The People's Pharmacy® with Joe and Terry Graedon

Recently I had a patient (I am a community pharmacist) ask me about applying listerine to shingles lesions. She told me several of her friends had heard about it and tried it with success (decreased pain, rash appearance, etc). I told her I hadn't heard that before but with some precautions might be worth a try. She came back a week later reporting very good results with "significant" reduction in discomfort.

I've also had extremely good results with Listerine as an anti-blemish remedy. I have a theory (only a theory, I'm not a doctor, etc.) about it - the alcohol temporarily dissolves facial oil, allowing the antimicrobial essential oils to "mix in". The alcohol evaporates, leaving behind "treated" facial oil that continues to work to discourage bacterial growth for an extended period of time. For what it's worth.

In any case, it also seemed to work well to treat minor infections on my infant son's fingers - swelling and redness around small cuts that didn't respond to antibiotic ointment for a week (probably because he would immediately stick the fingers in his mouth, removing the bandage and the ointment) disappeared overnight when rubbed for a few seconds with Listerine on a cotton square. It didn't seem to cause him any discomfort, either, which was a concern I had going in.

I've never been much of an antiseptic user, so I can't compare it to iodine or other antiseptic options, but I'm now a big believer in the stuff for uses other than as a mouthwash.