Vodka Is a Must-Have

Vodka Is a Must-Have for Any First-Aid Kit

'Outside' writer calls a flask of the alcohol 'wildly useful'

By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff

A writer for "Outside" calls vodka a "first-aid kit essential."   (Getty Images/alejandrophotography)

(NEWSER) – To paraphrase one of the great philosophers of our time: Alcohol is the solution to all of life's problems. It's a sentiment Outside writer Susan Casey appears to agree with. In a piece on putting together a first-aid kit for all manner of adventures, Casey surprisingly calls a flask of vodka "the best addition I've made to my ready-for-anything list." She calls the liquor "wildly useful," noting it can be used as an anesthetic, a disinfectant, and an antimicrobial—and makes a mean martini for drinking around the campfire. "It can clean a cut, prevent infection, and de-stress the patient all at once," Casey writes.

Here are just a few of the uses Casey notes while singing vodka's praises:

• Treat poison ivy.
• Treat a jellyfish sting.
• Sterilize a needle.
• Treat an ear infection.
• Use as hand sanitizer.
• Start a fire with it.
• Gargle for a sore throat.
• Use in a hot toddy to cure jet lag.
• Put it on your forehead to lower a fever.
• Heal blisters on your feet.
• Put it under your nose to block out stinky companions.
• Kill a fish by pouring it on the gills.
• Mist some into the air to keep away mosquitoes.
• Take a few shots to kill bacterial invaders after eating something questionable (though "there may be zero medical evidence this works").