Did you know that rubbing alcohol sitting has numerous survival uses? It will be helpful for you to know how rubbing alcohol can increase your chances of survival, so read all about it here!
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Survival Uses of Rubbing Alcohol
1. Fire Starter
A bottle of rubbing alcohol is extremely flammable and should always be kept away from an open flame. This makes it the perfect fire starter! Simply squirt very small amounts onto the wood, and you will have no trouble getting a fire started in dry weather conditions.
I suggest using matches and not an actual lighter, as you can just throw the match into the wood pile. Using a lighter puts your hand way too close, as it will light up immediately!
2. Remove Ticks
Repel ticks with rubbing alcohol! If you have a tick attached to your skin, you can easily remove it with rubbing alcohol, may it be isopropyl or ethyl alcohol.
First, soak a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and place it on the tick. As the tick reacts to the chemicals, it will release itself from your skin. Remove the tick with tweezers.
3. DIY Ice Pack
This DIY hack is genius indeed! To make an ice pack using rubbing alcohol, mix 3 parts water and 1 part rubbing alcohol in a large Ziploc bag, then, freeze it.
Keep a stock of these DIY ice packs in your fridge, and you'll be ready whenever something happens. The best part is they are also reusable!
4. Dry Out Cold Sores
We all know the medical uses for rubbing alcohol, which is largely for its antiseptic properties. Rubbing alcohol is great for drying out cold sores, which, in turn, can help speed up the healing process.
Place a cotton ball with a small amount of rubbing alcohol onto the cold sore for a few seconds. When you do this, don't be surprised to feel a slight sting.
5. Destroy Unwanted Pests
You can kill insects with rubbing alcohol by simply spraying them using a spray bottle. You can also spray rubbing alcohol on your mattress, for example, to kill insects such as bed bugs.
We do not recommend spraying rubbing alcohol on wooden furniture, any type of flooring, or yourself (including your clothing) unless you really have to.
6. Soothe Mosquito Bites
Soak a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and place on your mosquito bites. It relieves the itching, cleanses the skin to prevent infection, and dries out the bite to promote faster healing.
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7. Clean Your Eyeglasses
It is important to have a clear vision, especially in a survival situation. If your eyeglasses are dirty, you can easily clean up the smudges using rubbing alcohol. Simply wet a piece of cloth with rubbing alcohol, then use it to wipe the lenses clean.
8. Use as a Degreaser
When camping, you want to make sure to have spotless dishes after your meal to ensure that predators stay clear of your campsite. Most predators can smell food from miles away!
Rubbing alcohol makes a great degreaser for your pots and pans. Soak the greasy areas with rubbing alcohol for a few minutes, then wash with regular dish soap.
9. Soothe Sore Joints and Achy Muscles
Did you know you can relieve sore joints and achy muscles with rubbing alcohol? Simply massage rubbing alcohol onto the affected area to relieve the pain.
Rubbing alcohol acts as a liniment to increase blood flow to the area and can help soothe aches and pains after a day on your feet.
10. Sanitize Your Hands
Is rubbing alcohol the same as isopropyl alcohol? Yes, and it is primarily used as an antiseptic, which is effective in killing off most of the bad germs in our hands.
Pour about a quarter size amount of rubbing alcohol into your hands and rub your hands together (much like you would do with hand sanitizer) and you’re all set! No germs!
11. Dry Out Wet Ears and Prevent Infection
Place a few drops of rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball and place it inside your ear. Doing this may help dry out your ears, preventing infection.
12. Get Rid of Nail Fungus
Nail fungus is pretty common but can be remedied using rubbing alcohol. Mix equals parts of water and rubbing alcohol.
Soak a cotton ball in this mixture and place on the affected nail for a few minutes. You may do this several times a day to kill nail fungus and prevent any potential infection.
13. Sterilize First Aid Equipment
Every survivalist probably has a first aid kit that is a tad bit overused. But when you're in a dire situation, you have to make do with what you have.
Still, your equipment has to be clean to prevent infection. To sterilize your first aid equipment, give them a good soak in rubbing alcohol to help kill the germs and bacteria.
On the same note, drinking alcohol or ethyl alcohol uses also includes disinfection of first aid equipment, and cuts and wounds. Drinking alcohol also has survival uses which are a great topic for another day.
This video from a Crazy Russian Hacker shows a survival tip using alcohol as part of an alcohol stove:
When you're in a survival situation, a bottle of rubbing alcohol may make a difference between life or death. Now you know a few more survival uses for rubbing alcohol, so always make sure you have one in your survival kit.
Remember to have a bottle stationed in your bathroom, work desk, car – or any other strategic location in case of emergencies!
What do you think about these rubbing alcohol survival uses? Let us know in the comments section below!
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on April 20, 2018, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.
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Also works great to sniff an alcohol wipe to ease nausea.
In tip number one, what do you mean when you say: “to close”? How would having one’s hand “to open” not set one’s hand on fire as when one causes one’e hand to close?
I believe it should read “too close”.
think it was a typo — should be “too close” —– as in distance from the flame
I could only get my alcohol stove to operate on 91% alcohol. Methanol works better (yellow Heat).
I use rubbing alcohol in stead of deodorant. spray bottle use sparingly. no allergy .
Did you know that you can’t buy rubbing alcohol in New Zealand and Australia because it’s commonly used in drug manufacturing.
Same as a lot of European countries – requires a prescription, Silly asses. Yet they expect people to try to take care of themselves and not overload the public med system.
Also, 3% hydrogen peroxide – which is better for treating infected wounds.
In Japan you can only buy it with a doctors prescription and it costs a heckofa lot more.
Really strange as a kid I could buy nondenatured ethanol in a science section of a department store
Great idea! Cool stuff. I have used a gallon coffee can up side done for heat. And to cook on before. Use can opener to cut V in the bottom of can
“Experts” aren’t thinking. The alcohol anesthetizes the tick, and any voluntary regurgitation is likely prevented. Put a live tick directly into alcohol and you will see no regurgitation.. I’ve done this many times.
However, gripping a tick with tweezers (as “experts” advise – and especially a tick that has fed to inflation) hard enough to hold and pull it’s barbed head out of your skin – will most probably force its digestive contents back into skin. in addition the ticks head may break off in the skin (very common with forced extraction) and create a future infection.. At least with the alcohol (which does penetrate the upper epidermis) – any or most regurgitate may be sterilized.
Alcohol has many uses if people just consider it as a means to an end. I’ve used alcohol many times for heat by making a wick from a tightly wound piece of cotton wrapped with a string and set in a bottle.
I always read for example, mix alcohol with equal parts of water or some other formula. My question is what strength alcohol do you start with as it comes in at least 50, 70 and 90 % maybe more.
Rubbing Alcohol has NO antiseptic properties whatsoever. Ask your doctor next time you see one. It is good to clean items, just not a wound. For that it is best to have Iodine, it is used in hospitals, ERs and ORs. It is cheap and the best wound cleaner/disinfecting you can find.
Alcohol was widely used to clean and disinfect wounds up until the late 80s in the US, at which time proper research was done only to find out that all Alcohol do for you is make a would more painful.