Looking for earlier posts on medical uses for vodka

greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) Preparation Forum : One Thread

I have a small collection of alcohol, mostly 80 proof vodka, which I no longer use in the traditional manner!

I would like to know what I can use it for before I throw it away. I understand that it can be used to clean wounds thereby preventing infection?

Any help would be much appreciated - over at Mike Hyatt's site I was told that I could use it as a direct replacement for isopropyl alcohol. Can anyone confirm?

Thanks in advance, Brian

-- Brian Tanguay (btanguay@earthlink.net), October 27, 1999

Answers

You can soak vanilla beans in vodka and use it for flavoring.

-- Cookie (AndCake@my house.com), October 27, 1999.

Remember that the original discovery of alcohol's disinfectant property was by British Navy doctors. They noticed that wounded and injured sailors who spilled rum used for anesthesia onto their wounds didn't develop the usual fatal infections.

If seventeenth and eighteenth century rum of unknown proof was suitable for medical use, modern alcohol of known strength should be usable in emergencies. But unless you've got lots of the stuff, it's probably cheaper to go buy a suitable quantity of medicianl alcohol.

But if you've got to make your own in years to come...

WW

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), October 27, 1999.


We use it to create tinctures of St. John's Wort. Ummm, yummy.

-- BigDog (BigDog@duffer.com), October 27, 1999.

Ethyl or isopropyl kill cells equally well. But remember, they don't know good guys from bad guys. As an initial rinse of a dirty wound they, as H2O2, make some sense but they'll happily kill as well your own exposed cells who're trying to heal things up.

never end a sentence with a preposition never end a sentence with a preposition never end a sente

-- Carlos (riffraff1@cybertime.net), October 27, 1999.


well, i will tell you one thing you can't use vodka for....and that is birth control. never worked for me. two out of two kids were the result of vodka. or was that tequila? i forget.

-- tt (cuddluppy@iloveit.com), October 27, 1999.


Instead of buying vodka, choose a brand like "Everclear" it's cheaper and at 190 proof (95%) almost pure alcohol. There's even generic brands cheaper then Everclear, ask your liquor store clerk (he will think you are a serious boozer :-) with no shame). This stuff is bettor for making tinure's etc.

-- Sure M. Worried (SureMWorried@bout.Y2K.coming), October 27, 1999.

Alcohol poured in a wound HURTS. Least-toxic wound-cleaning solution is 1 tsp salt in 1 quart of clean water, boiled for 5 min. Use at least half that quart and some sort of pressure (squirting thru a syringe, or scrubbing with gauze)to clean out the wound. Used to work with a plastic surgeon who never used anything else, and his infection rates were the lowest in the biz. The alcohol is great for cleaning UNbroken skin, like disinfecting your (already-washed) hands prior to stitching up a wound or delivering a baby.

-- ldeeds (ldeeds@kumc.edu), October 28, 1999.

Look in this forum under Archives, Brian.

-- Elaine Seavey (Gods1sheep@aol.com), October 28, 1999.

Moderation questions? read the FAQ