Baking soda is one of those items you pick up at the grocery store and don’t give much more thought to once it’s sitting in your cupboard or fridge.
Well after you read this you might want to consider stocking up on it.
Like most things nature gives us, the loose white powder you use in many baking and cooking recipes can also be used to help you in the event of a crisis.
Remember once a crisis sets in there are going to be lots of different problems you’re going to have to deal with.
Problems you might not have had to deal with before crisis sets in…
Which is why a few pounds of baking soda tucked away with your other survival supplies might not be a bad idea at all.
Take a look at these 9 incredible uses for this natural salt (yes, it is a salt) and then tell us in the comments below if you can think of anymore.
The 9 Incredible Survival Uses For Baking Soda
1. Use it to Treat Irritation from Poison Ivy and Bug Bites
If you’ve ever spent any amount of time trekking through the outdoors you know you’ll likely come home with some bug bites, or irritation from poison ivy or similar plants.
Baking soda has the remarkable property of working to neutralize those irritations.
All you need to do is take a teaspoon of baking soda and mix it with a few drops of water to make a paste that you can place on the bug bite or poison ivy.
Once placed on the affected area wrap in a bandage and allow to remain there for several hours.
If you want to combine the anti-itch properties of baking soda with another powerful and natural soothing agent you can make the paste out of aloe vera. This will actually stick to your skin better and will provide a cooling and soothing sensation.
2. Use it to Treat Ulcers, Heartburn and Indigestion
Probably some of the most annoying as well as painful stomach conditions can be treated with this fine white powder.
The incredible thing here is it will actually neutralize the stomach acid that causes that distinct burning and pain.
Keep in mind this is only for the occasional treatment of these conditions as an over-reliance on the substance can disrupt electrolyte balance.
Dosing depends on your age.
So follow these recommendations:
“½ teaspoon fully dissolved in a half a glass of water, taken every two hours (do not take more than seven ½ teaspoons in 24 hours, or three ½ teaspoons if you’re over 60″
In a crisis the last thing you want is to be laid low or in severe pain due to a stomach ailment so keeping baking soda with you is a great way to prevent this.
3. Use It To Clean Your Hands and Reduce Body Odor
Survival situations can get messy quick.
One of the biggest concerns you’ll have is keeping the risk of spreading diseases at a minimum.
While it isn’t nearly as effective as anti-bacterial soap, you can use baking soda to scrub your hands and help clean them.
Take 3 parts baking soda and mix it with 1 part water and you’ve now got a highly effective hand cleanser.
To boost the anti-bacterial properties you can try mixing in tea tree oil, crushed garlic, cedar, thyme, or mint.
All of these have been shown to have clear anti-bacterial properties and can work to fight the spread of disease.
One of the added benefits of this kind of hand cleanser is it can work to neutralize odors. This is preferred if you’re going to be hunting in any capacity during a crisis. You can use the scrub on your hands and other parts of your body so you can reduce the scent you leave behind when placing bait and traps.
4. Use it to Remove Splinters
Splinters aren’t just a nuisance, they can actually be quite harmful, especially if allowed to stay inside of your skin for extended periods of time.
Baking soda is actually quite helpful at drawing out both deep, as well as tiny splinters.
It’s able to achieve this by helping swell the skin around the splinter and then drawing it towards the surface for easy extraction.
You’ll want to make a paste of out of it and then place it on the area where the splinter is and then place a bandage over it. Wait about 24 hours or so and the splinter should be close to the surface so you can grab it with tweezers.
If not all you have to do is repeat the process until you can get the splinter out.
5. Use it For a Natural Deodorant
You’ve probably noticed there are a few mainstream deodorant products that use baking soda as a primary ingredient.
That’s because it’s quite helpful at absorbing and neutralizing odors.
The benefits of baking soda as a natural deodorant is it doesn’t contain the harmful chemicals and parabens found in many of the other products out there.
How to make it work exactly? Create a paste of the substance mixed with water and then rub it underneath your arms or other places where odor might be a problem.
In a crisis your body odor will remain unchecked, especially if access to normal deodorant is gone, so this is helpful in a pinch. Remember this will be essential if you plan on doing any kind of hunting. Your scent will be a dead giveaway so you want to do everything you can to minimize that smell and this will help a ton!
6. Use it to Clean Your Teeth
In a survival situation it’s incredibly important you try and maintain dental health.
Not just for your sake but for those around you.
Using the fine white powder is a great way to keep your dental health on par with what it was like pre-crisis.
Here’s what Dr. Mercola writes about using baking soda for dental health.
“Baking soda has a mild abrasive action that helps to remove plaque and polish, clean, and deodorize your teeth. One review of data from five controlled clinical studies found that toothpaste containing baking soda “enhanced plaque removal effectiveness of tooth brushing to a significantly greater extent” than brushing with a non-baking soda toothpaste.
Baking soda also has antibacterial activity and has been found to kill Streptococcus mutans bacteria – a significant contributor to tooth decay. For an incredibly effective tooth and gum paste, use a mixture of six parts of baking soda to one part of sea salt.
Place them in a blender and mix for 30 seconds, then place in a container to use. Wet the tip of your index finger and place a small amount of the salt and soda mixture on your gums.
Starting with the upper outside gums and then the inside of the upper, followed by the lower outside of the gums then the lower inside, rub the mixture onto your teeth and gums. Spit out the excess. After 15 minutes rinse your mouth. This mixture is incredibly effective at killing bacteria.
You need to exert some caution in this area though as many believe baking soda can be too abrasive on your enamel, and Dr. Curatola believes that killing the oral microbiome may be highly counterproductive.”
7. Use it to Soothe Tired Feet
This might seem like a luxury in a crisis, but if you think about it your feet are actually one of your most valuable assets during survival situations. So it pays to treat them well.
Using baking soda and water you can create a soothing bath for your feet that also will work to exfoliate your tired dogs.
If you’re going to make a bath for your feet just draw up some warm water and liberally mix the baking soda in with the water. You can even add some apple cider vinegar to help with this.
To exfoliate your feet the same paste you made for your hand cleanser (3 parts baking soda and 1 part water) will do.
This provides the added benefit of working to neutralize the strong odors emitted by your feet which will be beneficial in a survival situation.
8. Use it to Treat Sunburn
It’s quite common to deal with sunburn in crisis situations.
To help fight the irritation you can create an allover baking soda bath to find natural relief.
Simply place a half cup of baking soda in some warm bathwater and then soak for as long as you’d like.
Upon exiting the bath you’ll want to allow yourself the opportunity to air dry, leaving the baking soda on your skin. This gives your skin the added benefit of baking soda drying on it for extra relief.
9. Use it To Increase Your Endurance
This isn’t something you’re going to want to do with any frequency, but if you ever have the need to push your body to the limits this can really help.
Basically baking soda can act like a performance enhancing substance.
Dr. Mercola writes:
“Distance runners have long engaged in a practice known as “soda doping” — or taking baking soda capsules — before races to enhance performance, a measure that’s thought to work similarly to carbohydrate loading. It’s also been shown to improve speed among swimmers. While I don’t suggest you try this at home, it’s another example of baking soda benefits.
Researchers noted:
“‘Essentially, sodium bicarbonate is an alkali substance that increases the pH of the blood. This seems to reduce and offset the acidity produced in the muscles during intense, anaerobic exercise that produces lactic acid most quickly, such as fast running or swimming.'”
It’s plain to see baking soda is an incredible resource for anyone who wants to effectively ride out a crisis.
I keep some extra in the home because of how useful it is.
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