Milk of Magnesia
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| Modified on Oct 18, 2024
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Used for nearly 200 years, milk of magnesia has been identified as an effective solution to a variety of problems. While its most traditional application involves gastrointestinal relief associated with constipation, milk of magnesia has other application as well. Comprised of a naturally occurring mineral, milk of magnesia is a safe, effective treatment for a variety of conditions.

What is Milk of Magnesia?

Milk of magnesia is a considered a suspension of magnesium hydroxide in water. The suspension generally appears as a milky white color, which is where the treatment generally gets its name.

Generally speaking, milk of magnesia has an osmotic effect on the body. In other words, it draws water into the affected area to alleviate symptoms and associated issues. For example, when taken as a laxative to treat constipation, milk of magnesia draws water into the intestines. The water entering the intestinal tract causes movement in the intestines and safely relieves constipation.

Milk of magnesia has other effects as well. It is also known as an effective antacid as it neutralizes or reduces excess acid in the stomach. It has also become a popular treatment option for reducing oiliness of the skin.

Health Benefits of Milk of Magnesia

Several characteristics of milk of magnesia make it an effective health treatment. The compound is a good source of magnesium, which is an effective nutrient that helps regulate calcium and other nutrient levels in the body. Magnesium also helps promote metabolic processes in the body including the activation of enzymes and promotion of teeth and bone development.

As such, milk of magnesia can be used to treat a wide range of conditions. Of course, the most common treatment application for which milk of magnesia is used is relief of constipation. However, the compound is also often used to treat heartburn, upset stomach, acne, canker sores and even bodily odor. The compound can also be used to treat diaper rash and other skin sensitivities.

With its wide range of applications and natural ingredients, milk of magnesia is an effective health treatment for a wide range of conditions. A naturally soothing, compound, milk of magnesia relieves a variety of health problems.

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
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Acidity

Posted by Chaku (New York) on 05/18/2015

I have really bad acidity problem and have blister in my mouth. No medicine is helping me. I tried to take Milk of Magnesia couple of nights and feeling better in my acidity. Can I take it everyday? or any other guidance how to take safely every day. Should I take potassium pills or banana with it daily? Please help to take it properly

Replied by Talulah
(Uk)
01/16/2016

You can also rinse it round your mouth for 15 mins and then spit. Try to find it without added bleach or saccharine.

Ascites

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Posted by beverly (elkhart, in) on 10/18/2024
 ★★★★★

Milk of magnesia has helped my husband with ascites/ swollen body from water in all the cells of his body, his stomach protruded with water and his inside legs swollen with water, he takes one whole capful that comes with the bottle every night and the next morning he is pooping like diarrhea is happening when it is not. It is taking all the water from his swollen body cells and putting all this through his intestines and getting it out. Of course, it has taken every day to continue cleaning him out. Some days are twice of the removing of the water and poop/he is continuing on once a night one full cap and it has been a month now. Little by little, the water is coming out, and he feels a lot better from all that pressure relieving the water in all his cells. He has lost 20 lbs in a month and two weeks now. He feels so much better with his overall health and walking and breathing better, too. Ever since I saw he has ascites as I figured out, I started thinking of ways to help him and milk of magnesia has the right amounts of magnesium and calcium in the right ratios, I noticed his inside legs were leaking out water one day that`s when I started to think that he has water buildup then I read about ascites .from there I figured out that milk of magnesium pulls water into the intestines safely and he gets rid of the excess buildup in his water cells and pooping it out once a day or even twice a day, looks like diarrhea but it is not it stops coming out after you relieve it out, but we continue on with the once a night full cap dosage every night and it continues to clean out his water cells and poop. Fantastic milk of magnesia miracle worker and is safe and gentle on the body. He just eats a banana once a day to keep natural potassium in his body when getting rid of the water in his cells, he is feeling great.

Canker Sores

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Posted by Old Dud (Corona, California) on 06/08/2013
 ★★★★★

I have used milk of magnesia for canker sores. It take 3 applications and it will start to go away. Try it till it gone.

Deodorant

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Posted by Arxsyn (Canada ) on 03/16/2016
 ★★★★★

Milk of Magnesia does work nicely as a deodorant. There was a time in my life under a lot of stress, my body odour was very strong and people told me so. Only clinical strength anti perspirant / deodorant helped. This stuff retails at $9 a pop. Searching for less chemicals in my life l tried rock crystal. Coconut oil... No dice. Baking-Soda worked nicely if I was already sweating in the moment... Takes care of the wetness and odour. Used alone, it's a salt so it would irritate skin, gritty feeling . Besides, Who goes off into the powder room with baking soda? Some DIY recipes call for carb and coconut oil. Coco oil is expensive, $20 for a large format jar. No thanks. Mom used alone, I still had a smell... But mixed together with baking soda in a reused roll on deodorant, that's clinical strength -- right there. It can leave a white chalky residue at times but whatever. Some of it absorbs sweat, and may get on the underside of the garment. So much more economical, washes easy. If I need to, l just switch it out with the conventional stuff. These days l can use MOM virgin. I'm sure you can make it scented with your essential oil(s) of choice.... Possibly with your favourite conventional perfumes? I also wonder if there is an added benefit of absorbing magnesium through the skin? I don't know but I'm hopeful. Quicker and easier than an Epsom salt bath.

Replied by Pj
(Japan)
04/29/2016
★★★★★

I use Milk of Magnesia as deodorant as well. I tried pharmaceutical grade baking soda which is a very fine powered form with coconut oil in the past and even that caused painful red rashes under my arms and even cuts because the baking soda is crystals and crystals have sharp tips that cut and irritate the skin. MOM is smooth and gentle. It has never caused any harm to my skin and I have been using MOM for several years. The only thing it does not do is stop the sweat, but it does stop odor. I just shake it up and put it on before dressing. It dries quickly so if you put on your underwear, pants, and socks before your shirt, it should be dry and you should not get white smears on your clothes, at least I do not.

Replied by Alan
(Mexico City)
09/12/2017

Plain lime is the best for underarm odors .....

Deodorant
Posted by Kathi (New Brunswick, Nj) on 11/01/2013
 ★★★★★

I agree that MOM (milk of magnesia) as a deodorant is great! I have been using it now for about two months. Keeps me odor-free even after sweat-drenching exercise classes, as long as I remember to change out of my exercise clothes. Sometimes the MOM seems a little too drying so I rub in coconut oil as well.

Insect Bites

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Posted by Art (California ) on 08/26/2017 2332 posts
 ★★★★★

About two weeks ago I got bit multiple times by what I think were gnats that I am probably allergic to. It was sunset and I was outside talking to a neighbor. That night the bites turned into red welts and bumps that were hot to the touch, extremely itchy and swollen. I thought I would tough it out and they would go away in a day or two, but now two weeks later it is as though I just got the bites yesterday. I have tried several remedies including baking soda paste, several essential oils, hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol, witch hazel, colloidal silver and mag oil. The colloidal silver offered some relief, but not complete relief.

I decided to try milk of magnesia and it is definitely helping to alleviate the swelling, inflammation and itchiness. I'm thinking the MOM would probably have worked even better had I applied it right after being bitten.

Art

Magnesium Water Recipe

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Posted by Kathy (Dubois, Pa) on 09/06/2009
 ★★★★★

I believe I have found a way to make an improvement on the recipe for Magnesium Water from M.O.M. I got to wondering about the undissolved layer of M.O.M. at the bottom of the bottle, and reasoned that the carbonic acid from the seltezer water must not be strong enough to dissolve all of the Magnesium hydroxide into solution, so I added some citric acid powder to the bottle, shook it up and sure enough, it foamed up and the white layer disappeared as the undissolved M.O.M. went into solution. That means that there is even more bio-available magnesium in the water than there was before. I did not measure how much citric acid I added this time, but the next time I make it, I will measure amounts of M.O.M., water and citric acid and should be able to come up with a pretty good guess at how many milligrams of Magnesium there are per ounce of water, if someone else doesn't beat me to it, of course : ) I love this site...home-made science in the public interest!

Replied by Zark
(Emerald City)
06/20/2017

The problem with adding an acid (citric or carbonic acid) to Magnesium Hydroxide [Mg(OH)2] is you change the chemistry and can no longer be sure that it will have all the same beneficial effects. The two OH groups will disappear, losing their alkalising potential - and it is alkaline groups like this which disable the extremely toxic poisons produced by fungi, and thus providing healing from a wide range of diseases.

When you add magnesium hydroxide and citric acid you get the following reaction:

Mg(OH)2 + C6H8O6 => 2H20 + C6H6MgO6 (water and magnesium citrate)

(thankyou answers dot com for the reaction equation)

Makeup Primer

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Posted by Karen S (Canada) on 01/31/2014
 ★★★★★

Another way that I use MoM is as a primer for makeup! I put on a thin layer and let it dry prior to putting on foundation and it keeps my oil in control all day! It's so nice to put foundation on in the morning and not have it slide off my face by noon! Awesome stuff, that MoM.

Milk of Magnesia Ingredients

Posted by Anon (Usa) on 07/22/2018

Could those who try milk of magnesia remedies please list the ingredients in the MOM they have used. Some brands add sodium hypochlorite which may affect their success. Thank you!

Reader Feedback

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Posted by Connie (Manitowoc, Wisconsin) on 07/30/2009

Generic Milk of Magnesia (MOM) contains calcium, magnesium, sodium, and purified water. Phillips' brand contains magnesium, purified water, and sodium hypochlorite. According to Wikipedia sodium hypochlorite is bleach. Which MOM would you recommend for which applications?

EC: Yikes! Thank you very much for pointing this out... We just sent Bayer HealthCare an email asking why they add sodium hypochlorite to their Phillips' formula. Will post a reply if we get a response.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_hypochlorite

Not much information on the web about this, other than this one question: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090201110922AA61U9Z

Replied by Deirdre
(Earth Clinic)
08/03/2009

Here is the response we just got from Bayer re: Sodium Hypochlorite in the Phillips' Milk of Magnesia brand:

"Thank you for taking the time to contact Bayer HealthCare. We appreciate your interest in PHILLIPS'® Milk of Magnesia.

In response to your inquiry, Sodium Hypochlorite is derived from Chlorine and Sodium Hydroxide and is used as a antimicrobial agent.

If we may be of further assistance, please feel free to contact our Consumer Relations Department.

Replied by Kay
(Fl, US)
07/13/2014

Thanks for the Warning!

FYI: My generic bottle of MOM made by GeriCare, lists its Active Ingredient as Magnesium Hydroxide, then in tiny letters at the very bottom it lists "Inactive Ingredients" as water and sodium hydroxide.

Replied by Timh
(KY)
07/13/2014
2043 posts

In some circles, Magnesium Hydroxide is coveted as the best form of Mag for colon cleansing due to the active oxygen factor. Why would a small amount of Chlorine hurt as there are always pathogens in the gut that need killing??

Replied by Mona
(Fl)
05/12/2015
★★★★★

I was able to find out that some brands do not use sodium hypochlorite (bleach). CVS brand has magnesium hydroxide 1200mg as an active ingredient and purified water as inactive ingredient. No other stuff added.

Replied by Lynn R
(Austin Tx)
05/14/2015

MOM sounded too good to be true, and the bleach bothers me. Thanks for your info, I'm going to CVS and give this a try!!

Replied by Raven
(California, San Jose)
11/19/2015

Using Phillips MOM to treat constipation was handed down to us by my grandmother. I have taken it since I was a kid and it gave the desired relief. However, I am alarmed by the bleach content. I may have to shift to CVS then or other herbal remedies just to be safe. Thanks for the info!

Replied by Arley
(Florida)
02/08/2016
★☆☆☆☆

Maybe YEA, seems the dose and use are paramount.

According to Wikipedia it is the sodium hypochlorite itself that has been used to treat eczema. So, one should research if you want this substance in the MOM you would use to treat eczema or body odor. It seems like you might want it. Maybe you want the CVS brand if you take it internally. I would guess that it could damage gut flora since it is commonly used as a disinfectant.

From wikipedia: Dilute bleach baths have been used for decades to treat moderate to severe eczema in humans, [12][13] but it has not been clear why they work. According to work published by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine in November 2013, a very dilute (0.005%) solution of sodium hypochlorite in water was successful in treating skin damage with an inflammatory component caused by radiation therapy, excess sun exposure or aging in laboratory mice. Mice with radiation dermatitis given daily 30-minute baths in bleach solution experienced less severe skin damage and better healing and hair regrowth than animals bathed in water. A molecule called nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-kB) is known to play a critical role in inflammation, ageing and response to radiation. The researchers found that if NF-kB activity was blocked in elderly mice by bathing them in bleach solution, the animals' skin began to look younger, going from old and fragile to thicker, with increased cell proliferation. The effect diminished after the baths were stopped, indicating that regular exposure was necessary to maintain skin thickness.[12][14]

Also noted in wikipedia:

Chlorination of drinking water can oxidize organic contaminants, producing chloroform and other trihalomethanes, which are carcinogenic, and many hundreds of possible disinfection by-products, the vast majority of which are not monitored. So I would definitely not want it in anything I consumed internally.

So although, it may be beneficial for some things in very small amounts, I.e. a .005% solution is a very small amount in a bath to treat eczema, but not great for ingesting. I am not sure of the % in the MOM solution. That information would be helpful to determine an appropriate amount in a bath to treat eczema.

Replied by Zark
(Emerald City)
06/20/2017

Sodium Hypochlorite / Chlorine Dioxide / Hydrogen Peroxide are all types of bleach and have been used in minute quantities (just a few pre-diluted drops in a glass of juice) to heal a very wide variety of ailments.

Of course you must be careful to take the right dose, just as with most medicinals.

Reader Feedback
Posted by Raquel (West Palm Beach, FL) on 07/23/2009
 ★★★★★

I also use MOM as a deodorant, can't be without it! I had the idea of adding a few drops of essential oils (lavender and tea tree) for added protection plus I like the "clean" scent.

EC: MOM = Milk of Magnesia

Reader Feedback
Posted by Bessie (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) on 03/08/2009
 ★★★★★

For underarm odour, I've had good luck with Milk of Magnesia as posted by someone else at Earth Clinic. I just pour a wee bit into my hand and rub it into my armpits. Wait until it dries before putting on your clothes. It worked remarkably well and I've been under a great deal of stress lately. I used the name brand Milk of Magnesia (from the pharmacy) but you could probably use a generic or store brand one. Good luck!

Replied by Genevieve Marcus
(Los Angeles)
04/17/2015

I use mag citrate as a deoderant. It's a clear liquid.

Replied by Genevieve Marcus
(Los Angeles)
04/17/2015

I use mag citrate as a deoderant. It's a clear liquid.

Replied by Bob
(Wichita Falls, Tx)
06/30/2018
★★★★★

I have been using MOM (milk of magnesia) as a deodorant for over a year. I used to use my hands until I bought a small 2oz spray bottle. Works so much better. Just 4 spritz is all I need. And my hands stay dry to finish dressing for work.

Reader Feedback
Posted by Jodi (Bowmansville, NY, USA) on 01/21/2009
 ★★★★★

My friend told me about Milk of Magnesia for burns. When her daughter was little she has rashes so bad on her bottom that she had to leave off the diaper quite often because of her acidity level in her urine. One day her mother was watching her and she told her mother to be very careful because of the rash. She left for a few hours and when she came home the rash was gone. She had applied Milk of Magnesia directly on her granddaughter and not long after the skin rash was gone.

My friend also told me about using it on burns, so I have tried it. My daughter and I have both burned our hands so I tried it and it worked. You need to soak it near an hour but it leaves no red marks and it feels better.

Reader Feedback
Posted by Pamela (Houston, Texas) on 12/18/2008
 ★★★★★

I didn't believe it but a friend of mind share with me an article he had read in the newspaper about a man who used milk of magnesium to clear up a long standing bad case of acne. We both have been putting the milk of magnesium on acne break outs at night before we go to bed. We are both happy at the results as both of the problem spots on our faces are clearing up. Who would of thought it would work. I have tried everything on my face and there were always some spots that nothing seem to work. It works slowly but everyday you notice the acne getting smaller and smaller. Plus I am noticing that I am not getting the usual breakout of new blemishes.

Reader Feedback
Posted by Shannon (Titusville, FL) on 11/12/2007
 ★★★★★

Thrush in newborns: Take a q-tip or cotton swab dip it in Milk of Magnesia and rub it around the babies mouth twice a day sure enough it will cure it just as fast as it came on. I have a one month old who got thrush and sure enough instantly it started working. Helped ease the discomfort and cleared it up with not problems!!!

Replied by Hippie
(Spokane, Wa)
11/23/2010

Rub the milk of magnesia in the babys mouth?? around the gums?... Thank-you


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