No. 641 - HAVE AN H.P. DAY
No. 641
Jim Davidson -- NEWSPAPER COLUMN
HAVE AN “H.P.” DAY
May I suggest that you join me in having an H.P. Day? At this point you may ask the question, “What does the H.P. stand for?” Well, in this case the H.P. stands for hydrogen peroxide. Yes, that little bottle of 3% hydrogen peroxide that we all have in our homes, in one place or another. Several weeks ago our good friend Diane Russell, who lives here in Conway, sent my wife Viola an article about this inexpensive miracle-working product that has really opened my eyes. This article was written by a doctor’s wife in Indiana, and one of the suggestions it made was to pour a capful,(the little white cap that comes with the bottle) and hold it in your mouth for 10 minutes daily, and then spit it out. To avoid long-term injury to the oral mucosa, the solution should be diluted with water.
What this means is no more canker sores, and your teeth will be whiter without expensive pastes. Just use it instead of mouthwash. I do this most mornings while taking a shower and thus my question, “Will you join me in having an H.P. Day?”
This doctor’s wife, whose name is Becky Ransey, was over to a friend’s house and smelled the bleach she was using to clean her toilet and countertops, and this is what she told her. Becky said, “My husband has been in the medical field for over 36 years and most doctors don’t tell you about peroxide.”
She then asked the question, “Have you ever smelled bleach in a doctor’s office?” No!! Why? The reason is because it smells, and is not healthy. Ask the nurses who work in doctor’s offices, and ask them if they use bleach at home. They are wiser and know better. Peroxide was invented during World War I in the 1920s and was used to save and help cleanse the needs of our troops and hospitals.
Maybe you are way ahead of the Davidson household, but here is a list of other uses for peroxide in addition to the one already discussed:
2. Let your toothbrushes soak in a cup of peroxide and keep them free of germs. 3. Clean your counters and table tops with peroxide to kill germs and leave a fresh smell. Simply put a little on your dish rag when you wipe, or spray on the counters. 4. After rinsing off your wooden cutting board, pour peroxide on it to kill salmonella and other bacteria. 5. To eliminate fungus from your feet, spray a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water on them each night and let dry.
6. Soak any infections or cuts in 3% peroxide for five to 10 minutes several times a day. Here is a bonus. Becky said that her doctor husband has seen gangrene that would not heal with any medicine, but was healed by soaking in peroxide. 7. Fill a spray bottle with a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water and keep in every bathroom to disinfect without harming your septic system like bleach or other disinfectants will. 8. Tilt your head back and spray into your nostrils with your 50/50 mixture whenever you have a cold or plugged sinus. It will bubble and help to kill the bacteria. Hold a few minutes and then blow your nose into a tissue.
9. If you have a terrible toothache and cannot get to a dentist right away, put a capful of 3% peroxide into your mouth and hold it for 10 minutes several times a day. The pain will lessen greatly. 10. You can also add a cup of peroxide instead of bleach to a load of whites in your laundry to whiten them. If there is blood on clothing, pour it directly on the soiled spot, let it soak, and rinse with cold water. 11. Mix a couple capfuls of hydrogen peroxide with a coffee cup of warm water and some salt and gargle before going to bed at night to help soothe a sore throat. A doctor in our town also recommended mixing hydrogen peroxide with Pepto Bismol for a young girl who had a throat infection called thrush.
While I am not sure where Becky Ransey does her shopping or how old this article is, she says you can get a bottle at any drug store for less than a dollar.
It is on this last note, “less than a dollar,” where I believe most of our potential benefits lie. If you recall, I said in the beginning that the “smell” of hydrogen peroxide as opposed to bleach was one reason to consider using it. The other, more important, reason is the cost. While you won’t be able to retire on what you would save, it’s the mentality of saving that will serve any of us better in the long run. In a day and time when credit card debt for many Americans is over $10,000, this is the way more of us should be thinking. Several years ago I wrote a column titled, “Back Door Economics”, and discussed ways to save money by making minor changes in our lifestyle, and not foolishly throwing money away on non-essential things, especially around our home.
The point was that we could spend all or most of our time trying to earn money to bring home through the front door, only to have most of it leave through the back door. You may be way ahead of me here, but if you are deep in debt and struggling to pay your bills, begin to develop a mindset of looking for ways around your house to save money. The old saying, “A penny saved is a penny earned” is true, and it just takes a hundred pennies to make a dollar.
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(EDITOR'S NOTE: Jim Davidson is a public speaker and syndicated columnist. You may contact him at 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034. To support literacy, buy his book: “Learning, Earning & Giving Back.”)
