Hydrogen Peroxide to Diagnose and Cure Ear Infections

"Amazing Ear Infection remedy. You'll know if there is an infection and treat it at the SAME TIME. Pinning and reading later need to check this out." 

I'm laid up on the sofa today with vertigo from an ear ache, so in the name of science I turned to pinterest to research home remedies (of course, by "science" I actually mean ridiculous home remedies I can test and research).

So, does putting a simple solution of hydrogen peroxide in your ear let you know if you have an infection, as well as treat said infection? NOPE. 

You see, hydrogen peroxide is just simply water with an extra oxygen molecule to it - H202. Now that's not to say it's the same as water, simply altering or adding various single molecules to things can change them drastically. But that's not the case with things like hydrogen peroxide. 

But why does it bubble when you add it to a cut? Because of a simple thing called catalase. Pretty much everything from fruits and veggies to human tissue contains this enzyme. When exposed to the peroxide, it causes the H202 to break up, and allows the extra oxygen molecule to free itself, causing the bubbles. Ta-DA! Even if you're ears are clean and free of infection, chances are good the peroxide will still bubble and foam, so that's really not a good way to test for an infection. Want to test this out? Pour a small amount in a glass and use it as a mouthwash, and enjoy as your mouth fills with bubbles! Just be careful not to choke or gag!

But how about the second claim? Will it at least treat an infection if you have one? Maybe, but it's not likely. Results are mixed as to if this works or not.  It's important to realize that there are various causes for ear infections, from viruses like those that cause colds, to allergies, not to mention bacterial infections which require antibiotics (peroxide is NOT recommended for killing bacteria, as it doesn't kill everything and can actually cause scar tissue to form, something you don't want in your ears). What it is quite good for though, is helping with ear wax removal - in fact ear wax drops are typically nothing more than mineral oil and peroxide. So all-in-all, you can put peroxide in your ears, but it's not going to let you know if you have an infection, and it's most likely not going to cure anything. It's not uncommon for a lot of earaches to only last a few days on their own, so if you find relief using this trick (or warmed oil, which is also a common ear ache treatment) then go for it. However if your ears aren't better after a few days then it's time to seek professional help. 

Good Idea Friday - The Hard Boiled Egg Debate

So, last year we posted about how adding a bit of baking soda to your hard boiled eggs allows them to peel more easily. The response received after that post was bigger than we imagined it would be. Apparently the way you boil (or don't boil) your eggs is highly personal and widely debated. So this year we thought we would take the time to test out various methods of hard boiling eggs and see which resulted in the easiest to peel category. We posted on our Facebook page for ideas and suggestions. Armed with 2 dozen eggs bought last Wednesday (same lot, same date, same time, variations would be at a minimum) we got to testing yesterday.

I will say right off the bat that I'm not a fan of eggs and hardboiled are probably my least favorite way to eat them. Sorry. I was unable to be the taste tester, so I had my kids and husband judge for me.

Method One - Traditional Method

Place eggs in a pan in a single layer, add enough water to cover. Turn to medium-high heat and allow to come to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat off and cover. Allow to sit covered for 12-17 minutes.* Place eggs in a cold water bath. 

REVIEW - First off, the timing on this method depends entirely on how you store your eggs. Most reviews say 12 minutes, but having used this method myself I always find them slightly undercooked. At least in my house, my kids like the yolks to be firm, no gooey bits, but not dry. Due to how you store your eggs--some countries it's more common to store eggs out, but here in the US we tend to keep our eggs in the refrigerator--it can affect the way the eggs cook. Room temperature eggs take less time than cold eggs do, so they require a few extra minutes cooking time depending on your tastes. Personally, I find 15 minutes to be the perfect time.  

So how well did they peel? Perfectly. I give it a 5 star rating. 

Method Two - Oven Baked Method

Pre-heat oven to 325° F. Place eggs in a muffin tin. Bake 20 minutes. Place eggs in cold water bath.

REVIEW - I have heard by die hard fans (as well as my all time favorite scientist/cook, Alton Brown) that it is THE WAY to make hard boiled eggs (though they aren't boiled, so .. hard baked?). Easy enough to test out. The results though left me less than impressed. I will say that my oven, due to a couple infamous oven fires, isn't the best working oven out there. That very well may have altered the results. However, they were far harder to peel, and they were over cooked. Most had a couple hard brown spots on them, and there were several that had weird brown spots on the shell where the egg inside tried to push it's way out of the shell. All ovens vary, and I've heard using a silicone tray works to prevent the burned spots, but I didn't have one to test out. 

All in all, I give it a 3 star rating. I think if you know your oven and time it better, this may work, it just wasn't as foolproof as I was hoping it would be.

Method Three - Baking Soda Method

Same as Method One, ddd in a couple tablespoons of baking soda prior to boiling. Place eggs in a cold water bath. 

REVIEW - Honestly it worked just as well as the traditional method. Since I was using week old eggs for this test, it didn't make much of a difference. Having used it on fresher eggs in the past though, it does work. 

I give it a 4 star rating on fresh eggs since it's not perfect, but it works better than just a plain boiling method on fresh eggs. 

So there you have it. There were other methods I've came across just tonight that I was unable to test out in time, pricking the bottom of eggs with a pin, baking in the oven in a muffin tin with water in the cups to prevent drying out/burned spots, boiling with a bit of vinegar instead of baking soda, boiling room temperature eggs, etc., etc.

Really though, the truth is the reason eggs stick to their shells is because of a thin membrane under the shell. So I don't doubt some of this methods will work; the pin prick, the baking soda, and the vinegar all act as ways of separating the membrane from the shell. It's one of the reasons you are suppose to put the eggs into an ice bath right after cooking, in hopes the thermal shock will aid in it as well. It's also why older eggs peel better, as they age the membrane separates from the shell.

And as always, you can find us on facebook and twitter. Please let us know what your favorite method is and let us know if we forgot to test out a certain way.

(Yet Another) Mountain Dew Glow Stick Hoax

"How to make a homemade glow stick - baking soda, mountain dew, peroxide, starbursts, and dish soap"

This takes the original hoax of making Mountain Dew glow and adds even more pointless items. I honestly started laughing when they added two Starbursts, as if somehow a mixture of gelatin, HFCS, and red dye is going to aid in this. In case you're curious, you can see the video here: 

Just like in our last post about the ever popular Mountain Dew Glow Stick, the basic idea is you add certain things to the Mountain Dew (notice how both video has the use of peroxide in them? We'll come back to that in a bit.) and after a bit of shaking, it glows, just like a glow stick. Why? Well what they don't show you is the contents in the bottle; in both videos the bottle already contain some liquid, which is generally believed to be Mountain Dew. In all likelihood however, it's probably a nice mixture of glow stick chemicals. Once the peroxide is added (which is also used in glow sticks, that is what is in the glass vial you break to activate them) it starts to glow. You can read a step by step guide in making your own glow sticks over at Wikihow (with actually glow stick chemicals), which again, uses peroxide. 

Home Made Glow Sticks

"Making a Glow Lantern - Materials needed: Matches, bleach, 3% hydrogen peroxide, and a jar. Cut about 20 matches at the top to get only the match heads. Throw them in the jar and mix in 3 cap-fulls of hydrogen peroxide. One more cap-full of bleach will do the trick. Put the top back on the jar and shake. This setup will stay lit of hours"

People. Please. Please. Don't start mixing chemicals together because you saw it work online. "But there's a youtube video!" you say. Yes, and with a simple trick of camera work I too can make it seem like this would work.

Unlike other hoax videos involving harmless items like Mountain Dew, this is potentially dangerous.  First off you need about 20 matches and you need to cut the heads off them then place in a jar. Mix in a dash of bleach and a pinch of peroxide and voila! you have a glow stick in a jar!

But it doesn't work that way. Technically so I've read, the bleach could act as a catalyst for the peroxide to oxidize the phosphorous that is in the match heads. But also from what I've read (because honestly, this isn't something I'm going to personally test) this would have been something that would have worked perhaps 100 years ago - the type of ingredients, mainly the phosphates, in matches today are NOT the same as what used to be and won't work with this experiment. A similar phosphate is used in more modern strike anywhere matches, but those are far more dangerous than regular matches.  Everything I've reading online of people having actually attempted this have said it's failed.

Strike anywhere matches come with a list of dangers themselves - mainly they can catch on a lot of different things and POOF! Fire! Not to mention that when you mix bleach with hydrogen peroxide you get apparently straight up oxygen - which sounds lovely but is actually not the best thing to be around. (not to mention the perfect food for fire.. which you've just introduced to about 20 strike anywhere matches) If the bleach doesn't mix right with the peroxide you also face dealing with chlorine gas, which is a nasty substance and not something you want to be around.

So all in all - chances are this isn't going to work. and if it does work, it's still dangerous. Don't believe everything you read online. And if you want to have some fun with glowing jars, you're better off just picking up some cheap glow sticks, crack them open, and dump them into the jar. (but as we all know from one of my experiment  it won't glow like a lantern) However your best bet is to just make sure your home is stocked with batteries for flashlights or lanterns in case of a power failure and save those matches for lighting candles or a fire in case of an emergency.

Good Idea Friday - Peroxide and Washing Soda

I'm usually skeptical when it comes to all the "make it yourself!" cleaners on pinterest. Yes baking soda and dawn works to clean your tub, but not nearly as well as the spray and wipe power of modern chemical cleaners (at least in my opinion - it takes a lot more elbow grease to clean the old cast iron clawfoot tub I have compared to the more modern fiberglass tubs and showers most people have) But this is one of the good ones on pinterest - in fact, this is what Oxyclean is. It's technically what is  referred to as oxygen bleach and it's just a mix of washing soda and hydrogen peroxide. (source: wikipedia) 

I haven't made this myself yet, but the recipe is as follows :

Homemade Oxy Clean 
1 cup water 
1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide
1/2 cup washing soda

Mix all ingredients together and store in a dark spray bottle. Hydrogen peroxide loses its effectiveness if stored in a light container. 

To use: Spray on soiled laundry and let it sit overnight. Or, if you have a number of clothes that are soiled, you make up a batch of this and soak them


Has anyone made this? how did it compare to things like Oxyclean?