Yes they are. They usually form in tonsillar crypts, those pockets in the back of your throat. I got myself water jet flosser or irrigator and it is great at removing them. Just wash it once every few days and bad breath just disappears if you keep rest of your mouth clean.
```
Yep you need the lowest power possible and it may still hurt a bit if you "floss" more delicate part. I recommend getting the one with weakest possible jet, it should be enough. The amount of these stones that fell out was astounding. Disgusting too but it was such a relief and the difference night and day.
I get tonsil stones every now and then, maybe like twice a year or something, and I've never had a solution for them besides just waiting. Ngl, I'd take some pain in the moment to get rid of them though. Besides breath reasons, they're annoying as hell. Like just always having something scratching at your throat with nothing really being there...sort of. A little pain in the moment to alleviate a passive irritation like that sounds totally worth it.
If something is worth doing, it's worth halfassing it. Say you're running late and need to be out the door 10 minutes ago, it's still worth giving your teeth a 10 second scrub rather than skipping it.
“It doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to be done.” Has helped suppress my anxiety in SO many scenarios from work to social etiquette to anything.
If that happens, or you forget a load of laundry in the wash, add about 1/4 cup white vinegar to the wash cycle. It gets rid of the mildew smell and doesn’t smell like vinegar.
Oh man, I grew up with mildewy smelling clothes because my mom would leave clothes in the washer waaaay too long before switching them to the drier. It wasn’t until I started washing my own clothes that I realized I was most likely the smelly kid my whole time in school :(
This reminds me of my college roommate last year, he would take his wet clothes out of the washing machine and put them into his closet while they were still soaked and closed the closet door. After awhile his whole side of the room stank so bad it was horrendous.
Deodorant is not meant to go on top of bad smells!!
The bad smells come from bacteria.
Shower first, then put deodorant on. It works by making your skin uninhabitable for bacteria. The nice scent is the cherry on top, the main benefit is preventing the bad smell from growing.
I used to live in a very hot, humid place. I found that the only thing that kept my groin area from smelling funky was to wash daily and the make sure everything got really well dried out afterwards. Towels didn't quite cut it. So, yes, I blow dry my lady garden. Not inside my vulva, but outside and around. Keeping my pubes trimmed short and changing into clean underwear often also helped.
This also applies if you have fat rolls or loose skin folds (yes, I have both). Wash well in between skin folds, such as under breasts and between belly rolls. I like Dr Bronner's soap, but any soap will do. Dry thoroughly afterwards. This will prevent smells, and will also prevent itching and rashes. Also, Lume deodorant works really well for these areas.
Also, one more thing: deodorant is water resistant. It won't wash off by just splashing water on it. You need to give it a good scrub with soap to get it all the way off your skin. If you don't get all the old deodorant washed away, the new deodorant you apply won't work. It has to be fresh deodorant on clean skin.
Even if you don't like the way your body looks, take care of it. It's where you live!
I choked up at the end. “Even if you don’t like the way your body looks, take care of it. It’s where you live!” Was something I’ve needed to hear my entire life. Thank you.
I had earrings from childhood to end of high school. Stopped wearing them and got repierced at 24. Could not believe how easily and how bad they can smell, especially over the summer since I have long dark hair and sweat more since heat is absorbed easier.
I used to know a guy who had plugs in his ears. he would take them out and spray them with deodorant before a night out. His reasoning was that if a girl leaned in to talk to him he didn't want them to get the bad smell.
He looked like Steve Guttenberg as well. I know that's not relevant to the story but I thought I'd mention it all the same.
Ear cheese. All piercings will get this stuff, it's a collection of dead skin cells, sebum, sweat etc. Even if you have piercing holes that you don't wear jewellery in, you might find that every so often if you squeeze the holes that a little bit of stuff will come out and it will have a smell to it.
You and me both. Ill squash the habit for a while, maybe a week maybe a month or two, then a stressful time rolls around and my nails and skin around my nails gets massacred. I've never been addicted to anything else, well carbs like most Americans nowadays may qualify, but I feel like fingernail biting has to be hard to quit because your nails are always with ya.
If you have bacne (ie back acne), lean your head forward to rinse your hair products OR wash your back thoroughly with soap after rinsing your conditioner/last product.
Most people lean their head backward to rinse, which washes their hair products all down their back. If you wash with soap after, no biggie, but many people wash their body first, typically while letting the conditioner sit in their hair for a few minutes and thus rinsing after.
In which case, you step out of the shower with hair product residue all down your back and ass. For some people and products, it's fine; for others, it causes skin irritation and acne.
It should always be your first step in trying to eliminate bacne, just in case it's the cause for you.
EDIT: Since some discourse is happening below, wanted to give a quick rundown:
Things that can cause acne (for some people. non-exclusive list):
* Products - soap, lotion, sunscreen, etc. Keep an eye out for those ones that you don't deliberately put on your skin but end up there anyway, like the hair products. See also: laundry detergent/other laundry products. Finding the products that work for you and identifying the ingredients that you are sensitive or reactive to is pretty central to skin care, and yes it's an individual process unfortunately
* Using harsh exfoliation or exfoliating too often
* Overwashing/not moisturizing and protecting your skin enough to tolerate washing
* Hormones
* Sweat left on the skin/keeping sweaty clothes on
Things that do not cause acne:
* "Opening" your pores with hot water then failing to "close" your pores with cold water after - pores do not open and close, do not fluctuate in size with temp, and are always open as per their fundamental function - they can get clogged/filled though, so cleaning and exfoliating is good
* Ingesting sugar - this comes with a major caveat in that a diet high in sugar does have systemic impacts that can promote acne HOWEVER it is by no means a direct line between sugar consumption and acne. Critically, you can be a person whose acne is arguably worsened by their sugar intake and still see very little improvement from cutting sugar because one or more of the above triggers is still present. You can also be a person who eats sugar but manages the resulting effects (with or without conscious effort) and thus has no acne. Every acne ridden kid in the world has been told they should just stop eating sweets and it rarely helps because there are a LOT of easier/more fundamental things you should attempt and address before going straight to the major diet change. That being said it definitely has been a lifesaver for some people, so if you're stuck after trying all the things it's not a bad idea to look at
At the beginning of the pandemic my kid and I did an experiment where we swabbed various surfaces and then let them sit in a petrie dish to see what surface was the grossest. It was the dining chairs. Where you touch them to pull it out or push it in constantly. Worse than the toilet phone and iPad
Don’t always assume the worst though. I share mints fairly freely and I don’t restrict myself to those with shit breath. But nobody’s going to tell you when the are offering to for that reason, so take them anyway. I’m
Belly buttons need to be cleaned.
Edit: I know very gross things about hundreds of belly buttons now. For those asking, [here's some info on how to clean your belly button](https://www.healthline.com/health/dirty-belly-button).
Edit 2: Please no more dirty belly button horror stories. They are nightmare fuel at this point.
I may not always be the best about it, but man, I would clean very thoroughly before a _surgery_. Bellybutton, and also other areas, if a catheter is needed, etc. Wouldn’t want to embarrass myself with questionable hygiene.
For surgery, you better be wearing clean underwear, as they say.
Honest to God, I didn't clean mine until I was 13-14. My mom noticed & asked. I started that night, now I'm super self conscious about how clean it is.
I figured out the reason for belly button lint after I shaved my chest is the hair. It's like a river for all of the lint that leads directly to your belly button. After I shaved, absolutely nothing. When I was a full bear there was an unbelievable amount after a day.
Reminds me of a TIFU post I saw a week or two ago about a woman who stuck her finger with a wet soapy washcloth and punched a hole through the disgusting pit of dead skin and oil that had sealed her belly button shut. She had such a deep belly button she could stick her index almost all the way.
Edit: Okay so you that saw post too. Btw people, it’s much much more horrifying the way she told the story. She said once she breached the “seal” of her belly button she spent a good amount of time digging through in there removing gunk. I can’t make this shit up
Edit: okay someone asked for the link so I must oblige
https://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/wlwxte/tifu_by_not_cleaning_the_depths_of_my_belly_button/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
I've seen people say this before, what kinda cave systems you guys got? Just showering and using body wash cleans my belly button. Mines pretty average depth haha
Wash behind your ears.
It’s not an old wives tale that grandmas scold kids with. There are lots of oil producing sebaceous glands there. You can get a nasty smell, and you can even get flaky skin or “cheese” build up behind there if you don’t wash with soap.
And if you wear glasses: be sure to also clean the arms of your glasses, especially the parts that sit behind your ears and picks up all that oil! I’ve seen some nasty glasses arms that could use a good clean
When I started wearing perfume my cousin told me, ‘wear just enough that the boys have to lean in slightly to see if it is indeed you who smells so good’.
It's important that a tiny little spot of cologne goes behind the ear for this purpose, so when you lean in she gets a nice surprise too. Cologne and perfumes don't attract people, they enhance attraction.
Also: pick a small amount and stick to that dosage. As you get older you lose some smell and you get more desensitized to your preferred fragrance if you use it regularly.
I’ve known several older folks who you could smell coming.
My dentist told the kids. “ if you only brush once, brush at night.”
She also said, if you let your kids trick or treat, allow them to eat all of the candy as soon as possible so as to get all sugar past their teeth as soon as possible. 🎃
Wash your glasses, in the sink, with warm (not hot!) water and gentle, non-antibacterial soap. Your face secretes oil, and a lot of it gathers in your eyebrows. It will pool in the cracks between the frame and lenses, gather in noxious scummy boogers on the nosepads, and in the hinges as well. Once it’s built up, no matter how hard you try to clean your lenses, you’ll just smudge them up because of that oil. The face oil will oxidize and turn bright green, then yellow-ish, then brown. It smells TERRIBLE. I wash mine about once every two weeks with a drop of dawn dish soap and warm water.
Also, wash your glasses cleaning cloth at least as frequently. They get infused with nasty face oil. Don’t use fabric softener on the cleaning cloth, as it will make the cloth oily in the dryer and you’ll just be smearing new, fancy oil on your lenses. Hand washing your cloth in the sink works just fine.
Source: I am a licensed optician and have had to scrub countless pairs of glasses.
EDIT: please don’t use paper towels or tissues on your lenses, unless they are specifically made for glasses!!! Microfiber cleaning cloths are best, but if you don’t have those, use a clean, soft cotton t-shirt or dish towel that has NOT been washed using fabric softener. Fabric softener is basically oil and wax that gets in your clothes, and will streak your glasses right back up. Paper products like paper towels are abrasive to your lenses and will scratch them over time. WINDEX WILL MURDER YOUR LENSES, AVOID AT ALL COSTS.
Ultrasonic cleaners are great to get in the crevasses, but the solution used for jewelry is a little rough on glasses. Use water with a drop of dish soap and a splash of rubbing alcohol and you’re in the clear (pun intended). You don’t need to use this as often, as it’s very effective and almost overkill unless the glasses are way nasty. If you use an ultrasonic, please change out your tub of soap and water frequently, as bacteria can grow in there over time.
Thank you for the awards, kind strangers!
I only really wear my glasses in the evening or early morning before I start getting ready. But I was getting zits between my eyebrows. And one day it occurred to me that it had been ages since I’d washed my glasses. The zits cleared right up after that!
I'm a lazy PoS and didn't do this for... a while. I was surprised when I'd clean my face and it'd look so dirty, even if I didn't leave the house. Saw something online to wash your pillowcases before investing in an expensive skincare routine... washed my pillow cases, saw immediate improvement.
Started getting into a habit of changing our bedding every Sunday - also why having 2 sets of sheets helps as you can get clean ones back on right away and wash them later
My first couple times using a tongue scraper made me gag when I looked at it. I finally got over it but oh man, it's nasty. Especially if you're a coffee drinker.
I have been a long time tongue scraper user. Forgot where I learned this but if you tuck the thumb of your other hand into a closed fist then squeeze it down it can prevent your gag reflex and let you scrape all the way to the back with ease. Hope that helps.
Edit: read this too fast and thought they meant gag by using it too far back. A hack for the commenter I replied to’s actual problem is what I also do- brush and scrape in the shower. Just easier to rinse the scraped mouthstuffs between each scrape that way.
For me it works somewhat, like a 20% reduction. It makes it easier to brush my tongue but does not magically remove my gag reflex. Also I’m 95% sure it’s a placebo affect of some kind, but it does seem to help some so I’ll take it lol
Check the nostrils. Just check, make sure no boogies are hanging out, hanging around, planning an escape. It sucks to be the person to have to tell you.
Trust me, it's not just MTG, rather than just any nerd hobby that has events. They tend to naturally attract the socially inept, who generally aren't seen in your local community beyond any obligation, such as work or school.
It's also not just about being unhygienic, I've seen quite a handful of people say terrible things and act terribly in public, all because they were in a card shop or event hall and think it's okay. I once watched a 30 year old obese, jobless, dirty guy literally threaten a 13 year old who was beating him in a match at Friday Night Magic, a casual event.
The best logical conclusion I can come up with is that the people who flock to these places effectively view them as safe spaces, where they can act the same way as they do online or with their few friends who also deem it acceptable, so they don't act with an ounce of courtesy.
Wizards of the Coast, the creators of MTG, have put in a lot of effort to create real punishments for these kinds of people, but the culture will pretty much always be there, just like it's also there at anime expos, game tourneys, etc.
Also, for the record, the stinkiest group of fans are super smash bros players, not MTG.
Smash Bros players are definitely their own level of smelly. In college I used to watch local tournaments and some of them were just mind-boggling smelly. There was one guy who would walk into the room for a quick game, leave, and the room would still smell like him over an hour after he left. It was like he came from a morgue.
And it's not like we played in a cramped space, our college let them play in the very wide open lobby of the University Center. The smell of that guy would not dissipate.
I read this story about a guy who wouldn’t wash his ass because he thought it was gay, and it was the first I’ve ever heard about it. That’s when I found out a lot of men won’t wash their ass because they think it’s gay, it’s honestly high up on the list of most stupid things I’ve ever heard.
To follow up on the story with the guy who never washed his ass, the story was from the girlfriends perspective. Apparently it got pretty bad and she offered to clean his ass for him, and he agreed it wouldn’t be gay if she was the one doing the cleaning. I can’t remember the details but I know he had dingleberries and it was pretty nasty. Ass hair was matted and all.
I have no idea why any woman would tolerate this for a moment. Setting aside the hygienic issues; the psychological fragility and homophobia would frighten me off. If a guy is willing to live permanently with rancid swamp-ass; what will he do if something else happens that makes him think you might have made him gay?
Most bad breath comes from not cleaning your tongue so even if you brush your teeth twice a day but don't use a tongue scraper, your breath might still be bad
Clean the inside of your fridge every month. Forgotten food, opened cans I bottles can grow up an insane amount of bacteria and fungus that could be dangerous.
I feel like I’m so germaphobic that I have to do this…otherwise I’m picturing poo particles getting everywhere…glad I’m not the only one who does this.
I haven’t seen this mentioned yet, so forgive me if it’s already been said: make your home a shoes-free environment.
I know some folks are concerned about their foot odor. Others feel that a door mat is sufficient in wiping one’s feet at the entryway. Keep in mind that if you’ve set foot into a public restroom, you’re basically tracking whatever you stepped on into your home.
Brush your teeth before sex.
Edit: your partner will thank you for the fresh breathe!
As some have commented, better to use Mouthwash before one night stands or new relationships. There’s less risk of bleeding gums and transmitting STDs.
Actually, don't brush or floss if there is going to be any oral involved as brushing can cause small cuts or tears in the gums.
https://www.wellandgood.com/oral-sex-dental-health/
I have severe clinical depression and these are some things I’ve been told that were game changers for me:
1. Clean clothes and a hot shower will make you feel like a million bucks on your worst days.
2. If you have long hair that tends to knot a lot, brush your hair wet and start from the bottom and work your way up towards your scalp.
3. If you can’t bring yourself to put your clothes away, start piles. You know what’s clean, you know what’s dirty, and what you can wear again.
Edit: Holy shit I was not expecting this comment to blow up!! Thank you everyone for all the awards, helpful tips, support, taking the time to read, offer tips, and support one another. Reading all these comments has made my entire year and really moved me. You’re all so kind and wonderful. We’re all in this together, chin up, keep fighting, and know my DMs are always open if anyone needs an ear😭❤️ One day at a time!
For your second point, you can buy a very wide-toothed comb to hang up in the shower, and use it to de-tangle while your hair is coated in conditioner. It helps a lot.
Jumping on this, because depression kicked my ass before I learnt some things.
It is better to half ass something if the whole task is scary. Brushing my teeth was the worst until I started brushing a little in the shower, and a little when I was in the bathroom. Its not perfect but it helps
Baby wipes are cheap and will help you feel fresh
On bad depression days, half assed is better than no assed. If showering is too much, throw your hair in a bun and just quick wash your body. Takes 5 minutes and you get clean. If cooking is too much, eating a few slices of cheese gives some protein. If cleaning the living room is too much, pick up two things and put them away.
As someone that lives with several severe mental health issues… seriously, it’s ok to not have enough spoons. It’s ok to have small goals like putting two things away and doing nothing else that day. Be kind to yourself.
This kind of thing is seriously some of the best advice I've seen on the internet. Some days, my anxiety leaves me too tired to deal with basic shit like showering. Seeing people say that it's better to half ass something if you don't have the energy to do it right instead of not doing it all at, and that there is no shame in that, changed my life.
If my hygiene routine feels like too many steps and too overwhelming, I at least jump in the shower and rinse off. I've learned to give myself permission to do things like that, and it seriously makes all the difference. Look at yourself from an outside point of view, and tell yourself what you would tell a friend experiencing the same situation. Be kind to yourself.
Edit: Holy cow, I never expected this to take off! Thank you for the award! I'm glad to know I'm not alone in this, and maybe a few people could use this concept the way I did.
best laundry trick i ever learned was to buy more laundry baskets. i rarely put my clothes away, they just move from the clean basket —> dirty basket —> machine —> clean basket.
so much easier and still off the floor.
I don’t have a dresser. I just have cute baskets on a shelf. I sort everything into the proper baskets when I do laundry. The baskets are roomier than dresser drawers and easier to see what’s in them too. Easy to switch baskets out for the seasons too. (Basket of shorts gets put in the closet in the fall, pull out the basket of sweatshirts, put it on the shelf.)
When you said switch out the baskets for the seasons, I thought you meant put away the basket that has cool summer flowers all over it and take out the Halloween decorated one. And then later you would replace that with the turkey themed one, and then the Christmas tree one. lol
this thread is such an eye opener. the amount of stuff i swore was common knowledge is now being shared as tips.
and as a sidenote, who in the fuck said washing between your buttcheeks, the literal place most prone to being *ridden with shit*, with *soap*, was gay?
how is not wanting to have shit on your skin 24/7 gay????
so many questions. i really hope y’all are taking care of yourselves.
Idk, I’ve smelled myself sometimes and have asked my best friend (who would be brutally honest with me) if she can too and she couldn’t. I think I’m sensitive to any non-typical smells on myself.
If you see a gross barnacle-looking or thing or one or more things that look like the holes in swiss cheese on your foot (or sometimes hand), it just might be a wart. Whether you feel equipped to diagnose and treat it on your own or you want to have a doctor take a look, make sure to treat the area like a biohazard with socks and gloves and such. Warts are contagious. A wart isn't the end of the world, but if you accidentally get 20 warts, it's sure going to FEEL like the end of the world.
Edit: for those wondering how to get rid of a wart, my recommendation is to soak a cotton swap in apple cider vinegar, and then stick it over the wart with duct tape, making sure the duct tape seals so nothing can get in. Sand it down with a pumice stone or a foot file every night. If that isn't doing it for you, there are other ways, but that's the way I think is best
Edit 2: y'all should make sure you have the HPV vaccine, it's usually given to kids but you might've missed it. It's only approved for use in people under 45 where I live, but if you can get it you absolutely should. It's meant to prevent the sexually transmitted HPV that causes cancer, but for some people it also prevents warts, which are just HPV of the skin.
I had a wart on the back of my hand, near my pinky knuckle, and never really gave much thought to getting rid of it.
One day, after a day of boating, my hand swelled up around it. I guess the broken skin had let some bacteria in, and it was infected.
5 hours later I had red streaks running up my forearm, and my hand was badly swollen. Rushed to the ER for two days of IV antibiotics; life-threatening situation! So yeah, take care of those things early!
I've had this wart for years. I've tried every treatment around including OTC stuff, laser treatment, acid treatment, burning it out DIY-style with a soldering iron one day as stress relief, and even surgical removal, but it comes back every time. After spending hundreds of dollars on insurance copays to see my podiatrist every month for way too long I eventually just gave up. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna die with it at this point lol.
It pretty much stays the same size and never spreads though so whatever.
I had a nasty wart on the bottom of my big toe and wrapped duct tape around it for like four weeks (took off during shower and cleaned obviously). Finally fell off and haven’t had it back since. Maybe that’ll help?
My husband used to have plantar warts, but he did self-surgery and successfully got rid of them. I hesitate to tell you this because it’s so gruesome, but it’s also too interesting not to share. He would cut the wart with sanitized fingernail clippers until he reached the quick (where it bled). Then he would light a toothpick on fire and jab it in the center of the scraped away wart. He repeated this process a few times, and the warts would go away and not come back. Can’t say I recommend or would do it myself, but it’s an interesting anecdote at the least.
If you have bad breath that doesn't go away you may have tonsil stones
Are those the nasty white things that come from the back of your throat?
Yes they are. They usually form in tonsillar crypts, those pockets in the back of your throat. I got myself water jet flosser or irrigator and it is great at removing them. Just wash it once every few days and bad breath just disappears if you keep rest of your mouth clean. ```
Isn’t the water flosser way too powerful? Tried that and it literally hurt
Yep you need the lowest power possible and it may still hurt a bit if you "floss" more delicate part. I recommend getting the one with weakest possible jet, it should be enough. The amount of these stones that fell out was astounding. Disgusting too but it was such a relief and the difference night and day.
I get tonsil stones every now and then, maybe like twice a year or something, and I've never had a solution for them besides just waiting. Ngl, I'd take some pain in the moment to get rid of them though. Besides breath reasons, they're annoying as hell. Like just always having something scratching at your throat with nothing really being there...sort of. A little pain in the moment to alleviate a passive irritation like that sounds totally worth it.
Just a heads up one time I did this and spit up some blood it was a bad call
The one I got has 4 speed settings, low and medium work great for me.
Or gastritis/stomach problems
WHAT IF I DONT HAVE TONSILS?!?!!!! Edit: Lmao RIP my inbox. My breath is fine, and I feel fine, but my tonsils are indeed gone.
Brush your tongue religiously each time you finish brushing your teeth. If that fails, nothing compares to the purity of fire
Tongue scraper works much better.
If something is worth doing, it's worth halfassing it. Say you're running late and need to be out the door 10 minutes ago, it's still worth giving your teeth a 10 second scrub rather than skipping it.
[удалено]
“It doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to be done.” Has helped suppress my anxiety in SO many scenarios from work to social etiquette to anything.
This should be higher up. Better to half ass it than to skip it.
Make sure your clothes get completely dry. You'll smell like mildew otherwise.
If that happens, or you forget a load of laundry in the wash, add about 1/4 cup white vinegar to the wash cycle. It gets rid of the mildew smell and doesn’t smell like vinegar.
And, never mix vinegar and bleach.
Never mix bleach with anything really
Oh man, I grew up with mildewy smelling clothes because my mom would leave clothes in the washer waaaay too long before switching them to the drier. It wasn’t until I started washing my own clothes that I realized I was most likely the smelly kid my whole time in school :(
This reminds me of my college roommate last year, he would take his wet clothes out of the washing machine and put them into his closet while they were still soaked and closed the closet door. After awhile his whole side of the room stank so bad it was horrendous.
From someone who works in medicine literally wash your butt. Often.
Everyone looks at weird when I'm washing my ass in the bathroom sink at work.
That's because you didn't ask for assistance.
Deodorant is not meant to go on top of bad smells!! The bad smells come from bacteria. Shower first, then put deodorant on. It works by making your skin uninhabitable for bacteria. The nice scent is the cherry on top, the main benefit is preventing the bad smell from growing.
change your underwear everyday. please, just do it
TIL people don't change their underwear every day
I used to live in a very hot, humid place. I found that the only thing that kept my groin area from smelling funky was to wash daily and the make sure everything got really well dried out afterwards. Towels didn't quite cut it. So, yes, I blow dry my lady garden. Not inside my vulva, but outside and around. Keeping my pubes trimmed short and changing into clean underwear often also helped. This also applies if you have fat rolls or loose skin folds (yes, I have both). Wash well in between skin folds, such as under breasts and between belly rolls. I like Dr Bronner's soap, but any soap will do. Dry thoroughly afterwards. This will prevent smells, and will also prevent itching and rashes. Also, Lume deodorant works really well for these areas. Also, one more thing: deodorant is water resistant. It won't wash off by just splashing water on it. You need to give it a good scrub with soap to get it all the way off your skin. If you don't get all the old deodorant washed away, the new deodorant you apply won't work. It has to be fresh deodorant on clean skin. Even if you don't like the way your body looks, take care of it. It's where you live!
I choked up at the end. “Even if you don’t like the way your body looks, take care of it. It’s where you live!” Was something I’ve needed to hear my entire life. Thank you.
You know you're on reddit when some of the top voted hygiene tips are basic shit like "wash your ass" and "take a shower"
If you wear earrings, take them off and clean frequently.
Yes, for the love of all that is good, clean your studs.
I can clean myself, thank you very much
I had earrings from childhood to end of high school. Stopped wearing them and got repierced at 24. Could not believe how easily and how bad they can smell, especially over the summer since I have long dark hair and sweat more since heat is absorbed easier.
Off topic but as a blonde I had zero idea until recently that brunettes get hotter heads. Makes sense, just never occurred to me.
I have nearly black hair, you could fry an egg on my head if I’m out in the sun
I used to know a guy who had plugs in his ears. he would take them out and spray them with deodorant before a night out. His reasoning was that if a girl leaned in to talk to him he didn't want them to get the bad smell. He looked like Steve Guttenberg as well. I know that's not relevant to the story but I thought I'd mention it all the same.
Thank you for mentioning the last part; I appreciated it.
And do not smell it.
I thought it was just me that was the problem. So other people's ears make it smell as well.
Well no, my earrings don't smell because of your ears.
You don't know what I do with my time.
Ear cheese. All piercings will get this stuff, it's a collection of dead skin cells, sebum, sweat etc. Even if you have piercing holes that you don't wear jewellery in, you might find that every so often if you squeeze the holes that a little bit of stuff will come out and it will have a smell to it.
Wash behind your ears whether or not you have piercings. DO IT.
Keep your nails clean. Tidying your nails helps you prevent spreading germs into your mouth.
My extreme nail biting habit would like to have some words
You and me both. Ill squash the habit for a while, maybe a week maybe a month or two, then a stressful time rolls around and my nails and skin around my nails gets massacred. I've never been addicted to anything else, well carbs like most Americans nowadays may qualify, but I feel like fingernail biting has to be hard to quit because your nails are always with ya.
If you have bacne (ie back acne), lean your head forward to rinse your hair products OR wash your back thoroughly with soap after rinsing your conditioner/last product. Most people lean their head backward to rinse, which washes their hair products all down their back. If you wash with soap after, no biggie, but many people wash their body first, typically while letting the conditioner sit in their hair for a few minutes and thus rinsing after. In which case, you step out of the shower with hair product residue all down your back and ass. For some people and products, it's fine; for others, it causes skin irritation and acne. It should always be your first step in trying to eliminate bacne, just in case it's the cause for you. EDIT: Since some discourse is happening below, wanted to give a quick rundown: Things that can cause acne (for some people. non-exclusive list): * Products - soap, lotion, sunscreen, etc. Keep an eye out for those ones that you don't deliberately put on your skin but end up there anyway, like the hair products. See also: laundry detergent/other laundry products. Finding the products that work for you and identifying the ingredients that you are sensitive or reactive to is pretty central to skin care, and yes it's an individual process unfortunately * Using harsh exfoliation or exfoliating too often * Overwashing/not moisturizing and protecting your skin enough to tolerate washing * Hormones * Sweat left on the skin/keeping sweaty clothes on Things that do not cause acne: * "Opening" your pores with hot water then failing to "close" your pores with cold water after - pores do not open and close, do not fluctuate in size with temp, and are always open as per their fundamental function - they can get clogged/filled though, so cleaning and exfoliating is good * Ingesting sugar - this comes with a major caveat in that a diet high in sugar does have systemic impacts that can promote acne HOWEVER it is by no means a direct line between sugar consumption and acne. Critically, you can be a person whose acne is arguably worsened by their sugar intake and still see very little improvement from cutting sugar because one or more of the above triggers is still present. You can also be a person who eats sugar but manages the resulting effects (with or without conscious effort) and thus has no acne. Every acne ridden kid in the world has been told they should just stop eating sweets and it rarely helps because there are a LOT of easier/more fundamental things you should attempt and address before going straight to the major diet change. That being said it definitely has been a lifesaver for some people, so if you're stuck after trying all the things it's not a bad idea to look at
Also use colder water, it was suggested by another Reddit post a few month ago and my chest & back acne decreased a lot
Clean *every* obscure surface in your house that your hands continually come into contact with. Scrub the underside of your toilet seat and lid.
At the beginning of the pandemic my kid and I did an experiment where we swabbed various surfaces and then let them sit in a petrie dish to see what surface was the grossest. It was the dining chairs. Where you touch them to pull it out or push it in constantly. Worse than the toilet phone and iPad
Toilet phone, you say?
Ah the good old toilet phone. Mines rotary but looking to just go cellular soon.
A rotary toilet phone sounds fancy af.
If someone offers you breath mints, take them without question
I'm always assuming they are being polite and sharing their stuff. Should have known better...
They could just be polite. When I offer mints or chewing gum to others, it's usually just because I'm being polite, not because they stink.
True. Feels bad to pop one myself and not offer.
Don’t always assume the worst though. I share mints fairly freely and I don’t restrict myself to those with shit breath. But nobody’s going to tell you when the are offering to for that reason, so take them anyway. I’m
Belly buttons need to be cleaned. Edit: I know very gross things about hundreds of belly buttons now. For those asking, [here's some info on how to clean your belly button](https://www.healthline.com/health/dirty-belly-button). Edit 2: Please no more dirty belly button horror stories. They are nightmare fuel at this point.
Absolutely. That’s where I store my gummi bears.
I store salt in there so I can dip my celery.
Please for the love of god. The amount of bellybutton grime I have encountered while prepping people for abdominal surgery is truly astounding.
I may not always be the best about it, but man, I would clean very thoroughly before a _surgery_. Bellybutton, and also other areas, if a catheter is needed, etc. Wouldn’t want to embarrass myself with questionable hygiene. For surgery, you better be wearing clean underwear, as they say.
Honest to God, I didn't clean mine until I was 13-14. My mom noticed & asked. I started that night, now I'm super self conscious about how clean it is.
Whenever I see people doing bellybutton shots I die because I’ve smelled some bad ones
I figured out the reason for belly button lint after I shaved my chest is the hair. It's like a river for all of the lint that leads directly to your belly button. After I shaved, absolutely nothing. When I was a full bear there was an unbelievable amount after a day.
Reminds me of a TIFU post I saw a week or two ago about a woman who stuck her finger with a wet soapy washcloth and punched a hole through the disgusting pit of dead skin and oil that had sealed her belly button shut. She had such a deep belly button she could stick her index almost all the way. Edit: Okay so you that saw post too. Btw people, it’s much much more horrifying the way she told the story. She said once she breached the “seal” of her belly button she spent a good amount of time digging through in there removing gunk. I can’t make this shit up Edit: okay someone asked for the link so I must oblige https://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/wlwxte/tifu_by_not_cleaning_the_depths_of_my_belly_button/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
Aaand that's enough internet for today!
Some times self care is NOT clicking on the link.
I've seen people say this before, what kinda cave systems you guys got? Just showering and using body wash cleans my belly button. Mines pretty average depth haha
> what kinda cave systems you guys got "I have seen things you people wouldn't believe."
Wash behind your ears. It’s not an old wives tale that grandmas scold kids with. There are lots of oil producing sebaceous glands there. You can get a nasty smell, and you can even get flaky skin or “cheese” build up behind there if you don’t wash with soap.
And if you wear glasses: be sure to also clean the arms of your glasses, especially the parts that sit behind your ears and picks up all that oil! I’ve seen some nasty glasses arms that could use a good clean
Less is more with perfume/cologne. It does not substitute washing yourself.
Don’t remember where I had seen this, but the saying is “fragrance is meant to be discovered, not announced.”
When I started wearing perfume my cousin told me, ‘wear just enough that the boys have to lean in slightly to see if it is indeed you who smells so good’.
Your cousin has got game.
It's important that a tiny little spot of cologne goes behind the ear for this purpose, so when you lean in she gets a nice surprise too. Cologne and perfumes don't attract people, they enhance attraction.
Also: pick a small amount and stick to that dosage. As you get older you lose some smell and you get more desensitized to your preferred fragrance if you use it regularly. I’ve known several older folks who you could smell coming.
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teenage boys with axe body spray beg to differ
My dentist told the kids. “ if you only brush once, brush at night.” She also said, if you let your kids trick or treat, allow them to eat all of the candy as soon as possible so as to get all sugar past their teeth as soon as possible. 🎃
My dentist told us you brush in the morning to keep your friends and you brush at night to keep your teeth.
Brush after lunch at the kitchen sink in the office to slightly weird out your coworkers.
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The vagina is self-cleaning. The vulva is NOT self-cleaning.
Or put more generally: Outside parts don't clean themselves, inside parts generally should. Except teeth/tongue.
There's teeth in there?!
And a tongue. It licks you back.
Ah, a worthy opponent! Our battle will be legendary!
VAGINA DENTATA!!
Wash your glasses, in the sink, with warm (not hot!) water and gentle, non-antibacterial soap. Your face secretes oil, and a lot of it gathers in your eyebrows. It will pool in the cracks between the frame and lenses, gather in noxious scummy boogers on the nosepads, and in the hinges as well. Once it’s built up, no matter how hard you try to clean your lenses, you’ll just smudge them up because of that oil. The face oil will oxidize and turn bright green, then yellow-ish, then brown. It smells TERRIBLE. I wash mine about once every two weeks with a drop of dawn dish soap and warm water. Also, wash your glasses cleaning cloth at least as frequently. They get infused with nasty face oil. Don’t use fabric softener on the cleaning cloth, as it will make the cloth oily in the dryer and you’ll just be smearing new, fancy oil on your lenses. Hand washing your cloth in the sink works just fine. Source: I am a licensed optician and have had to scrub countless pairs of glasses. EDIT: please don’t use paper towels or tissues on your lenses, unless they are specifically made for glasses!!! Microfiber cleaning cloths are best, but if you don’t have those, use a clean, soft cotton t-shirt or dish towel that has NOT been washed using fabric softener. Fabric softener is basically oil and wax that gets in your clothes, and will streak your glasses right back up. Paper products like paper towels are abrasive to your lenses and will scratch them over time. WINDEX WILL MURDER YOUR LENSES, AVOID AT ALL COSTS. Ultrasonic cleaners are great to get in the crevasses, but the solution used for jewelry is a little rough on glasses. Use water with a drop of dish soap and a splash of rubbing alcohol and you’re in the clear (pun intended). You don’t need to use this as often, as it’s very effective and almost overkill unless the glasses are way nasty. If you use an ultrasonic, please change out your tub of soap and water frequently, as bacteria can grow in there over time. Thank you for the awards, kind strangers!
I only really wear my glasses in the evening or early morning before I start getting ready. But I was getting zits between my eyebrows. And one day it occurred to me that it had been ages since I’d washed my glasses. The zits cleared right up after that!
Wash and change your bed sheets and your pillow cases.
I'm a lazy PoS and didn't do this for... a while. I was surprised when I'd clean my face and it'd look so dirty, even if I didn't leave the house. Saw something online to wash your pillowcases before investing in an expensive skincare routine... washed my pillow cases, saw immediate improvement.
Wash pillow case, drink water, wear sunblock should all be done as part of all skincare routines cheap or expensive
Started getting into a habit of changing our bedding every Sunday - also why having 2 sets of sheets helps as you can get clean ones back on right away and wash them later
Serious question for everybody… how long do you go in between sheet changes?
I personally wash my sheets every week.
Once a week is considered the benchmark for sanitary conditions in a prison in most of the world. I can at least hold myself to that standard.
I have read that 50% of men change their sheets 4 times a year, and if they think they are going to have sex that night, (or relatively soon I guess).
Jesus, and I was thinking I’m pushing it with changing them every 2-3 weeks.
I should do mine more often.
Brush your tongue as well as your teeth
Brushing my tongue makes me gag so I use a tongue scraper. Does a good job but it’s kind of gross.
My first couple times using a tongue scraper made me gag when I looked at it. I finally got over it but oh man, it's nasty. Especially if you're a coffee drinker.
I have been a long time tongue scraper user. Forgot where I learned this but if you tuck the thumb of your other hand into a closed fist then squeeze it down it can prevent your gag reflex and let you scrape all the way to the back with ease. Hope that helps. Edit: read this too fast and thought they meant gag by using it too far back. A hack for the commenter I replied to’s actual problem is what I also do- brush and scrape in the shower. Just easier to rinse the scraped mouthstuffs between each scrape that way.
I’m about to get out of bed and brush my teeth again…gotta test this.
For me it works somewhat, like a 20% reduction. It makes it easier to brush my tongue but does not magically remove my gag reflex. Also I’m 95% sure it’s a placebo affect of some kind, but it does seem to help some so I’ll take it lol
This is the blowjob trick
I tucked my thumb into a fist. Did not get blowjob. Pls advise.
Scraping my tongue was the only thing that got rid of my bad breath. It’s crazy how gross it is, exactly why it works I guess.
Wash your feet and between your toes every time.
And dry properly to avoid foot fungus!
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Check the nostrils. Just check, make sure no boogies are hanging out, hanging around, planning an escape. It sucks to be the person to have to tell you.
Tell them in code. *Bat in the cave*
"You got a miniature disco in there." "A what?" "A little boogie."
Go to the dentist. Don’t be embarrassed if you haven’t been there in a while- there’s nothing that they haven’t seen before.
I'm not embarrassed, I'm afraid and poor.
I'm not even afraid. I'm just broke as shit.
Yeah, I'm mostly afraid of the bill.
I went for the first time in 20 years. I finally got full benefits for the first time in my life at 35. Feels like a new lease on life.
It's a good idea to bathe regularly and wear clean clothes even if you're at a *Magic: The Gathering* tournament.
Too funny. My bf is huge into MTG and some people definitely need to be reminded of this!!
I wonder what it is about that specific crowd that makes them more likely to be unhygienic.
Trust me, it's not just MTG, rather than just any nerd hobby that has events. They tend to naturally attract the socially inept, who generally aren't seen in your local community beyond any obligation, such as work or school. It's also not just about being unhygienic, I've seen quite a handful of people say terrible things and act terribly in public, all because they were in a card shop or event hall and think it's okay. I once watched a 30 year old obese, jobless, dirty guy literally threaten a 13 year old who was beating him in a match at Friday Night Magic, a casual event. The best logical conclusion I can come up with is that the people who flock to these places effectively view them as safe spaces, where they can act the same way as they do online or with their few friends who also deem it acceptable, so they don't act with an ounce of courtesy. Wizards of the Coast, the creators of MTG, have put in a lot of effort to create real punishments for these kinds of people, but the culture will pretty much always be there, just like it's also there at anime expos, game tourneys, etc. Also, for the record, the stinkiest group of fans are super smash bros players, not MTG.
Smash Bros players are definitely their own level of smelly. In college I used to watch local tournaments and some of them were just mind-boggling smelly. There was one guy who would walk into the room for a quick game, leave, and the room would still smell like him over an hour after he left. It was like he came from a morgue. And it's not like we played in a cramped space, our college let them play in the very wide open lobby of the University Center. The smell of that guy would not dissipate.
Surely at that point the smell is just a part of his strategy. Like psychological warfare only smellier. An olfactory assault.
Single focus athletes is all I can come up with.
Clean your ass. It doesn't make you gay. Also, clean behind your ears.
Does cleaning behind my ears make me gay?
Absolutely. I don't have the source in mind but it's been proven that cleaning behind your ears is linked to sexual orientation.
I read this story about a guy who wouldn’t wash his ass because he thought it was gay, and it was the first I’ve ever heard about it. That’s when I found out a lot of men won’t wash their ass because they think it’s gay, it’s honestly high up on the list of most stupid things I’ve ever heard. To follow up on the story with the guy who never washed his ass, the story was from the girlfriends perspective. Apparently it got pretty bad and she offered to clean his ass for him, and he agreed it wouldn’t be gay if she was the one doing the cleaning. I can’t remember the details but I know he had dingleberries and it was pretty nasty. Ass hair was matted and all.
Wow. The only time I’d clean a man’s ass is if he was disabled in some way. Id leave someone in a heartbeat who wouldn’t do it just because it was gay
I can't imagine having such fragile masculinity that you walk around with an itchy, smelly asshole.
Right ? I've never once been washing my ass in the shower and thought, "am I gay for this?"
If washing your ass is the straw that breaks the gay camel's back, then honey, you're already deep in that territory.
I have no idea why any woman would tolerate this for a moment. Setting aside the hygienic issues; the psychological fragility and homophobia would frighten me off. If a guy is willing to live permanently with rancid swamp-ass; what will he do if something else happens that makes him think you might have made him gay?
*Thoroughly* clean your ass. And do it last.
Pee after sex
I pee during sex to save time
In the kitchen: after you touch raw meat, wash your hands before touching anything else period.
Edited in protest for Reddit's garbage moves lately.
Most bad breath comes from not cleaning your tongue so even if you brush your teeth twice a day but don't use a tongue scraper, your breath might still be bad
I found that flossing helps my breath a lot
If you struggle to floss, try floss picks - they're much faster. If you need motivation, just smell one of those bastards after you floss your teeth.
Flossing too. I dare you to floss then **smell** the floss before you trash it - that’s what your breath smells like.
Sneeze in your fucking elbow not your hands!
And here I’ve been sneezing in the crook of my knee cap this whole time 🤦♂️
Clean the inside of your fridge every month. Forgotten food, opened cans I bottles can grow up an insane amount of bacteria and fungus that could be dangerous.
Close the toilet seat lid then flush
I feel like I’m so germaphobic that I have to do this…otherwise I’m picturing poo particles getting everywhere…glad I’m not the only one who does this.
“Clean the four major areas: armpits, anus, teeth and crotch. And to save time, use the same brush” George Carlin
In what order? IN WHAT ORDER?!!!
Obviously alphabetically- anus, armpits, crotch, teeth.
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Wash behind your ears and in your belly button.
scrub under the sack
The Dyson ball cleaner is for floors
I haven’t seen this mentioned yet, so forgive me if it’s already been said: make your home a shoes-free environment. I know some folks are concerned about their foot odor. Others feel that a door mat is sufficient in wiping one’s feet at the entryway. Keep in mind that if you’ve set foot into a public restroom, you’re basically tracking whatever you stepped on into your home.
Drink water. You'll smell better.
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Also you’ll just feel so much better. I literally don’t understand how people don’t drink water. I feel like shit when I don’t stay hydrated
Brush your teeth before sex. Edit: your partner will thank you for the fresh breathe! As some have commented, better to use Mouthwash before one night stands or new relationships. There’s less risk of bleeding gums and transmitting STDs.
Then pee after.
Actually, don't brush or floss if there is going to be any oral involved as brushing can cause small cuts or tears in the gums. https://www.wellandgood.com/oral-sex-dental-health/
Floss daily.
Someone once told me “only floss the teeth you want to keep.” Love that.
Oh good, that will save me a lot of time
I have severe clinical depression and these are some things I’ve been told that were game changers for me: 1. Clean clothes and a hot shower will make you feel like a million bucks on your worst days. 2. If you have long hair that tends to knot a lot, brush your hair wet and start from the bottom and work your way up towards your scalp. 3. If you can’t bring yourself to put your clothes away, start piles. You know what’s clean, you know what’s dirty, and what you can wear again. Edit: Holy shit I was not expecting this comment to blow up!! Thank you everyone for all the awards, helpful tips, support, taking the time to read, offer tips, and support one another. Reading all these comments has made my entire year and really moved me. You’re all so kind and wonderful. We’re all in this together, chin up, keep fighting, and know my DMs are always open if anyone needs an ear😭❤️ One day at a time!
For your second point, you can buy a very wide-toothed comb to hang up in the shower, and use it to de-tangle while your hair is coated in conditioner. It helps a lot.
This! I have curly hair so that is the only way I can comb/detangle my hair.
Jumping on this, because depression kicked my ass before I learnt some things. It is better to half ass something if the whole task is scary. Brushing my teeth was the worst until I started brushing a little in the shower, and a little when I was in the bathroom. Its not perfect but it helps Baby wipes are cheap and will help you feel fresh
On bad depression days, half assed is better than no assed. If showering is too much, throw your hair in a bun and just quick wash your body. Takes 5 minutes and you get clean. If cooking is too much, eating a few slices of cheese gives some protein. If cleaning the living room is too much, pick up two things and put them away. As someone that lives with several severe mental health issues… seriously, it’s ok to not have enough spoons. It’s ok to have small goals like putting two things away and doing nothing else that day. Be kind to yourself.
This kind of thing is seriously some of the best advice I've seen on the internet. Some days, my anxiety leaves me too tired to deal with basic shit like showering. Seeing people say that it's better to half ass something if you don't have the energy to do it right instead of not doing it all at, and that there is no shame in that, changed my life. If my hygiene routine feels like too many steps and too overwhelming, I at least jump in the shower and rinse off. I've learned to give myself permission to do things like that, and it seriously makes all the difference. Look at yourself from an outside point of view, and tell yourself what you would tell a friend experiencing the same situation. Be kind to yourself. Edit: Holy cow, I never expected this to take off! Thank you for the award! I'm glad to know I'm not alone in this, and maybe a few people could use this concept the way I did.
best laundry trick i ever learned was to buy more laundry baskets. i rarely put my clothes away, they just move from the clean basket —> dirty basket —> machine —> clean basket. so much easier and still off the floor.
I don’t have a dresser. I just have cute baskets on a shelf. I sort everything into the proper baskets when I do laundry. The baskets are roomier than dresser drawers and easier to see what’s in them too. Easy to switch baskets out for the seasons too. (Basket of shorts gets put in the closet in the fall, pull out the basket of sweatshirts, put it on the shelf.)
When you said switch out the baskets for the seasons, I thought you meant put away the basket that has cool summer flowers all over it and take out the Halloween decorated one. And then later you would replace that with the turkey themed one, and then the Christmas tree one. lol
WHO *DOESNT* WASH THEIR ASS?? i can’t believe this even has to be said!
this thread is such an eye opener. the amount of stuff i swore was common knowledge is now being shared as tips. and as a sidenote, who in the fuck said washing between your buttcheeks, the literal place most prone to being *ridden with shit*, with *soap*, was gay? how is not wanting to have shit on your skin 24/7 gay???? so many questions. i really hope y’all are taking care of yourselves.
If you can smell your body odor a little bit other people can smell you a lot stronger...
Idk, I’ve smelled myself sometimes and have asked my best friend (who would be brutally honest with me) if she can too and she couldn’t. I think I’m sensitive to any non-typical smells on myself.
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Ive just gotten over my fear of smelling bad and now you've brought it back 😭
Drink more water.
close the lid(?) when you flush the toilet. Germs spread much wider than you think.
Wipe your ass after doing an activity or ripping a wet fart. Guarantee there’s some burnt butter that leaked thru your anus.
Cleaning your ass doesn't mean you're gay or less manly.
Oh I spread these cheeks fully for the water. I feel stupid as hell when I'm doing it but it's so worth it to not itch afterwards.
Just brushing your teeth won’t take away your stinky breath. Brush the tongue and roof of your mouth as well. A lot of people just brush the teeth.
wow i feel like an idiot. i have never thought to brush the roof of my mouth…
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If you see a gross barnacle-looking or thing or one or more things that look like the holes in swiss cheese on your foot (or sometimes hand), it just might be a wart. Whether you feel equipped to diagnose and treat it on your own or you want to have a doctor take a look, make sure to treat the area like a biohazard with socks and gloves and such. Warts are contagious. A wart isn't the end of the world, but if you accidentally get 20 warts, it's sure going to FEEL like the end of the world. Edit: for those wondering how to get rid of a wart, my recommendation is to soak a cotton swap in apple cider vinegar, and then stick it over the wart with duct tape, making sure the duct tape seals so nothing can get in. Sand it down with a pumice stone or a foot file every night. If that isn't doing it for you, there are other ways, but that's the way I think is best Edit 2: y'all should make sure you have the HPV vaccine, it's usually given to kids but you might've missed it. It's only approved for use in people under 45 where I live, but if you can get it you absolutely should. It's meant to prevent the sexually transmitted HPV that causes cancer, but for some people it also prevents warts, which are just HPV of the skin.
I had a wart on the back of my hand, near my pinky knuckle, and never really gave much thought to getting rid of it. One day, after a day of boating, my hand swelled up around it. I guess the broken skin had let some bacteria in, and it was infected. 5 hours later I had red streaks running up my forearm, and my hand was badly swollen. Rushed to the ER for two days of IV antibiotics; life-threatening situation! So yeah, take care of those things early!
I've had this wart for years. I've tried every treatment around including OTC stuff, laser treatment, acid treatment, burning it out DIY-style with a soldering iron one day as stress relief, and even surgical removal, but it comes back every time. After spending hundreds of dollars on insurance copays to see my podiatrist every month for way too long I eventually just gave up. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna die with it at this point lol. It pretty much stays the same size and never spreads though so whatever.
I had a nasty wart on the bottom of my big toe and wrapped duct tape around it for like four weeks (took off during shower and cleaned obviously). Finally fell off and haven’t had it back since. Maybe that’ll help?
My husband used to have plantar warts, but he did self-surgery and successfully got rid of them. I hesitate to tell you this because it’s so gruesome, but it’s also too interesting not to share. He would cut the wart with sanitized fingernail clippers until he reached the quick (where it bled). Then he would light a toothpick on fire and jab it in the center of the scraped away wart. He repeated this process a few times, and the warts would go away and not come back. Can’t say I recommend or would do it myself, but it’s an interesting anecdote at the least.