21% alcohol in mouthwash???
 

If I'm just swishing it for 10-20 seconds (all I can tolerate - it burns but I need that really really clean feeling lol) is it really going to absorb in the capillaries, cause I swear I sense a buzz. I didn't mean to buy mouthwash with alcohol, I was using it when I first quit, then I was using alcohol free.. then I got this one because it was cheap at Walmart.. Am I being neurotic about this???

Someone told me yes.. you can get a buzz.. And does this mean I haven't really been sober for three months? Again.. neurotic.. it's not really the same thing as using. But I'm not gonna use this crap again. Yuck.

Hi Brenda - People have drank mouthwash for the buzz......but I think intent is everything - you didn't buy the mouthwash to get a buzz so I wouldn't worry about not being sober or resetting dates.

That being said, altho I never consciously got a buzz I realised I was using the alcoholic mouthwash more than the non alcoholic bottle I also had here.

That was enough for me to tip out the alcohol-based one and stick to the non-alc varieties.

D

It's an antiseptic, not intended to be drunk, and I certainly wouldn't want to. I also just read that it isn't readily absorbed through the mouth, but very well through the stomach, it needs exposure time, a heck of a lot longer than 15 seconds.


I should have googled it first.. I'm sure there's a lesson or a usefulness in this.. lol

i don't think it matters, BC, but what matters, IMO, is that you say you swear you sense a buzz.
since that is the case, then if you continue using it....you're going for the buzz.

I wouldn't be, and I would know that I wouldn't be, I just don't enjoy the sensation at all.

Can mods remove this thread? It's silly. I shouldn't have started, I found my answer by Googling it.

No worries Brenda, it's a valid question. There are mouthwashes out there without alcohol too. It's a good reminder to everyone to keep an eye on labels for medicines, etc.

If you drink it, or find yourself using it more than you think is appropriate like D said, I'd give it up. If not, use your energy for something good! And know you have some awesome fresh breath. Onward!

I switched to the non alcohol mouthwash a long time ago. I didn't like the burning sensation of the other stuff.

I did want it deleted. I created it but I don't have an option to delete it.

Brenda, why delete it? You'd be surprised how many people didn't even think of this. You may have saved someone from experiencing a trigger through this information. It's a good thing.

This isn't silly at all.
Lots of products and medications have alcohol in them and it's good to make people aware of that, so that they can avoid them if they wish to.

Okay. I was just embarrassed, because I am proud of my sober days and don't want someone telling me they don't count because I was getting alcohol in some form, however unwittingly. LoL. That part might be silly!

I woke up with the worst migraine and I swear they were linked somehow!
It reminded me of a hangover.. but it was just dehydration from sleeping too long without sipping water.

I needed to catch up on sleep, it felt so good, until it didn't.

This topic comes up a lot. :) You won't get buzzed using regular mouthwash (assuming you don't drink it), but the alcohol in it can be triggering in early recovery, which is why all the staff at both outpatient treatment centers I went to suggested not using it. The little bit of alcohol that makes it's way to your brain can light up cravings like a Christmas tree.

First real craving I had was at about 3 months, when I dipped a fork into some champagne-based sauce that came with oysters at a restaurant and tasted it. Holy s**t, suddenly I was flushed and panicked and all I could think about was ordering a drink at the bar. It was truly frightening and I had to get up and leave the table and go outside, but even by then it had passed - just a very brief, very strong craving that passed in a matter of seconds. Alcohol in mouthwash can have the same impact early-on. It doesn't bother me at all now, but I still normally use non-alcohol mouthwash, and I only use the regular stuff from small travel bottles when I'm traveling.

lol JeffreyAK that actually sounds delicious... It's funny, I know what you mean, my mom made a beer cheese dip or some sort, and thought I would like it and when she realized it just sat in the fridge she was befuddled... But I just wasn't interested in tasting beer. I don't think that I would like the taste if I tasted it now.

It wouldn't have necessarily triggered a craving. There are in fact moments where I have a "craving".. in the same sense which seeing a cookie, now that I'm on a diet, causes a craving. Last night at work I reached in to a candy dish on the table and then pulled my hand back. I didn't want the calories. So I didn't do it. Someone told me artificial sweeteners would cause sugar cravings. I am fine with that, I said, because I'm not going to follow through and have sugar just because I'm craving it.

God forbid I hit a point where the compulsion comes back so strong that I can't resist it, I remember that and it was a terrible terrible feeling... The mouthwash didn't trigger a craving, but it just gave me a vague sensation that I didn't register as one that I wanted. So I won't do it. Perhaps if I can locate my receipt, Walmart will even take the bottles back. The alcohol is not listed under active ingredients.

I agree - not silly. If it raises awareness it could help someone avoid an unnecessary trigger. Possibly the one that took them to a relapse.

I buy the alcohol free kind. Better safe than sorry.

Not to be tangential.. but I'd rather accidentally help someone to recognize and avoid their relapse triggers, than to actually try and fail.. I digress.

Scott made a good point about there being mouthwashes out there without alcohol. That's especially important for people who are required to use ignition interlock devices to remember.

The only silly question as far as I am concerned is one I do not ask- but don't. I was at a SMART meeting the other week. This guy was so nervous and shaking he was almost falling off his chair- he is clean and sober for a year, just very nervy. He had not slept for 3 days and was effecting his ability to think straight. Important decisions he had to make about children, access, family court were almost too much for him to bear. As a group we discussed why he could not sleep. Plus see a doctor etc. Weell he took the group's suggestions. The next week he came back and said problem solved- great sleep, life was now more manageable. He thanked the grou and said he was not going to ask- because he felt so stupid.
The solution: he got a new mattress. If he never mentioned it- wlell