Dehydrated Mouthwash?

What about the Listerine strips?

Works great…I carry them all the time! Also helps the smell! Now if we could just do something about the pits!

Another vote for Listerine strips! Works well, kills bacteria — no water required, nothing to spit out or throw away.

It must have been days since I have last written about baking soda as the do it all wonder substance, so here I go again : how about baking soda ? It scrubs your teeth and kills odor causing germs at the same time , ingest it and it settles the stomach as well. Here is a list of some of the many uses for it…
http://www.bakingsodabook.co.uk/baking_soda_book_your_body_page_4.shtml
Franco

I don't know about swallowing the stuff, Ben, but they sure do the job in my mouth. My dentist vouched for them when I asked her several years ago during my search for a lightweight mouthwash. I haven't looked back since.

Love the strips! Someone had also mentioned what to do about the pits. Before I go out I swab em with an iodine pad, let it sit for a minute and rinse. You'll still sweat but it kills the bacteria and will keep you stank free for 2-3 days. I carry 1 or 2 extra pads to reapply if needed.

Strips get my vote hands down

"I don't know about swallowing the stuff."

Tom:

The Listerine strips dissolve into nothingness.

Ben,
That sounds a bit fuzzy to me. Matter and energy can neither be created nor destroyed(thermodynamics-1st law) and, since the strips are matter, they're still around somewhere. My guess would be dissolved in one's saliva, which can either be swallowed or spit out. I've tried it both ways and, after a distinctly upset stomach on several occasions , opted for the spitting alternative(into a tidy little cathole, suitably distant from my campsite when in bear country).

Thanks for the feedback. I'll give the strips a try.

This is the first time I've heard of anyone getting sick from swallowing saliva after a few Listerine strips have dissolved! To me, swallowing helps to freshen the back of the mouth and throat area (the strips have anti-bacterial property) — and it also means less contamination to the campsite (although not a big deal either way).

Has anyone else gotten sick from Listerine strips???

Nope. I carrying one around all day. Paranoid of having bad breath. I am in sales and I am talking to people all day. I usually took mints with me on the trail but the strips replaced them last year.

People have different tolerances, and criteria, when it comes to what they ingest, Ben. And perhaps different reasons for using the strips. My only reason for using the strips is to minimize the amount of decay causing bacteria on my gums and teeth after a meal. Freshening the back of my mouth and throat or eliminating bad breath have never been considerations. OTOH, I have a general policy of trying to minimize the amount and number of chemicals(there's a long list on the back of a Listerine PocketPak) I consciously introduce into my system on the assumption that there are already enough floating around that I pick up involuntarily. The strips are not a big deal, but for me it's just as easy to spit it out to eliminate a potential hazard and go easy on my sensitive tummy at the same time. I guess I could also observe that if you consider Listerine infused saliva a potential campsite contaminant, why would you swallow it?

Tom:

You are absolutely right — each to his or her own.

But until now, I've never heard of anyone getting an upset stomach from Listerine strips — and so I want to know whether there are others out there with similar experience.

Sounds like a job for Gallup!! But it's got to be a 2 part poll: 1) How many people swallow; 2) How many swallowers have gotten an upset tummy. :)

these are 2 more uses for baking soda