?

Baking soda (also known as sodium bicarbonate or bicarbonate of soda) is a popular and inexpensive household product. You can actually mine deposits of it if you live in parts of California, Colorado, and Mexico (as well as Botswana). It has been historically used as a leavening agent for baking bread and does a fine job absorbing odors in your refrigerator.

Baking soda is not the same as baking powder. Baking powder contains baking soda, but it also contains an acidifying agent and starch. Both produce carbon dioxide which causes baked goods to rise and, indeed, you can substitute baking powder in place of baking soda (usually, you’ll need three times more baking powder), but you can’t use baking soda when a recipe calls for baking powder.

MEDICAL USES FOR BAKING SODA

Are there medical uses for baking soda? The answer is yes. So many, in fact, that you might want some around even in normal times.

baking-soda-paste.jpg

You can treat insect bites and itchy skin with it. Some find it effective for poison ivy. Make a paste out of baking soda and water, and apply like a balm onto the irritated area. You could shake some baking soda into your hand and rub it onto wet skin.

Baking soda can help unblock nasal congestion by adding a teaspoon to some hot water and inhaling the vapors.

steaminhalation.jpg

For those who suffer from acid reflux (heartburn), eventually the Tums and Rolaids will run out. Baking soda was what they used before these products came into being. Just add a teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water after meals.

Recent medical studies, including one published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, suggest that sodium bicarbonate tablets may help slow progression in those with chronic kidney disease. The researchers concluded, “This study demonstrates that bicarbonate supplementation slows the rate of progression of renal failure to ESRD and improves nutritional status among patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).”

Baking soda has mild antiseptic and drying properties, and helps keep a wound clean. When a wound is healing, repeated cleaning of the area can result in dry skin and a hard, itchy scab. Baking soda can help soften and remove the scab once the wound is no longer painful or draining. One treatment regimen uses 2 to 3 tablespoons of baking soda with a half cup of water. Leave the paste on the wound for 15 minutes and then rinse thoroughly (be aware that it might burn a little).

You’re not medically prepared until you’re dentally prepared. In long-term events, the family medic will have to deal with a number of dental problems that crop up. Baking soda can be a replacement for toothpaste. Add a little 3% hydrogen peroxide to it and use it as a rinse for bad breath.

Boots.jpg

Adding baking soda to boots keeps your feet drier, less smelly, and help prevent blisters. A little in the right places can prevent general chafing or body odor.

Off the grid, you might run out of things like disposable diapers. You’ll be using cloth diapers like your ancestors. A little baking soda in a diaper might prevent diaper rash. If the baby already has diaper rash, a couple of tablespoons in the bath water can decrease the irritation.

dog-and-kid-pixabay.png

Speaking of children, your four-legged children (and you) might benefit from some baking soda to deodorize pet bedding and cat boxes. Cover the bottom of litter boxes with baking soda, then fill as usual with litter. Eliminate odors from your pets bedding by sprinkling some baking soda and wait 15 minutes. Take the bed outside and beat it like you would a rug.

You can also bathe pets using baking soda. It’s good for getting rid of that wet dog smell. Taking it to extremes, it can help after your less-than-friendly encounter with that skunk that lives in the woodpile.

shutterstock_31146721.jpg

Bad hygiene, bad health
That last one addresses hygiene more than health, but they are intertwined. If you don’t have good hygiene, you eventually won’t have good health. Baking soda can be used to scrub down kitchen counters, wash clothes, and even cleaning out a car you had to sleep in for a week while bugging out.

Before you head in for lunch after digging a latrine at your new retreat, you can use some baking soda as a hand cleaner. It will gently scrub away ground-in dirt and neutralize odors on your hands.

OTHER USES FOR BAKING SODA

As a general cleaner, baking soda can be used for just about everything from cookware to silver. For stubborn stains on fabric, try soaking overnight with baking soda solution or scrubbing with baking soda on a damp sponge.

After using sponges for a while, they can begin to smell like mildew. To clean your sponges, mix four tablespoons of baking soda with a quart of warm water.

Going even further afield, baking soda can be used on septic tanks, drain pipes, and can even neutralize battery acid corrosion in cars and generators (disconnect battery terminals while cleaning).

Baking soda can also discourage bugs like ants and roaches; some people use it to keep snails from eating their plants and some say it works to stop rabbits from coming around.

You can extinguish minor grease and electrical fires with baking soda. When baking soda is heated, it gives off carbon dioxide, which helps to smother the flames. For small cooking fires (frying pans, broilers, ovens, grills), throw handfuls of baking soda at the base of the flame.

baking-soda-and-vinegar.png

Fresh baking soda and vinegar fizzes
How can you tell if your baking soda is still fresh enough to use? Simple, just take a bowl with some baking soda in it and pour some apple cider vinegar on it. If it’s good, it’ll start fizzing like crazy. Use a large bowl.

It’s important to know that survival is not always about guns, ammo and tourniquets. Our ancestors used what they had to live full lives and you might have to go back to the basics one day in times of trouble. Baking soda might just be handy.

Joe Alton MD
 
Bicarbonate of soda aka Baking soda… Something most folks never think about but really should.

I’ve always found the following medicinal use sort of funny since I stumbled across it researching something long ago. The single largest consumer of bicarbonate of soda in the US… The large feedlots in the Midwest for finishing beef cattle.

Nature designed cows to eat grass. The big feed lots give cattle grains so they will put on a lot of weight quickly. This also gives the cows indigestion.

They are given bicarbonate of soda in their feed to treat their indigestion! :D

I've seen photos, they actually bring in baking soda by the train load... In a shtf situation... now you know where to go looking for baking soda. ;)
 
I have seen it recommended to keep one well as baking soda and water would make one's system more alkaline.
How does a person know if your body is acid or alkaline? I know people who take a spoon of apple cider vinegar every day for a similar purpose. It is supposed to be good for our body chemistry as well. How to take baking soda? Stir a spoonful in a glass of water and drink it?

I love the bags of baking soda you can buy at Costco. Unlike the boxes you can purchase at the store, the plastic keeps them fresher and less likely to absorb moisture. I do like to put a box of baking soda in the refrigerator and change it out every few months or so.

Baking soda is one item that the typical person cannot produce. It is something we need to stock. How much depends on how much of it you use. I think in a SHTF situation, you could easily use a lot of it.
 
You can make sodium bicarbonate using ammonia, carbon dioxide and salt. Switch the carbon dioxide with carbonated water (carbolic acid) and add it to the salt and ammonia solution and it precipitates sodium bicarbonate. You can heat it to about 120F to aid in the process. The liquids left are not readily usable and considered corrosive pollutants.
 
You can make sodium bicarbonate using ammonia, carbon dioxide and salt. Switch the carbon dioxide with carbonated water (carbolic acid) and add it to the salt and ammonia solution and it precipitates sodium bicarbonate. You can heat it to about 120F to aid in the process. The liquids left are not readily usable and considered corrosive pollutants.
I have been under the impression that it couldn't be, so I really appreciate knowing this.

 
Most of the baking soda in the world is just mined and purified today but they used to make it.
 
I drank a glass of water with spoon full of baking soda for heart burn , reflux, indigestion.
Nothing works as fast or as good.

Jim

I also take it for heartburn. The only difference is I eat it straight out of the box with a spoon then chase it down with water. My Grandpa did it that way and it seems to work a little faster on acid reflux burn.
 
Medical Uses For Baking Soda | Doom and Bloom (TM)

Some folks in the preparedness community consider themselves ready for any disaster if they have some food, water, and a means of personal defense. Being prepared, however, is more than that. You have to be able to treat medical issues. And not just that: Attention to hygiene is equally important in preventing some of those issues.

Those concerned about a long-term event should know that the expenditure of various supplies over time will be a major problem. What will you do when you run out of one item or another? You have to find substitutes that can serve double (and triple) duty. The more versatile the item, the more useful it is to store.

Baking soda is one item you should have in quantity. Yes, baking soda. Many years ago, one of our readers wrote an excellent article on baking soda in survival settings. He opened our eyes to its many uses.

WHAT IS BAKING SODA?

Baking soda (also known as sodium bicarbonate or bicarbonate of soda) is a popular and inexpensive household product. You can actually mine deposits of it if you live in parts of California, Colorado, and Mexico (as well as Botswana). It has been historically used as a leavening agent for baking bread and does a fine job absorbing odors in your refrigerator.

Baking soda is not the same as baking powder. Baking powder contains baking soda, but it also contains an acidifying agent and starch. Both produce carbon dioxide which causes baked goods to rise and, indeed, you can substitute baking powder in place of baking soda (usually, you’ll need three times more baking powder), but you can’t use baking soda when a recipe calls for baking powder.

MEDICAL USES FOR BAKING SODA

Are there medical uses for baking soda? The answer is yes. So many, in fact, that you might want some around even in normal times.

You can treat insect bites and itchy skin with it. Some find it effective for poison ivy. Make a paste out of baking soda and water, and apply like a balm onto the irritated area. You could shake some baking soda into your hand and rub it onto wet skin.

Baking soda can help unblock nasal congestion by adding a teaspoon to some hot water and inhaling the vapors.

For those who suffer from acid reflux (heartburn), eventually the Tums and Rolaids will run out. Baking soda was what they used before these products came into being. Just add a teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water after meals.

Recent medical studies, including one published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, suggest that sodium bicarbonate tablets may help slow progression in those with chronic kidney disease. The researchers concluded, “This study demonstrates that bicarbonate supplementation slows the rate of progression of renal failure to ESRD and improves nutritional status among patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).”

Baking soda has mild antiseptic and drying properties, and helps keep a wound clean. When a wound is healing, repeated cleaning of the area can result in dry skin and a hard, itchy scab. Baking soda can help soften and remove the scab once the wound is no longer painful or draining. One treatment regimen uses 2 to 3 tablespoons of baking soda with a half cup of water. Leave the paste on the wound for 15 minutes and then rinse thoroughly (be aware that it might burn a little).

You’re not medically prepared until you’re dentally prepared. In long-term events, the family medic will have to deal with a number of dental problems that crop up. Baking soda can be a replacement for toothpaste. Add a little 3% hydrogen peroxide to it and use it as a rinse for bad breath.

Adding baking soda to boots keeps your feet drier, less smelly, and help prevent blisters. A little in the right places can prevent general chafing or body odor.

Off the grid, you might run out of things like disposable diapers. You’ll be using cloth diapers like your ancestors. A little baking soda in a diaper might prevent diaper rash. If the baby already has diaper rash, a couple of tablespoons in the bath water can decrease the irritation.

Speaking of children, your four-legged children (and you) might benefit from some baking soda to deodorize pet bedding and cat boxes. Cover the bottom of litter boxes with baking soda, then fill as usual with litter. Eliminate odors from your pets bedding by sprinkling some baking soda and wait 15 minutes. Take the bed outside and beat it like you would a rug.

You can also bathe pets using baking soda. It’s good for getting rid of that wet dog smell. Taking it to extremes, it can help after your less-than-friendly encounter with that skunk that lives in the woodpile.
 
That last one addresses hygiene more than health, but they are intertwined. If you don’t have good hygiene, you eventually won’t have good health. Baking soda can be used to scrub down kitchen counters, wash clothes, and even cleaning out a car you had to sleep in for a week while bugging out.

Before you head in for lunch after digging a latrine at your new retreat, you can use some baking soda as a hand cleaner. It will gently scrub away ground-in dirt and neutralize odors on your hands.

OTHER USES FOR BAKING SODA

As a general cleaner
, baking soda can be used for just about everything from cookware to silver. For stubborn stains on fabric, try soaking overnight with baking soda solution or scrubbing with baking soda on a damp sponge.

After using sponges for a while, they can begin to smell like mildew. To clean your sponges, mix four tablespoons of baking soda with a quart of warm water.

Going even further afield, baking soda can be used on septic tanks, drain pipes, and can even neutralize battery acid corrosion in cars and generators (disconnect battery terminals while cleaning).

Baking soda can also discourage bugs like ants and roaches; some people use it to keep snails from eating their plants and some say it works to stop rabbits from coming around.

You can extinguish minor grease and electrical fires with baking soda. When baking soda is heated, it gives off carbon dioxide, which helps to smother the flames. For small cooking fires (frying pans, broilers, ovens, grills), throw handfuls of baking soda at the base of the flame.

How can you tell if your baking soda is still fresh enough to use? Simple, just take a bowl with some baking soda in it and pour some apple cider vinegar on it. If it’s good, it’ll start fizzing like crazy. Use a large bowl.

It’s important to know that survival is not always about guns, ammo and tourniquets. Our ancestors used what they had to live full lives and you might have to go back to the basics one day in times of trouble. Baking soda might just be handy.

Joe Alton MD
 
Where is our bro Sentry these days? I miss him and oldcoothillbilly too.
I think we all do. I have to tell you, I always wondered if he didn't work for the NSA? One of his posts was to show what kind of vehicle you had? Why?

Oldcoothillbilly was great also. And then there was our friend Gumpy. So many great people have been on here.
 
I had? want a pic? its a 02 blazer. I miss JEEPhammer and RONSSURPLUS they were great guys even if our forum flopped.
 

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I think we all do. I have to tell you, I always wondered if he didn't work for the NSA? One of his posts was to show what kind of vehicle you had? Why?

Oldcoothillbilly was great also. And then there was our friend Gumpy. So many great people

I miss them. But I am missing Jim and Double R as well. They added a lot to the discussion
 
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