Solitaire

The bottle of Listerine stares at me from the medicine cabinet every night. I'm 42 days into sobriety, and wonder if I'm being silly to stay away from it because of the 20-odd% alcohol. I never drank the stuff when I was active and have zero inclination to drink it now (yechhh), my tastes ran to single malt whiskey and Heineken. The skankiest thing I ever drank for a buzz was Budweiser

Astro

I definitely avoid it because of the high percentage of alcohol, as well as any other product that contains alcohol. Better safe than sorry, there are plenty of alcohol-free types to use instead. Why tempt fate?

GrouchoTheCat

I drank mouthwash for a while once. It was a miserable thing to do. It will totally mess up your digestive tract like you don't wanna know!

I don't keep anything in the house for fear that I might be tempted to drink it when I have a bad craving.

I use Crest Pro-Health. it's alcohol free.

BTW, I don't have cough syrup (with alcohol), nyquil, etc in the house either.

Everyone's different but I would reccommend pouring it down the drain.

Why take a chance?

aasharon90

I used to think the same....when i went in to rehab
16 yrs ago they took away my cologne....why i asked...
they said it was alcohol and people drink it...or how
about rubbing alcohol,,,,gross ..yuk....

i was so nieve at 30 at what all people did to get high
or drunk...i thought i was doing ok with just my wine,
hard liquor and beer...lol

not that i would drink listernie either....i think its the strong
smell and taste it has as a reminder of what alcohol
really is...

i know there is alcohol in it and it would give me the ok thats its
ok to use that,,,then why not cook with cooking sherry which is
also nasty,,,,

I use the listerine pocket things...whatever u call them...and
they r strong to kill germs...and its refreshing...

There r also other mouth washes and things that r alcohol free,,,

thats just my opinion...i wouldnt want to trigger anything to
make it ok to go back to drinking....even at 16 yrs sober....im no
exception to falling thru the cracks....so i am cautious as i continue
on the road of recovery one day at a time following the principles
of our 12 step program....remaining ever so teachable....

Stobert

Me too, my relapse last year started with Listerine.

care4uNJ

The whole mouthwash topic made me think of this show 'intervention' that I saw on television a few weeks ago. The woman had resorted to drinking mouthwash because her husband won't buy her anymore vodka. I thought OMG!! Her best friend say..... 'I would rather see you drinking vodka, then that stuff'. They said that drinking excessive amounts of mouthwash causes severe internal damage!! Why take a chance -- I'd stick with alcohol-free products. JO

buhda

I would not use anything with alcohol It brings backthat warm fuzzy feeling its kind of wierd after being sober a while just the smell of alcohol makes me think about what it used to be like.

BaldHeadedJohn

I agree with the above posters. There are other products that don't contain alcohol.
Even if you don't drink it, why take a chance?

As an aside, where I work they sometimes use denatured alcohol for a cleaner. Just the smell of it now makes me queasy. And as a canned beer drinker, I won't even buy a soda in a can- just plastic bottles. The feel of opening an aluminum can brings back drinking memories.

best

*LMAO*

I found that funny.

When the funds were low and we would reach a Friday night that looked like it would be a dry night... Schlitz Draft or even Carling Black Label...Now you wanna talk skanky? *LOL*

Yes Alcohol desires can have us do things we never would do if thinking straight.

CarolD

Welcome to our SR Alcoholism Forum

Congratulations on your sober days.

Blessings

slacker

I still use regular mouthwash, it hasn't been a problem.
If I really wanted to relapse, I know where the GF hides her vodka.
Everybody is different.

GlassPrisoner

I'm aware of toothpaste, mouthwash and the like. I don't use mouthwash, and I DO buy alcohol free cough syrup.

My personal opinion is that in order for it to effect you, you have to feel it. (Catch a buzz). I could be wrong, I probably am. I don't want to find out.

As far as being low on funds, my drink of choice was Potters Vodka. Always cheap.

Hooner

My dentist recommends "Crest Pro-Health" which is alcohol free.

And I read this from a dentist which brought up a good point about exposing your teeth to alcohol:

"Listerine is good but in moderation, as a dentist I am not a big fan of constant exposure to alcohol in the oral environment, another great choice is Natural Dentist Healthy Gums Daily Oral Rinse, no alchol, works great."

Tazman53

I concur with everything said so far, why gamble? Pour it down the sink.

Just a little semi useful info, digestion actually starts in the mouth, I would not be surprised if there is not some absorbtion of alcohol in the mouth.

BTW I have drank cooking sherry when all else was gone....... NASTY, but it did take the edge off.

Loreena

I use Crest Pro-health. Gee, when I quit drinking I even threw out my wine glasses because it reminded me of drinking, so many things to worry about when we are really sincerely trying to help ourselves. Just by you posting this question here, it shows that you are trying to do what is right and only you know for sure if you might be tempted at any time to drink that mouthwash..it could happen, don't take the risk if you don't have to. My husband drank mouthwash for a year or so, made me sick to smell his breath and it made him very very physically sick after awhile as well.

Good luck to you, I wish you peace and sobriety!

l

aasharon90

I also resorted to cooking sherry as the last resort...
and believe me...i couldnt wait till i got to the REAL Macoy.
That stuff did take the edge off at the time....


As I look back on that time....it saddens me how desperate
i had become during my drinking career...

All the down days today couldnt be as bad as it was back
then....

Peter

I suggest you avoid anything containing alcohol for now. There are other non alcoholic mouthwashes out there you can use.

parentrecovers

we went to all alcoholic free stuff. it's just not worth the risk. blessings, k

leeside

After I quit drinking I used over a half fifth of wiskey as mouthwash for a gum infection. I spit it all out and didn't let any down my throat. After that was gone (and it didn't take long) I used mouthwash with almost as much alcohol content until the gum infection went away. (BTW I switched dentists after that, because that dentist used the same rubber gloves for more than one patient and that is how I got the infection and I switched to that dentist, because the one before used the same gloves (after years of going there with no problems) and I got an infection in my gums immediately after that visit. Otherwise I don't get gum infections.)

I still use alcohol mouthwash occasionally, but recently I have been concerned that some of the alcohol is being absorbed in my mouth.

Perhaps I'll get non-alcohol mouthwash and have the alcohol mouthwash in case of mouth sores or infection in my gums or throat.

Barto

Did I waste the last several years of my life in AA? I can take prescription drugs without abusing them; I can use mouth wash without an alcoholic problem; and I can even eat food that has been cooked in a wine sauce as long as the alcohol has been cooked out.

Basically, I don’t use mouthwash because think it’s waste of money. It doesn’t do anything for me that a good teeth brushing doesn't do (except extract cash from my bank account).

What do the old timers in your AA group say (20 years or more)? Jimhere, what do you say?

In any case, I don’t know whether you can or can’t, but I have no problem. I have never had an urge to drink Listerine or Scope. I’m not saying I would not have in the old days. If I was broke and couldn’t afford any drinking alcohol, I probably would have drank rubbing alcohol, but not now. But that just me.