Just found out soap is alkaline. If you run out of antacids and your acid reflux is really bad, can you eat soap to settle your tummy? This post inspired by eating chalk for acid reflux.
EDIT:
this post was submitted on 09 Feb 2025
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Well, no, not really.
Reflux is a definite no because that's not "just" heartburn. Treating chronic reflux with something like tums or rolaids isn't a great idea to begin with, and soap would cause even more problems.
But, even "just" heartburn is a no.
For one, the Ph is too high. You want to bring the acid to neutral, or close, in the esophagus; and the Ph of most soap is going to take it way past neutral and into alkaline.
Most soaps? They're bad for skin because the Ph is too high. It fucks up all kinds of stuff, and the more delicate the skin, the worse the effect. Like, your average soap is going to run around 9-10. Skin is around 5-6. The esophagus is going to hover around 7 normally, with it going to around 4 or below during chronic reflux (with occasional bouts staying a tad closer to 5 or 6). Most antacids would end up being around 8ish, at least the brand names.
I'd have to run the math to figure out what exactly the results would be with a pure alkaline being swallowed in terms of end Ph, but it doesn't really matter. Soap isn't a pure alkaline. It's a mix of things. Mind you, that's all sketched out since I'm at the very limit of my chemistry here, but the general idea holds. Don't try and use my numbers on a test or anything.
And that mix, even though it won't kill you or even put you in a hospital barring weird shit going on, ain't going to settle your stomach. For one, the most common effect of swallowing soap is vomiting. Kids get into soap occasionally, and they puke it back up more often than not. Idiot adults sometimes get drunk and take bets, or dares, or whatever other stupidity is going on. They vomit it back up in any but the smallest amounts.
What they don't vomit up is going to come out the other end with some force. Some people used to use small amounts of soapy water as a laxative. And it works
I don't see a lot of vomiting followed by hours (potentially) of nausea being a good result to treat reflux.
What if it's just a little nibble? Less mass means less hydroxide ions
I think that if it's small enough to not cause nausea or other problems, it's probably too small to neutralize the acid either.