Epsom salts can be a great addition to a survivalist’s long-term kit. It can relieve sore muscles, provide magnesium, and even reduce constipation! It also doesn’t actually go bad, and you can use the Epsom salts for decades after you purchase them, so it will work very well for any long-term situation! These are all incredibly effective uses when you’re surviving in the wild, not to mention, that it’s just a great way to spend some time relaxing in the bath! Before you implement them in your kit, you should be aware of how long they are effective, what their uses are, and how to get the most out of them!
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How Many Years Can You Use Epsom Salts For?
When products are sold, they are required to have a “best before date”, or “expiry date”, even if the product is good forever! Did you know that honey doesn’t ever go bad? You can literally use it in a jar of honey 1000 years later and it will taste and look the same as it does when you bottle it. But the government will require a date for these products partly for safety, and also partly because people expect a best before, or expiry date on all their products. For Epsom salts, they do not ever go bad, you can use them 10, 20, or even 30+ years from the purchase date and they will still be just as effective as the day they were stocked on the shelf. We do recommend you keep Epsom salts in a dry dark place as they are water soluble and they can break down over time. Bacteria can get in Epsom salts if they are stored poorly which may cause them to go bad, or “rancid”. However, with proper storage practices, you can keep them effective for an incredibly long time!
What’s The Best Way To Store Epsom Salts?
Keeping your Epsom salts in an airtight container that won’t let anything else get in is the best way to store your Epsom salts long-term. You may notice your Epsom salts may become lumpy or slightly discolored over time, this is not something that you will have to worry about for external use, however, we don’t recommend taking digesting it as it may make you ill. As we mentioned before, as long as the appearance looks like Epsom salts should, then you can use them for decades!
5 Amazing Reasons To Add Epsom Salts To Your Survival Kit
The main reason we recommend adding them to your kit is that they don’t expire, and Epsom salts have a large variety of uses that will all benefit your well-being. Now let’s get into exactly why you should add Epsom salts to your long-term survival kit!
Relief from itching
There are lots of things that can cause you to itch in the woods, everything from a simple mosquito bite to poison ivy can all be extremely annoying over a long period of time! Epsom salts can help provide immediate relief to your itch.
- Grab a small handful of Epsom salts
- Slowly add water to the Epsom salts
- As you add water, mix until a thick paste forms
- Apply the paste to your affected area
Don’t add too much water too fast as you don’t want it to be runny.
Remove Splinters
If you’re surviving in the wild, you’ll eventually get a splinter, or thorn stuck in you, take the previously mentioned paste and apply it to the area where the splinter is stuck. This will help remove infection and reduce swelling, which will make it easier to pluck out the splinter or thorn that was stuck. Splinters can cause infection, so it’s best to treat the wound early with respect, just in case.
Cleaning Agent
If you add it to your dish soap, it can act add an abrasive quality to the solution which will make it easier to clean the dishware. If you have Teflon-coated pans, however, you may want to avoid Epsom salts as they could scratch the coating. Just add a small handful of Epsom salts to your cleaning solution to help increase its abrasive quality.
Constipation Relief
Surviving in the wild is not always easy living, and one can get sick pretty quickly if you aren’t paying attention. You can add 1-2 teaspoons of Epsom salts to an 8-ounce glass of water and drink that until constipation has been relieved.
Fertilizer Aid
Note how we put this right after constipation relief, ;). Epsom salts can help add vital minerals to your growing soil and re-mineralize them for optimal growth. Adding them regularly to your soil will definitely keep your harvest healthy, or even improve your yield, they can also deter those pesky bugs and insects which will also increase your chance of getting the most out of your harvest.
Magnesium
Magnesium is a super useful mineral in the body, and it plays a huge part in your daily health, just look at all its benefits!
- Creating energy by transforming food into energy
- Making new proteins from amino acids is known as protein synthesis.
- Maintaining genes via assisting in DNA and RNA creation and repair
- Muscle contraction and relaxation are aided by the movement of the muscles.
- Nervous system regulation: controlling the neurotransmitters that carry signals throughout your nervous system and brain.
You won’t need to take Epsom salts every day to have a positive impact, but you should consider adding a teaspoon to a glass of water and drinking that at least once a month! Don’t overuse Epsom salts as too much salt in your system can have negative effects on your health. If you don’t like drinking them, feel free to season your food with Epsom salts every once in a while!
Final Thoughts
With all these amazing benefits, it just makes sense to add Epsom salts to your long-term kit. They will generally have little to no negative side effects (unless they get bacteria in them and go lumpy or discolored), but they will help you in more ways than one. At Digital Survival Sumo, we’re all about multifunction ingredients that give you bang for your buck!