My little boy (2 1/2 years old, without the slightest sign of interest in pottytraining) is the most rash-prone fella I've ever seen. If he LOOKS at something irritating, he breaks out in a rash. Diarrhea is the worst-- his skin instantly erupts into a pink mess that quickly becomes extremely painful, even BLOODY, if allowed to continue without immediate and effective treatment.
In my hunt for products to stop the diabolical diaper rash in its tracks, I came across this- BFI, an antiseptic powder that's been around since at least 1902. It's not as effective as I'd hoped for the diaper rash-- possibly because pee comes along and washes it off too often for it to really work its wonders. But take a look at its reviews on
drugstore.com- or on
amazon.com. People would walk miles to find this stuff! It's amazingly effective for:
- minor cuts
- scrapes
- burns
- chafing
- dogs' ear infections, skin wounds, and "hot spots"
- athlete's foot
- skin infections
- bites (insect and animal)
- belly button fungus (I am not making that up)
...the list goes on and on, once you start reading the reviews.
A quick look at the ingredients gives me three quick clues to its effectiveness: menthol (mint), eucalyptol (eucalyptus), and thymol (thyme) are among its "inactive" ingredients. (Here's a great post by Ozark herbalist Jim Long on
Listerine and its use of the same ingredients.) Now I'm not sure if these are natural or synthetic forms of those chemicals being included today, but I am sure that they were originally included in the formula because of the healing and germ-fighting properties those herbs contain. Once again, a simple product with simple ingredients can blow away the doctor-prescribed drugs and chemicals that cost ten times as much.
Lucky for me, I found it easily (and cheaper than I could buy it online) at our fabulous
local downtown pharmacy. This is something every mom and pet owner ought to have on hand.
(Images of old BFI bottles located via Google hunting on Ebay and the Natural Museum of American History. Fun to see those!)
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