Doctor Bronner’s castile soap Question

[Unknown abc]

Is Doctor Bronner's Soap gentle enough for cleaning a cut, scrape, etc.?

-Evan

[Nate Meinzer]

and that's not the only place it will sting. Be careful with sensitive cleansing jobs.

[Unknown abc]

I am looking for a good liquid soap for first aid to put in a BPL mini dropper.

Any sugg. are very much appreciated!

-Evan

[Unknown abc]

someone please answer, im obsessing and revising over my first aid kit right now!

[Daniel Benthal]

Evan,

I believe Betadine is the "Gold Standard" for first aid cleansing.

http://www.purduepharma.com/PI/NonPrescription/A6910BE3.pdf

Another good product is Hibiclens.

http://www.hibiclens.com

Both available at the pharmacy.

Dan

[Mary D]

Not at all good for those of us who are allergic to iodine! I've been told that iodine (including betadine) shouldn't be used in wounds anyway because it damages tissue. In surgery it's used for the unbroken skin before the incision, or on the skin around the wound site. A very dilute solution might be OK, but ask your physician.

The rule I've been told is, that if it stings, it's damaging the tissue and retarding healing.

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

Peppermint is rather bracing on sensitive areas.

Why not use rubbing alcohol? Clean the area with plain water and then use alcohol to kill the germs.

All soap really does is help you get wet. It's actually the friction of rubbing your hands and the water carrying the germs away that does the job.

[Roger Caffin]

> Why not use rubbing alcohol? Clean the area with plain water and then use alcohol to kill the germs.

All we ever do is use plain water and a washing action. A small bit of plain soap maybe. Few if any Australian walkers carry alcohol or any sort of disinfectant to wash with.

Your skin is loaded with BENEFICIAL bacteria: you NEED them to stay alive. Don't kill them off!

Cheers

[Tom Clark]

>Your skin is loaded with BENEFICIAL bacteria: you NEED them to stay alive. Don't kill them off!<

Roger, you aren't really saying that disinfecting around a cut is a bad idea because it's going to kill off bacteia, are you?

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Thomas

> Roger, you aren't really saying that disinfecting around a cut is a bad idea because it's
> going to kill off bacteria, are you?

Yep. Absolutely. Why disinfect AROUND a cut anyhow? The bacteria on the skin around a cut are part of you: why damage the skin around a cut even more? And common disinfectants (eg iodine, Dettol) kill off the exposed cells inside the cut so they can't heal up quickly.

What we are arguing about is the idea from the 60s and 70s that you should kill off everything around you. Things like antibiotic wipes for the kitchen. This is a misguided and ignorant concept which has created huge problems for generations of children subsequently brought up in over-clean environments.

For a start, your immune system needs to be challenged to develop and be maintained. Without that you get asthma and many other insidious health problems. Check modern medical research for more information about this, or ask a doctor.

But also, your skin is covered with beneficial bacteria etc which LOOK AFTER YOU. We are NOT independent of our environment; we are very closely integrated into our environment (or should be). Remove all those beneficial bacteria and something will take their place – and that something is very likely to be much worse for you.

By the way: the same applies to your gut: it too contains thousands of independent but beneficial species, without which you will DIE. A major part of your digestive system relies on independent bugs and wogs living inside you: kill too many of them off with too much antibiotics and your long-term health will suffer. Again, check modern medical research (or ask a young doctor).

The most I ever do is to wash a cut with water, apply pressure to limit bleeding, and cover it up with a band-aid. I heal fast and cleanly.

Cheers

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

That does not make sense. You bleed partially to move germs away from the wound. Your skin is there to protect your innards from germs in the outside world. Flushing away germs with water or killing them around the wound with something like alcohol doesn't cause the problems you talk about. A little cleanliness is ok. It is the abuse of antibiotics and too much cleanliness that is the problem.

[Author]

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