Savvy About Survival: 13 Rubbing Alcohol Survival Uses You Need To Know

Rubbing alcohol is one of those multi-use items that we all have in our homes. It’s inexpensive and is useful for so many things. You will be amazed just how many survival uses it has! Let’s take a quick look at the rubbing alcohol survival uses I’ll be covering in this article:

Fire starter
Remove ticks
DIY ice pack
Dry out cold sores
Destroy Unwanted Pests
Soothe mosquito bites
Clean your eyeglasses
Use as a degreaser
Soothe sore joints and achy muscles
Sanitize your hands
Dry out wet ears and prevent infection
Get rid of nail fungus
Sterilize first aid equipment

13 Oddball Uses For Rubbing Alcohol When TSHTF

1. Fire Starter

Rubbing alcohol is extremely flammable and should always be kept away from an open flame. However, this makes it the perfect fire starter!

Just 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 to close as it will light up immediately!

2. Remove Ticks

Remove Ticks | Rubbing Alcohol Survival Uses You Need To Know
Ticks are bad this year! If you have a tick attached to your skin, it can easily be removed using rubbing alcohol. Soak a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and place over the tick and it will release itself from your skin. Remove the tick with tweezers.

3. DIY Ice Pack

This is genius! To make an ice pack using rubbing alcohol mix together 3 parts water and 1 part rubbing alcohol in a large Ziploc bag and freeze. The best part is they are reusable!

4. Dry Out Cold Sores

Rubbing alcohol is great for drying out cold sores which, in turn, could 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.

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. I do not recommend spraying rubbing alcohol on wood furniture, any type of flooring, or yourself (including your clothing).

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.

7. Clean Your Eyeglasses

You must able to see clearly in all situations, especially in a survival situation! Dirty smudges on the lenses can be cleaned using rubbing alcohol.

8. Use As A Degreaser

When camping, you want to make sure to have super clean 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 could help soothe aches and pains after a day on your feet.

10. Sanitize Your Hands

Sanitize Your Hands | Rubbing Alcohol Survival Uses You Need To Know
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 inside your ear. This will help dry your ear and will help prevent an ear 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. This can be done several times a day to kill nail fungus and prevent any potential infection.

13. Sterilize First Aid Equipment

Every survivalist had a first aid kit that probably is used quite often. To sterilize your first aid equipment, give them a good soak in rubbing alcohol to kill all germs and bacteria.

CrazyRussianHacker shows a survival tip using alcohol as part of an alcohol stove:

What do you think about these rubbing alcohol survival uses? Let us know in the comments section below!

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