Hydrogen peroxide and the prepper

Bob - July 21, 2021

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/hydrogen-peroxide

Good morning,

Above article is informative and encompassing.

Under section titled “Alternative … for uses” at subsection “Wound Cleaning”, I believe a secondary definition of “sterile” is being used.

As a disinfectant or for oral hygiene, do get preliminary guidance from a colleague EMT, DDS.

Not in article but Walmart’s on the counter H2O2 is 3% USP and the 7-11 brand small bottle is also 3% USP.

Hopefully link is of value for preparedness. 

3  

The article states that hydrogen peroxide should be avoided as a wound cleaner as it can irritate or damage the cells necessary for wound healing. That is something new to me that I didn’t know previously. Whenever I got a cut or scrape I would use it because that’s always what my parents used to do. What is the better way to treat a cut or scrape if I shouldn’t be using hydrogen peroxide?

-Tim

 

Good morning Tim,

Am replying only to first part.

Yes, as per article, H2O2 can irritate / harm cells.

The trade-off is, for example, a head injury. The dentists will say to keep area clean until professional help obtained … and this is typically away from one’s immediate area needing time to get there.

That’s why I wrote to seek initial guidance from an EMT, dentist.

 Maybe Tom Rader of TP staff … he’s a para, a higher level than EMT … can comment here. 

 

Tim. To clean out wounds, you are going to want to just flush and irrigate with some sterile water. So pour water over your cut from your bathroom faucet, some bottled water, or in the shower. Be gentle and get all the dirt and small rocks out of your cut. Then apply some antibiotic ointment and wrap in a clean bandage such as a band-aid for small cut or gauze for something larger. 

Your body is good at fighting off infections and healing itself, so doing these steps will be plenty to keep you clean to heal.