I don’t care if science is against me, peroxide helps fight infection.

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Down vote all you want. A drill bit went through my finger, so much so the fingernail was bruised. Soaked one hour in colloidal silver and it healed in three days. Never getting infected. I swear, lots of closed minded people here.

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Defiant-Variety-9473@reddit

Yeah, i use it sometimes and it does help if its a decent brand.

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kermitte777@reddit

Sovereign silver has been my go to.

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Defiant-Variety-9473@reddit

I use Argentyn23. Same company but 23 is twice as concentrated.

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Particular_Golf_6065@reddit

I use it to clean dog pee from my rugs, and sorry, I have used it on an infected tooth. 10/10 treatment. If they ever ban the sale of it, like they want to do to Benadryl, I’m stocking up! I also need Benadryl in some emergency situations, I know the science behind that too, but it’s still useful to me.

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Fair_Blood3176@reddit

Peroxide does wonders for my congestion. Just gargle a wee bit with water. Netti pots be damned.

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IAm5toned@reddit

that's because it's killing the cells that make up your mucus membranes. you shouldn't do that.

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Fair_Blood3176@reddit

Someone should tell the peroxide company because it literally says it's a use on the bottle.

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IAm5toned@reddit

nowhere on a bottle of peroxide does it say, "safe for intranasal use"

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Darkest_Rahl@reddit

Can you elaborate on this? What mixture do you use? Do you just gargle it like mouthwash?

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Fair_Blood3176@reddit

Yes. It's actually a noted use on the back of the bottle. I use it to get rid of excess mucus. Very rarely.

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AstuteStoat@reddit

It's a great mouthwash. 50/50 with water or your tongue turns black. My mouth microbiome changed and so, I can't do alcohol based mouthwashes anymore, they make my breath worse.

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codebygloom@reddit

Nobody will fight you; peroxide does help fight infections by killing bacteria.

The problem is that it also kills healthy cells, which slows down the healing process and makes it more likely that scar tissue will form when it could have healed cleanly without the peroxide.

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selkus_sohailus@reddit

We learned about it in bio. It causes the part of the cell containing the self defense sauce to burst, killing both the cell and any infection. Forgive the unscientific explanation

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TurboSS@reddit

“Self defense sauce” good name for a pepper spray brand.

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Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit

Or a band. Actually, "Pepper Spray Band" is also a good name.

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Horse_Dad@reddit

Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Heart Spray Band

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CurrentHair6381@reddit

Nobody will fight you; peroxide does help fight infections by killing bacteria.

It definitely does not dissolve splinters, as OP seems to have believed. You're right, it damages healthy cells right along with pathogens. I got my mind blown pretty hard when i learned there are people who nebulize hydrogen peroxide. One of the standout bits of covid-era insanity, at least to me

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lazyMarthaStewart@reddit

Fwiw, Op did not say it dissolves splinters. They said it helps with splinters. I think they are referring to when the peroxide foams around a splinter and seemingly helps push it up, out of the skin, making it easier to grasp and remove.

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CurrentHair6381@reddit

"It definitely helps to dissolve any intrusive agitator"

Not sure how else im supposed to interpret that

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RWDPhotos@reddit

I interpret intrusive agitators as bacteria

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CurrentHair6381@reddit

It may not be a disinfectant or sterilizer but, it definitely helps to dissolve any intrusive agitator.

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Character-Solution-7@reddit (OP)

I guess it dissolves the skin cells that are trapping the foreign matter. Either way, things that are too small to see and dig out with tweezers or a needle, soften and foam out with peroxide. If I have to sacrifice a few of my own cells to save the rest of me, I’m cool with that.

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Cromasters@reddit

I think just soaking in some water would do the same thing. Softens up the skin and makes it easier to get the splinter (or whatever foreign body) out.

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urfriendflicka@reddit

This has always worked for me. I was an over active and clumsy kid. All kinds of things got stuck under my skin. Several times in large quantities at once. Single splinters were just dug/cut out using sewing needles, tweezers, and occasionally those tiny scissors used to trim eyebrows/nose hairs. Nassau quantities were soaked and removed when skin was soft. As much as we loved peroxide in the 89s/99s, we never used it for splinters.

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thewilldog@reddit

gif

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You-Asked-Me@reddit

But if its good for toothpaste(and based on this thread, I'm guessing it was not good for that either) It should be great for your lungs, right?

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IAm5toned@reddit

i learned there are people who nebulize hydrogen peroxide.

WT everlivingF?!? goodbye covid my old friend, hello double pneumonitis and the end 💀

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Reasonable-Wave8093@reddit

what about the red stuff?

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Adbam@reddit

povidone-iodine? That stuff worked also

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Kngbee13@reddit

And it still does and is still routinely used in healthcare

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You-Asked-Me@reddit

I keep it handy for when I want to to emergency field surgery.

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defective_toaster@reddit

Mercurachrome?

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urfriendflicka@reddit

ichthammol was another drawing ointment. We had some as a kid, but my parents never used it-- it just sat in the first aid kit with the ipecac. I loved playing with the stuff in that box. It was was, iirc, a discarded ems issue kit like a giant orange tackle box

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codebygloom@reddit

Iodine is great and what is recommended

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Accomplished-Run221@reddit

I’ve always just considered it chemical cauterizing. Scar away, just get me past the threat of infection and I’m good.

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Trixie1143@reddit

This is it.

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Abpoe77@reddit

My right knee is an example. Tire swings done right will not slam you into said tree at wrap 9. ER visit and stitches were not an option in 87. Peroxide and tape were.

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irate_alien@reddit

My dentist told me to soak my retainer in h2o2 when I'm not wearing it. Much cheaper than the tablets (which I still use once a week or when I'm traveling)

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caramelpupcorn@reddit

Do you have the invisalign-style retainer or the OG hawley retainer? Because I have the hawley kind I never do such maintenance and now I'm wondering if I've been doing this all wrong for 20+ years 😅

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irate_alien@reddit

Invisalign. I mostly use h2o2 (every day), the little retainer tablets once a week, and liquid hand soap with a toothbrush once a month (sounds weird but that's what they told me to do)

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caramelpupcorn@reddit

I always say "just do what the pros recommend" 😁 I'd imagine your routine keeps your retainer from yellowing and getting weird. Mine's much lower maintenance (brush it in the morning with leftover toothpaste on brush, and then soak it in vinegar + water every fortnight).

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SenseAndSaruman@reddit

It’s great for getting blood stains out of clothes! Oh and bleaching your hair.

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Stuffleapugus@reddit

I won't have this peroxide slander.

Honestly, I always used alcohol to clean cuts.

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thebeaverchair@reddit

gif

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somecoolname42@reddit

I had an argument with several nurses about this. I pointed out that my wound care using H2O2 and alcahol to clean wounds might be wrong. However I've never had a patient get a staph infection. They were not happy.

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worksnake@reddit

We're sending over your region's nurse certification monitoring officials as we speak. Gotta love a nurse bragging about their bad medical practices online. Fuck's sake.

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somecoolname42@reddit

Im not a nurse

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worksnake@reddit

Thank god. Still, it would be best if you stopped professionally caring for patients in any capacity.

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somecoolname42@reddit

I don't literally have patients. I was tounge in cheek when I was saying my patients don't have staff. What I ment was I do basic first aid on myself, and I don't get staph infections. Which are a common occurrence in hospitals. Alcohol and H2O2 kill staph. Like 10 seconds for alcahol and a few min for H2O2. So you sterilize the wound with alcohol, use H2O2 to clean it out if nessesary, rince with clean water or more alcohol, and then use neosporin and a bandade to prevent inflection. Standard first aid that works well. But lately they stopped doing that because it can damage the wound. Yeah some skin cells die, whatever, they come back fast enough it's not a problem. Yes it might scar more. But how would you know, and why does it matter? Staph or other life threatening infections do matter.

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Pasadenaian@reddit

Yeah, your immune system creates and uses peroxide to kill infections.

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You-Asked-Me@reddit

It does clean ear wax from your ears, I think.

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PopularSet4776@reddit

It softens it, making it easier to clean via rinsing out.

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RodinKnox@reddit

That's why I pretend I'm using it. Secretly, I do it because I like the way the bubbles sound. Crackle crackle

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hooplehead69@reddit

And feel! What a delicious feeling

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RodinKnox@reddit

Oh for sure!

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texpa@reddit

Wait, so there’s scientifically no support for putting hydrogen peroxide on scabs/wounds. Well FML, at least watching it foam was fun.

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Gregorwhat@reddit

So you just believe whatever someone on reddit tells you?

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Clear_Tangerine5110@reddit

No, we trust the science until the science is shown to not be trustworthy. It’s not like religion where you’re taught to believe without discussion or else.

This is just one of many science links that say this about peroxide. Ya gotta put in the work and research it though. It’s not hard. Just takes a few seconds. Otherwise you risk sounding condescending.

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-is-hydrogen-peroxide-good-for

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CreatrixAnima@reddit

Interesting, but I’m very disappointed in Cleveland health clinic for using the phrase “chemical free” when referring to hydrogen peroxide… In addition to them describing it as “water with an extra oxygen molecule.” Technically correct, but couldn’t that lead someone to believe you can drink the stuff?

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Clear_Tangerine5110@reddit

Didn’t take long for this to fall into an argument of semantics.

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CreatrixAnima@reddit

It’s not a matter of semantics, it’s a matter of communication. They know full well that everything has chemicals in it, so shouldn’t they have used more responsible language? They also know for well that people are fucking stupid and people died because they were drinking aquarium cleaner because it sounded like ivermectin, so telling people that it’s just water with an extra oxygen molecule seems dangerous to me. I would expect them to clearly communicate scientific information in a more responsible way.

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Clear_Tangerine5110@reddit

This is boring. I don’t care about this conversation anymore.

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Horse_Dad@reddit

Wait - what religion uses hydrogen peroxide?

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Abidarthegreat@reddit

The religion of Old Wives Tales.

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Rustymarble@reddit

Apparently that foaming action breaks down the skin making it slightly worse of a wound.

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urfriendflicka@reddit

And too much oxygen is actually toxic to our cells.

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BasvanS@reddit

Oxygen might keep us alive but it’s also slowly killing us.

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Big-Honeydew-961@reddit

Same thing with iodine. If I have a wound that I know will need attention and I can't get help right away, I will flush with saline (or water if I don't have saline), a bit of Betadine, rinse the betadine, patch that shit up with some neosporin and a bandage, and hope I don't need antibiotics. Iodine will destroy your cells, too.

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morrisboris@reddit

And kills good cells.

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Abidarthegreat@reddit

We use peroxide in the hospital lab to help us identify if a gram positive cocci bacteria is a Staphylococcus species (bubbles) or a Streptococcus species (no bubbles).

It's called the "catalase test" if you want to read more on it.

So if your wound is bubbling, it just means there's Staph species there which is almost 100% of the time since there are many species that live on skin as normal flora such as Staph epidermidis. Even Staph aureus is usually considered normal flora on skin until it starts causing infection by getting places it's not supposed to be or becomes methicillin resistant.

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Dees_A_Bird_@reddit

Blood is also catalase positive. So if your wound has any amount of blood it could be that and not necessarily because of Staph bacteria but in reality it’s probably both :)

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Abidarthegreat@reddit

Definitely

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Banana_slug_dub@reddit

My wife is a wound care nurse and every time we watch a movie or tv show where someone has a wound and they grab the hydrogen peroxide she gets very annoyed. Also: Neosporin. The upside is that since we’ve been married my cuts heal faster and with less scarring because she knows what to do. And I’m somewhat careless with my body so it’s been a real nice change.

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ascendantshark@reddit

gif

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Banana_slug_dub@reddit

Story time: my wife does wound and burn care at a hospital. One reason she says no hydrogen peroxide is that she’s seen people who soaked their feet in it despite directions not to, and ended up needing both feet amputated as a result. Hydrogen peroxide causes burns (oxidizing), per my wife, and is definitely not for wound care. Ever.

Which makes sense given that it’s used in water sanitation.

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lueur-d-espoir@reddit

What's wrong with neosporin please? And what is the actual best thing to do?

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IAm5toned@reddit

there is no "best practice", different wounds require different treatment. also, neosporin slows healing, and can cause contact dermatitis.

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urfriendflicka@reddit

The multiple antibiotics in neosporin can actually be problematic.

I also worked in wound care. We used Vaseline a lot in the office, but I hate the smell of Vaseline (my mother used to slather us in Vaseline instead of lotion as kids. I have the flaor of tism that makes me feel like my whole body is suffocating when thick creams/ointments are applied and now even the hint of the smell of Vaseline makes me feel like my skin is suffocating) so at home I use aquaphor. It's still petroleum but it doesn't have the same scent for me and my irrational let's me think it's more like neosporin than Vaseline.

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comeupforairyouwhore@reddit

I worked in wound care too. We used Vaseline when needed. Very, very rarely was an antibiotic ointment used and it was always at the direction of the doctor.

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pitathegreat@reddit

Use plain Vaseline. I don’t recall why neosporin is bad, but my plastic surgeon (skin cancer removal) said he will never advise anyone to use it under any circumstances. Keep the wound moist with Vaseline and covered until it starts to heal up (or in my case the stitches dissolved).

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Lazerith22@reddit

I’m pretty sure hydrogen peroxide does still prevent infection. It just also damages the healthy tissues. My conspiracy theory is that all this push against it is polysporin trying to get people to stop using a product that’s $1/liter and spend $20 on their little tubes of drugged up Vaseline.

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comeupforairyouwhore@reddit

Please don’t use peroxide on open wounds. I used to work in wound care. It’s caustic to the skin and it destroys fibroblasts that are needed for healing.

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TwilightTink@reddit

I just heard about using hydrogen peroxide to clean your fridge, and so far, its worked well

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elliemff@reddit

Everyone knows the best method is that bactine spray followed by my mom blowing it and to telling me to hush when I complained.

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wooq@reddit

We used Mercurochrome. Now banned by the FDA.

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RepresentativeMud509@reddit

Gasoline. It's great for getting paint off your skin and it cleans wounds too. 🤠

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Illustrious-Lead-960@reddit

I feel the same way about blowing into NES cartridges.

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echochilde@reddit

That one’s absolutely untrue. Blowing in the cartridge worked nearly every time.

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thebeaverchair@reddit

It's actually just the friction of the contacts against the connector as you pull the cartridge out and push it back in that dislodges whatever is disrupting the connection.

The blowing is an unnecessary second step that actually damages the contacts in the long run (the moisture in your breath corrodes them).

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Illustrious-Lead-960@reddit

I keep hearing that too—word-for-word, as you’ve just said by pure rote—and I probably SHOULD believe it…

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IAm5toned@reddit

Tell that to the cat hair that was bridged across two of the pins

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thebeaverchair@reddit

If it's something that big, alcohol and cotton swabs are the appropriate remedy.

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JSessionsCrackDealer@reddit

And if it didn't, it's because your method was wrong

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Agent17@reddit

The hot breath always works

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miskdub@reddit

HAAAAAHHHH

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genesimmonstongue415@reddit

As long as you're saying this in a hilarious-Old-person-way... & not a deranged-anti-vaxxer-MAGA way...

Then I agree, OP.

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Character-Solution-7@reddit (OP)

Oh, I am vaxxed up kiddo. Just a relic from the before times when any sort of healing started with some sort of incredibly painful chemical applied to the wound.

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madogvelkor@reddit

Peroxide mouthwash is great for canker sores though.

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LeakyAssFire@reddit

It absolutely does disinfect. It just does it a little too well. I don't mind though. It does its job of cleaning and has prevented a lifetime of infections for me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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nobearable@reddit

Right? With the majority of our parents failing basic childcare, at least the peroxide + now-gtf-back-outside treatments didn't result in lost appendages from infections, or worse.

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worksnake@reddit

You really don’t want to listen to someone in 2026 that says “I don’t care if science is against me…” We’ve had our fill of these types of statements, please and thank you.

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BlueDuck600@reddit

Science isn't against you. It all depends on the situation. Hydrogen peroxide is beneficial in situations where you do not have access to soap and water or iodine. The foaming helps remove contaminants and it helps sterilize, even though it does kill healthy cells. Most people in my area (cleveland)want to just put alcohol on it even when they have access to soap and water. Most people here don't even know what iodine is. Up until recently, I only heard of surgeons using it.

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Salty-Tea6815@reddit

Wait, wtf is going on here??!!! How could hydrogen peroxide not be a disinfectant when it cleans cuts and kills germs?

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IAm5toned@reddit

a better, more accurate word for "disinfectant" is "poison". lol

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BabalonBimbo@reddit

It’s a disinfectant the same way undiluted bleach is. Yes, it disinfects things but it’s bad for an open wound.

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CalmDemand5265@reddit

I had a HUGE facial abrasion back in the mid 90’s. I stupidly put my arms and knees inside my coat at the bus stop on base and accidentally rolled off the bench like an egg, scraped the skin off like 40% of my face. The army doctors made me lay there with Hydrogen peroxide soaked gauze on it twice a day for literal months so that it wouldn’t scab. Kept the damn thing wet and gross for literal months! Oh it was awful. It would get in my eyes and burn! I was told back then that the reason was to prevent scarring. It worked, tho. Can’t even tell which side of my face it was. Went as the unmasked phantom of the opera for Halloween that year which was pretty rad. Grossest injury of mine to date.

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HighSeasArchivist@reddit

I will always use it in on the initial cleaning of a wound, but then don't keep using it.

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jar36@reddit

it's great for cleaning out your ears tho

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Millennial_Falcon_85@reddit

Hydrogen peroxide absolutely helps disinfect wounds. It’s not meant to have a “healing effect”. Healing is a process the body itself does. Disinfecting a wound helps reduce the risk of infection which contributes to the healing process. Hydrogen peroxide plus neosporin with the pain relief additive is a parent’s best bet.

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