Toothpaste, it turns out, has uses other than just cleaning the teeth and tongue and freshening the breath.
The web site Care2.com’s Healthy Living section offers various other surprising uses for toothpaste. Some people have probably tried some of the items on this list, but not all 15.
Care2.com suggests using “cheap toothpaste that’s mildly abrasive” for all these uses. It does not recommend gel toothpaste.
Clean carpet stains. You can use toothpaste and brush to scrub stains away. But Care2.com warns you may have to rinse and repeat the process several times.
Remove scratches from cellular phone screens and watch crystals. Just rub a dash of toothpaste gently on the glass, then polish with a clean cloth.
Take off crayon from a painted wall. Put toothpaste on a damp cloth and gently rub crayon. Test it first on a small, inconspicuous spot.
Make floor scuffs disappear. Put toothpaste on a clean cloth and scrub those black floor scuffs.
Polish silver and brass. Squeeze toothpaste on a soft brush and rub on silver and brass things. Rinse and polish with a soft cloth.
Make tennis shoes white again. Rub toothpaste on dirty tennis shoes, then wipe clean.
Shine bathroom sinks. Rub toothpaste around the sink to make it sparkle.
Soothe bug bites. Apply a dab of toothpaste on mosquito and ant bites to remove the itch.
Make diamonds sparkle. Brush diamonds with toothpaste. Do not rub too hard, as it may loosen the gems from their settings.
Remove food smells from hands. Wash your hands with toothpaste to remove onion, fish and garlic smells.
Polish fingernails. Put a dab of toothpaste on fingernails and buff with a soft cloth.
Remove water rings on furniture. Lightly rub water rings with a dab of toothpaste on a soft cloth.
“Defog” headlights. If scratches on your car headlights are making them look foggy, cover with toothpaste and buff by hand or with a buffer.
Plug nail holes. It is a cheap filler for nail holes in walls. Place a dab of toothpaste in holes, let dry, lightly sand then paint.
Clear blemishes. Dab a bit of menthol toothpaste on skin blemishes, let dry then rinse off. It will draw out toxins for clearer skin. Apply lotion after.
Benefits of supplements
An article published in the American Journal of Managed Care suggested that giving patients oral nutritional supplements could help shorten people’s stay in hospitals and reduce hospitalization costs.
The study, supported by Abbott, a global healthcare company that produces nutritional products, among other things, used information from more than one million adult patients in American hospitals. Among the benefits associated with oral nutrition supplements during hospitalization were “21 percent or 2.3 days reduction in length of stay and 21.6 percent or US$4,734 reduction in patient hospitalization cost.”
There was also a “6.7 percent reduction in the probability of a 30-day readmission in patients who had at least one known subsequent readmission and were provided oral nutritional supplements during the previous hospitalization.”
Nutritional problems can put patients at risk for complications and slow down recovery. Study coauthor Tomas Philipson, Daniel Levin chair of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, said the “sizeable savings they [supplements] generate make supplementation a cost-effective therapy.”
The study compared hospital stays of patients given oral nutritional supplements and those who were not.
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