In medicine, a drug such as boric alcohol is widely used, which is a solution in boron acid ethanol (70%), the concentration of which can be in the range of 0.5-5%. In order to understand the properties of this medication, it is necessary to examine its active substance in more detail and understand what it is. It's about boric acid.
Boric acid: characteristics
This substance has a crystalline structure, has neither color nor smell; it exhibits weak acid properties . In medicine, boric acid (alcohol), the instructions for use of which will be discussed in the article, has been used since the 19th century as an antiseptic that does not irritate tissue, and even sometimes inside with certain gastrointestinal diseases.
At present, the toxicity of this drug is proved, and its antimicrobial properties, in comparison with modern disinfectants, are not effective enough. For children and pregnant women, preparations with boric acid are generally contraindicated. However, this substance still has applications in which it is widely used to this day. Boric acid is present in many medicinal pastes and ointments, and sometimes only as a preservative.
Boric acid, in addition to antiseptic, also has an anti-pedicular effect and a weakly expressed antifungal effect. It is used in recipes for foot baths with excessive sweating.
Alcoholic boric acid solution for otitis media
Very often you can find recommendations to instill a drug such as boric alcohol in the ear. The instruction for use states that otitis is treated in this way. I must say that at present, in official medicine, the use of this medication is not too welcome, as it is considered obsolete and less effective compared to new developments. So this is rather a recommendation of traditional medicine. However, sometimes and otolaryngologists in inflammatory processes in the middle ear prescribe such an affordable remedy as boric acid (alcohol). Instructions for use are as follows: instill a solution of three drops in the palms or water to a comfortable temperature in the ear canal of each ear 3-4 times a day. For more than seven days, such treatment is not carried out.
There is another, more gentle, method: soak cotton-gauze flagella with boron alcohol, insert into ears and leave overnight. With purulent inflammation, it is better not to use the described drug at all.
You should not use boric alcohol for treatment, not convinced of the integrity of the eardrum, otherwise the consequences can be unpredictable: from hearing loss to death. It’s better to plan a visit to the otolaryngologist before experimenting with the drugs.
Boric alcohol: instructions for use for children
As for small patients, who, according to statistics, suffer from otitis media most often, then up to one year the use of this drug is strictly prohibited. If the child is older, and in agreement with the doctor, it was decided to use boric alcohol for otitis media, its instructions for use are slightly different from the same for adults. Both the dosage and the frequency of use of the drug are reduced: one drop of the drug is instilled into the ear canal of each ear. The procedure is repeated twice a day, after which it is recommended to isolate the ear canal with a cotton band so that it absorbs the remaining moisture.
Boric acid (alcohol) acne instructions for use
There are situations when even the most expensive products are powerless with problem skin. Perhaps you should try some simple and affordable prescription for traditional medicine. Sometimes it can be unexpectedly effective. For example, you can buy in a pharmacy such an inexpensive drug as boric acid (alcohol). Instructions for use claim that it has an antiseptic effect, which is likely to be useful in case of acne and increased oily skin. Boric alcohol narrows the pores, helps against black spots, dries up inflammation, and dissolves sebaceous plugs.
Use this tool is no more difficult than a regular lotion. With severe oily skin, you can wipe it with a cotton swab dipped in boric alcohol, or you can use it pointwise only in inflamed areas. In any case, after using such a preparation, the skin must be moisturized. If excessive drying is useless, then you can not use alcohol in its pure form, but dilute it in half with boiled water. Earlier than a week, the effect of boric alcohol should not be expected.
Contraindications and side effects
As in the case of any other pharmacological drug, individual intolerance to boric acid (alcohol) is possible. In addition, this remedy is absolutely contraindicated in kidney diseases. During pregnancy and feeding boric alcohol is prohibited.
The fact is that boric acid, and its solutions, in particular, are able to penetrate through the skin and mucous membranes into the systemic circulation, accumulate in organs and tissues, causing intoxication, skin rashes, impaired renal function and even shock. With the short-term use of boric alcohol in small doses, there are usually no side effects.