# Bag Balm safe for human use? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 2, 2003, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bag-balm-safe-for-human-use/158522 "2003-03-02T03:52:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bag-balm-safe-for-human-use/158522/21 "2011-05-30T22:38:19Z")
> [@classyladyhp](#): > > His kid is now 14:eek: and he goes moo and chews his food slowly for long periods of time. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bag-balm-safe-for-human-use/158522/22 "2011-05-30T23:37:38Z")
Face it, they sell about ten thousand times more of the stuff than could ever be used on cows… ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bag-balm-safe-for-human-use/158522/23 "2011-05-30T23:46:36Z")
> [@Washte](#): > > I’ve used BB for yonks… Learned a new word!🙂 ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bag-balm-safe-for-human-use/158522/24 "2011-05-30T23:51:00Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > …That hysterical “natural is good, chemicals are bad” site that **yabob** linked to is utterly without merit. The June 2011 National Geographic has a short article on page 21 about the dangers of of carmine from the cochineal. For many, red dye #40 is safer. Yes, Bag Balm is dangerous. So is almost almost every other effective medicine. Penicillin is a great killer. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bag-balm-safe-for-human-use/158522/25 "2011-05-31T01:09:12Z")
Studies have shown that research causes cancer in laboratory rats. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bag-balm-safe-for-human-use/158522/26 "2011-05-31T01:49:01Z")
My folks and grandparents used it for years. I rediscovered it when I milked goats 20+ years ago. After applying it to their udders (they used to get chapped in the winter), my own hands became softer. I still use it sometimes in the winter when nothing else will soothe the dry, cracked skin on my hands, elbows and heels. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bag-balm-safe-for-human-use/158522/27 "2011-05-31T02:28:02Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > and he goes moo and chews his food slowly for long periods of time. Outstanding! This thread is done. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bag-balm-safe-for-human-use/158522/28 "2011-05-31T05:52:32Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > Outstanding! > This thread is done. It’s rare to see it so well done in any medium, without the subject being over done. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bag-balm-safe-for-human-use/158522/29 "2011-06-01T03:02:33Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > It’s rare to see it so well done in any medium, without the subject being over done. Could have a little more blue Englisch, but certainly _a point_. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bag-balm-safe-for-human-use/158522/30 "2011-06-01T16:41:13Z")
> [@SnugTheJoiner](#): > > I remember a story on 60 MINUTES–it must have been twenty years ago–about Bag Balm. The story opined that it was used on more humans than cows. > > I myself have used it to clear up an assortment of skin complaints, with no ill effects. > > –Snug > > PS–I am not a cow. I was gonna say, you type remarkably well with those hooves. ---
**Author:** ![madhadder545](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@madhadder545](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madhadder545)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bag-balm-safe-for-human-use/158522/31 "2011-06-02T03:10:57Z")
_**I my self use bag balm for many things I use it for dry nose (I’ll stick it up my nose), chapped lip’s, open sores dry hands and feet, I never swallow it but I use it for everything else!!😃**_ ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bag-balm-safe-for-human-use/158522/32 "2011-06-02T03:49:52Z")
That is something that I have not seen in 40 + years. ---
**Author:** ![nikonikosuru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@nikonikosuru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nikonikosuru)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bag-balm-safe-for-human-use/158522/33 "2011-06-02T03:51:11Z")
Double zombie thread? ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bag-balm-safe-for-human-use/158522/34 "2011-06-02T04:37:42Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > and he goes moo and chews his food slowly for long periods of time. Well, he is a teenager, now… Heck, put him in front of a monitor (whether video game, computer, iPod, or phone screen) and the resemblance to a cud-chewing bovine is uncanny. 😉 > [@nikonikosuru](#): > > Double zombie thread? No, just a normal, single one. To make this a double zombie thread, and to keep the intervals in the grave consistent, we need just wait another 8 years after the current discussion dies down. I’ll set a reminder in my calendar for 2019. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bag-balm-safe-for-human-use/158522/35 "2011-06-02T06:12:57Z")
> [@robby](#): > > … > To make this a double zombie thread, and to keep the intervals in the grave consistent, we need just wait another 8 years after the current discussion dies down. > > I’ll set a reminder in my calendar for 2019. 🙂 Bag Balm will not work for freezer burn. ---
**Author:** ![Shadowstands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/0ea827/32.png) [@Shadowstands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shadowstands)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bag-balm-safe-for-human-use/158522/36 "2012-01-08T00:19:44Z")
Having used bag balm most of my life, and having grown up in a rural area, as well as having seen it used for all types of skin issues as a Nurse, I used it on my children’s diaper rash-I was then taken to court by my ex-husband the M.D. for child abuse by using an animal preparation, e.g. bag balm. I had to spend nearly 10k in legal fees, professional testimony, etc. before the charge (backed up by his girlfriend, the Pharmacist) was tossed out by a Judge who stated “my Mother used that on me and my brothers and sisters on the farm, and we never suffered any ill effects”…so be careful! ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bag-balm-safe-for-human-use/158522/37 "2012-01-08T00:39:17Z")
OK, _now_ it’s a double zombie thread! ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bag-balm-safe-for-human-use/158522/38 "2012-01-08T23:10:16Z")
> [@Shadowstands](#): > > Having used bag balm most of my life, and having grown up in a rural area, as well as having seen it used for all types of skin issues as a Nurse, I used it on my children’s diaper rash-I was then taken to court by my ex-husband the M.D. for child abuse by using an animal preparation, e.g. bag balm. I had to spend nearly 10k in legal fees, professional testimony, etc. before the charge (backed up by his girlfriend, the Pharmacist) was tossed out by a Judge who stated “my Mother used that on me and my brothers and sisters on the farm, and we never suffered any ill effects”…so be careful! Do they chew their food slowly for a long time and go moo a lot? ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bag-balm-safe-for-human-use/158522/39 "2012-01-09T00:41:36Z")
> [@Washte](#): > > I’ve used BB for yonks, especially in Wyoming winters. It is wonderful for chapped and irritated skin. What is yonks, and why is Bag Balm good for it? ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bag-balm-safe-for-human-use/158522/40 "2012-01-09T02:00:57Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > What is yonks, and why is Bag Balm good for it? I think it’s a city in New York. They have cows there. What? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bag-balm-safe-for-human-use/158522.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bag-balm-safe-for-human-use/158522.md?page=3)