couchtripper

You can make your own version of 'Optrex' by mixing one ml of distilled witch hazel to nine ml of cooled , boiled water and storing in a clean dropper bottle.

You may need a measuring cylinder , say 10ml and you can buy stoppered dropping bottles from a chemist. Obviously good hygiene is important , but you can save heaps as Optrex retails at about £1615.25 a gallon and distilled witch hazel retails at £34.13 a gallon.

The ingredients and formulation might be the same, but I wouldn't suggest putting anything that's unsterile into the eye-- there's a huge risk for infection, or, even burning the eye is your measurements are even the least little bit off.

If anyone was going to try this, I would suggest boiling the dropper bottle as well as any measuring tools, and wearing sterile gloves when preparing.

You can make your own eardrops.Commercial sodium bicarbonate ear drops usually come in 10ml bottles and retail at up to a whopping £1314.95 a gallon.If you follow the instructions below and remember to use a STRICT HYGIENE REGIME AND bear in mind the warning "If you have a tube in your ear or a perforated eardrum, never put liquid or drops of any kind into your ear" , you can save a considerable amount of money.

I find it easier to store in small, sterile dropper bottles obtainable from most chemists.

[web]https://www.ehow.co.uk/how_5843991_make- ... drops.html[/web]

I had no idea that was just baking soda. Very cool.

Ear drops are no problem.......things don't have to be sterile for that as there is a membrane/eardrum separating it from the internal structures.

Still wouldn't recommend doing the eye drops though, no matter how many times you bold or underline sterile, strict hygiene routine --- nothing personal here Gordon, just my professional opinion as a nurse, mate.

I have to agree with eefan. Eye infections are very easy to get and you need to be very careful with what goes into your eyes. I am not sure if most people would remember to sterilize the dropper each time etc.

I know a guy who would lick his contact lenses to "clean" them and then put them back in his eyes.

Ewwww...I've met people like that. Not healthy at all.

Twirley wrote:I know a guy who would lick his contact lenses to "clean" them and then put them back in his eyes.

That's worse than a girl I knew who used to floss her teeth, then eat what was on the floss....... All while in the lunchroom!

eefanincan wrote: That's worse than a girl I knew who used to floss her teeth, then eat what was on the floss....... All while in the lunchroom!

I remember you telling me about that!

It was worse than any of the things I have dealt with as a nurse, it truly was. Can't even think of it without gagging!

Baking soda again , in this rather gloomy article that shows the versatility of bicarbonate of soda - and not just in medical situations.

[web]https://www.doomandbloom.net/2012/06/3599.html[/web]

It may have been gloomy, but I enjoyed that article. Thanks gordon...

Anyone made any home made bug spray? Got any recipes that work?

Glad you enjoyed it Twirley.... and Thanks for the feedback.

Hi Bob , I remember an aromatherapist I knew praising citronella oil..... but care must be taken with undiluted essential oils on the skin so I would use a 'carrier oil' to dilute it - sunflower , soya , olive etc., if you want to try it.
Living in Scotland and liking the outdoors, I remember meeting several different people who swore by , I think it was Avon cream:
https://www.leithlinks.co.uk/business/cosmetics/karengeorgeson/karen.html
probably , but I have not tried any of these things as I hate anything on my skin.
This one sounds quite plausible, but quantities are somewhat lacking
https://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/natural-insect-repellents-460608#fbIndex5[/url]
... cajeput is an ingredient of Olbas oil.
This Link I include as it claims that vanilla can help with hunger, B.O., skin smothing and bug repellant

https://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/4-fresh-uses-for-vanilla-2466223.html

Sorry I can't give you personal testimony, having such rash-prone skin , and my best remedy was a midgie hat I made from fine white net curtain sew onto a brimmed hat , bit like this
https://www.lifesystems.co.uk/products/mosquito-nets/head-net-hat.html