The Medicinal Uses of Baking Soda

Hopefully, you've already stored baking soda in your food, about 1.5 pounds per person per year.  To cover medical and medicinal needs as well, you'll probably want to double that amount.  Here are some of the ways baking soda may be used in a grid-down scenario.

Mouth:  We've all seen toothpaste tubes proudly proclaiming that they've got baking soda.  While most of us link the baking soda to whiter teeth (which is true), baking soda also kills bacteria.  Streptococcus mutans, the bacteria that thrive in the presence of sugar, are totally wiped out by baking soda.  You can brush with straight baking soda, or you can make a toothpaste with baking soda and coconut oil (one tablespoon of baking soda mixed with one tablespoon of coconut oil), adding a drop or two of peppermint essential oil if you like.  To treat canker sores, apply a baking soda paste to the sores, or stir one teaspoon of baking soda into a half cup of water and swish it around in the mouth.

Irritated skin:  Applying a paste of baking soda and water (about a 3:1 ratio) to calm the itchiness of bug bites and stings has been a home remedy for years.  Baking soda can also be added to bathwater to relieve itchy skin due to poison oak, ivy, or sumac, and other irritants as well as sunburns.  Finally, baking soda paste can also be used to help draw out a splinter.  Apply the paste, wrap it with gauze or a bandage, and change twice per day.  The splinter should come out within a day or two.

Exercise:  Taking a teaspoon of baking soda in water before engaging in high-intensity exercise has been shown to reduce muscle pain and fatigue from over-exertion.

Heartburn:  This is not for long-term use, but will provide relief while you wait for long-term options to start working.  Stir 1 1/2 teaspoons into a cup of lukewarm water.  Sip this slowly; don't chug it all at once.  Use twice per day.

Kidneys:  Stir one-half teaspoon of baking soda into a glass of lukewarm water.  Studies have shown that doing this twice per day can:

• slow the progression of chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal failure;
• reduce the incidence of urinary tract infections in women;
• relieve kidney stones;
• reduce the inflammation associated with gout (use more often--up to eight times per day.

Disinfectant:  Finally, baking soda is a key ingredient in making Dakin's solution.  This solution was developed during World War I as a wound antiseptic.  It is used to kill germs and prevent the growth of germs in wounds.  It is an excellent solution for irrigating wounds without killing healthy tissue.  It is very inexpensive and easy to make, and thus ideally suited for the challenging circumstances a collapsed society will present.

Links to related posts:
Dakin's solution
DIY toothpaste 


For further reading:
https://www.doomandbloom.net/medical-uses-for-baking-soda/
https://jasn.asnjournals.org/content/20/9/2075.abstract
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12017929
https://www.cdc.gov/antibiotic-use/community/for-patients/common-illnesses/uti.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28975365
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23765347
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6990140/
https://www.md-health.com/Drinking-Baking-Soda.html
https://www.healthline.com/health/baking-soda-for-gout#takeaway 

6 january 2020