Should You Use Hydrogen Peroxide to Clean Wounds?
Hydrogen Peroxide: It fizzes, it stings, but does it actually do you any good? Find out on this week's Quick Question! Hosted by: Hank Green ---------- Support SciShow by becoming a patron...
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If you know any kids -- or remember being one yourself -- you might know that they can be… an active bunch. They tend to do a lot of running around, bouncing off of walls, and just generally trying to get places without always looking where they’re going. Which can mean a lot of scraped knees and elbows. And sometimes, hydrogen peroxide. A lot of people use hydrogen peroxide to clean wounds, and it isn’t exactly pleasant: in addition to making the scrape hurt even more by activating the receptors that make you feel pain, the wound gets all weird and bubbly. But the reason it bubbles is also the reason you probably shouldn’t be using it to clean wounds -- even though hydrogen peroxide is really, really good at killing bacteria. If anything, it’s too...
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If you know any kids -- or remember being one yourself -- you might know that they can be… an active bunch. They tend to do a lot of running around, bouncing off of walls, and just generally trying to get places without always looking where they’re going. Which can mean a lot of scraped knees and elbows. And sometimes, hydrogen peroxide. A lot of people use hydrogen peroxide to clean wounds, and it isn’t exactly pleasant: in addition to making the scrape hurt even more by activating the receptors that make you feel pain, the wound gets all weird and bubbly. But the reason it bubbles is also the reason you probably shouldn’t be using it to clean wounds -- even though hydrogen peroxide is really, really good at killing bacteria. If anything, it’s too...
