# Kerosene & Turpentine For Wound Treatment



## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Curious if any here are familiar with the use of petroleum products for health benefits, such as treating wounds? I personally have used turpentine on my horses' hooves to help treat laminitis, at the direction of my farrier. However, back in the days prior to antibiotics, seems these type product, which also includes Vaseline petroleum jelly, were used to great effect to stop bleeding & infection. Seems these products have also been taken orally. There are lots of stories of folks cleaning bleeding wounds with kerosene & then wrapping in a kerosene soaked bandage/cloth. It has some sort of clotting action.

There is a school of thought that the use of antibiotics in the last century or so has caused the increase in sickness throughout the world, since antibiotics don't target just the disease causing organisms but kill whole classes of microbes... including the good ones. Plus, it is knows antibiotic treatments can cause the rise of fungal attack.

Seems to me if it worked in the past that maybe this should be an option for preppers.


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## Robie (Jun 2, 2016)

I have my bare hands in some of these chemicals all the time...kerosene, gasoline, turpentine, lacquer thinner, naphtha, denatured alcohol, etc, etc...

Many times I've had cuts or abrasions on my hands when dealing with them. Other than burning like holy hell, there have never been adverse affects. I've never paid attention to see if they helped the healing.

With that said...I'd be very leery of covering a wound with a soaked cloth and leaving it there. I think blistering would occur.

Too many times I have filled my Zippo lighter and put it in my pocket. If the fluid seeps out and the lighter is tight against your leg, blistering can occur.

I wouldn't have any problem with applying any of the above chemicals to an open wound though...if nothing else was available to clean and sanitize it.


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## RJAMES (Dec 23, 2016)

Not my first choice. After everything else was gone still would flush with water that was allowed to settle , decanted then boiled then cooled .


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## maine_rm (Jun 24, 2017)

I regularly wash my hands with kerosene to remove pine Pitch no adverse side effects!


With that said. I had an emergency on the flightline one day a jet fuel system was not Reading out proper on engine for. I ran out to the line and started fixing the system. I shut off the fuel valve and remove the filter. Turns out it was a bad valve! Dumped approximately 100+ gallons of GP-8 all over myself! Well it was a pretty active time on the flightline. I was unable to remove my clothing. Pants underwear and socks were absolutely saturated. Combine that with desert heat and 4hrs later I had a pretty severe chemical burn in a pretty fun place.. They tried to hold me in the country because of it. I was supposed to ship home three days later. Luckily the government paperwork was slow especially overseas. It took about three weeks to heal completely and I still have scars


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

My Dad swore by using Kerosene on fingers hit by a hammer and the like. Any real medical science behind I don't know.


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## Coastie dad (Jan 2, 2016)

One drop turpentine on a sugar cube in the spring and fall to cure worms in kids.

No harmful side effects on me.


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Coastie dad said:


> One drop turpentine on a sugar cube in the spring and fall to cure worms in kids.


I've read of that use.


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## Chiefster23 (Feb 5, 2016)

Years ago I got an ear infection while on a ship unloading in Russia. The local Dr. didn’t use antibiotics. He soaked gauze in a black, petroleum smelling salve and packed it down inside my ear. 24 hours later the infection was gone.

Until recently my family Dr. was a russian trained physician. He would prescribe me antibiotics for ear infections. I questioned him about this. He said the smelly gauze treatment was very effective, but he was now in the USA and American doctors used antibiotics. More expensive and some nasty side effects, but that’s what American doctors use. God bless the AMA!


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## Joe (Nov 1, 2016)

@******* You probably want to wash with soap and water first if able to. The primary objective in a wound is to inhibit bacterial growth. This is just a guess however I would imagine that kerosene or other petroleum products do not provide an environment for growth. Think about it have you ever seen gas or diesel fuel become moldy? You are correct about antibiotic use. We have created antibiotic resistant pathogens over the years due to over prescribing of antibiotics. I see it in my work a lot. Its a really good question you have. I imagine over the years people have tried just about everything available. Good luck with your research.


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## maine_rm (Jun 24, 2017)

*Kerosene & Turpentine For Wound Treatment*

I have three kids. Ear infections get expensive&#8230; Douse their ear and kerosene... hmmm how do I sell this to the wife


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## Robie (Jun 2, 2016)

My mother always told of her father (who was a Canadian woodsman...probably would have been 130 today) coming out of the woods for the season and the first thing he did was strip...burn his clothes and get into a barrel of kerosene to kill the chiggers.

He lived to be 98 so...can't be that unhealthy.


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## maine_rm (Jun 24, 2017)

Robie said:


> My mother always told of her father (who was a Canadian woodsman...probably would have been 130 today) coming out of the woods for the season and the first thing he did was strip...burn his clothes and get into a barrel of kerosene to kill the chiggers.
> 
> He lived to be 98 so...can't be that unhealthy.


I always tried to poison them from the inside out. With tequila!!!!


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

Kerosine and turpentine aren't as aggresive as solvents, but naphtha and lacquer thinner will dry and de-fat the skin. They can cause cracking and dermatitis.


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## yooper_sjd (May 14, 2017)

Good info here, surprised the Dear Teacher ain't jumped in with thesis on cancer hazards associated with petroleum products.... I know my time in the Navy, it was a constant battle with leaky hydraulic lines on my 5 inch gun. 3 gallon bucket of dry cleaning solvent and some rags wiping down the gun system on weekly basis. Well no adverse reaction to continuous exposure to solvents to this day yet. And come to think of it, was always cutting myself on the lockwired bolts and never got an infection.


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## AL. (Apr 16, 2021)

Just joined the group so my response is like 4yrs late - but, kerosene is the best choice of the ones listed, it is mild, antiseptic and does not burn or irritate the surrounding skin. I would only wrap a wound long enough for the bleeding to stop then lightly top with a piece of gauze & tape to shield it from dirt and absorb excess kerosene. I grew up on a farm with virtually no access to Drs, not every home remedy is a good idea, but kerosene works.


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Old time Southern trick is to put mineral spirits on fire ant bites.


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## Annie (Dec 5, 2015)

AL. said:


> Just joined the group so my response is like 4yrs late - but, kerosene is the best choice of the ones listed, it is mild, antiseptic and does not burn or irritate the surrounding skin. I would only wrap a wound long enough for the bleeding to stop then lightly top with a piece of gauze & tape to shield it from dirt and absorb excess kerosene. I grew up on a farm with virtually no access to Drs, not every home remedy is a good idea, but kerosene works.


Welcome, welcome, AL. If you want, you can introduce yourself here.

New Member Introductions


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

******* said:


> Curious if any here are familiar with the use of petroleum products for health benefits, such as treating wounds? I personally have used turpentine on my horses' hooves to help treat laminitis, at the direction of my farrier. However, back in the days prior to antibiotics, seems these type product, which also includes Vaseline petroleum jelly, were used to great effect to stop bleeding & infection. Seems these products have also been taken orally. There are lots of stories of folks cleaning bleeding wounds with kerosene & then wrapping in a kerosene soaked bandage/cloth. It has some sort of clotting action.
> 
> There is a school of thought that the use of antibiotics in the last century or so has caused the increase in sickness throughout the world, since antibiotics don't target just the disease causing organisms but kill whole classes of microbes... including the good ones. Plus, it is knows antibiotic treatments can cause the rise of fungal attack.
> 
> Seems to me if it worked in the past that maybe this should be an option for preppers.


Back when I was a kid and the dead sea was just getting sick..anybody who stepped on a trusty nail got a foot soaked in kerosene. Mangy dogs got painted with kerosene and sulfur skin applications to the bare spots. Old town Doc ex military painted kids sore throats with creostote applied to direct to the worst of the pain. It was unbearable and did no good according to the current Docs.


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## Folklore (Apr 6, 2021)

Kerosene gives excellent results in some cases.


******* said:


> Think about it have you ever seen gas or diesel fuel become moldy?


I don't know anything specifically about Kerosene, but I know that when a poorly purified wound is covered with airtight fatty film, it can cause an anaerobic infection. 
And it is very bad. Therefore, it is better to think about several times.
Therefore, only pure wounds for such treatment methods.


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## blindside8970 (10 mo ago)

I know I'm really late for this thread, but just joined after researching a little on this topic.

I was once wiring an outdoor lamp post for an elderly fellow and cut my the meaty part of my thumb with a carpet knife while stripping wire, where it joins the palm, bad enough that I cursed knowing I was going to have to get stitches. The old man witnessed it and said he would be right back with some kerosene. I thought him to be kidding but when he returned he had clear kerosene in an old Ambesol bottle. He claimed he kept some in his first aid kit at all times. Growing up as a kid of a hillbilly, I had learned that the old timers had a few tricks to up their sleeves, and reluctantly agreed to the application. Bracing myself for what I thought was going to burn like the gates of hell, he applied a few drops straight from the bottle, then rubbed it about with a q-tip. Surprisingly, it didn't burn like I had imagined it would, in fact, I actually don't recall it burning at all. The bleeding stopped almost immediately. He continued to tell me about the old "remedy", saying that it cleaned the wound as well, against bacteria and such, as well as keeping the skin soft as it healed. Anyone having an injury like this probably knows how sore and stiff it is the next day or so, but this wasn't the case either.

That was many moons ago, and I've used it repeatedly over the years for injuries and such of that nature. I don't even have a scar, which I think I would if I had received stitches. 

A further note towards petroleum products and bleeding. A neighbor of mine, while working on the farm, had a kickback with a chainsaw, splitting his leg from just below the left knee, up through the knee and into his thigh, almost dead center of the leg. He claimed he had poured gasoline on it to stop/slow the bleeding. I remember the helicopter landing in the field just across the road from my house, to rush him to hospital. His parents and doctors all said the only thing that saved his life, long enough to get help, was the reaction to dump gasoline on the wound. I suspect the gasoline had 2-stroke oil mixed into it, as he was using the saw. I'm not sure whether it was the oil or the gas, but I do know that I couldn't believe he was alive after an injury like that. He had to come about a 1/4 mile to get to a phone, as this was quite a few moons before cell phones were known.


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