116 User Reviews

Hello everyone. I starting taking Borax internally about 4 yrs ago to combat an internal yeast overgrowth. It took care of the candida over a long period of time. Really appreciate having learned about the anti fungal properties of Borax.
I live in a hot tropical region and so fungus issues are prevalent and reoccurring here and so like to keep the Borax on hand so when an issue arises I can take care of it quickly by ingesting some Borax for a short period. My question for you guys is has anyone noticed becoming heat intolerant while taking Borax. I mean I am so overheated once temps go over 30c and almost am dead when it nears 40c. I never was like this before I took Borax. Lately a friend of mine who also lives in the tropics has just started taking Borax and she too is complaining about sudden heat intolerance. We are both experiencing extreme excessive sweating. I put two and two together and it seems it is Borax that is effecting us in this most uncomfortable way. Have any of you experienced such a thing while consuming Borax?
Thank you and I love Earth Clinic!
(Philippines)
10/07/2023
Hi PG,
I also live in a tropical and hot climate and I weigh slightly less than 90kgs, I am about 6 foot tall and I'm 73 y.o with no ongoing ailments or diseases. And I never have trouble with the tropical heat in the Philippines. I think this is probably because I always supplement 5% lugol's iodine every day at between 5 and 8 drops per day. This definitely keeps my thyroid healthy, my immune system working right and supplementing 5% lugol's iodine also ensures that the thyroid hormones are able to properly control my body temperature in order to cool my body properly whenever the outside temperature is high. I've been taking 5% lugol's iodine in a glass of water like this every day for about the last 16 years or so and my health is all the better for it.
If the temperature outside gets unbearably hot then I just use Ted from Bangkok's famous body cooling remedy, which consists of adding and mixing Vitamin C(as ascorbate) + a glass of water + 10 drops of Magnesium Oil (50% magnesium chloride flakes + 50% water). If you drink that mixture, you will cool down very quickly because of the beneficial cooling effect of the magnesium and vitamin c relaxing your your arteries to help cool your body more efficiently. This remedy works for me every time.
To make this cooling remedy cheaply, you will need to purchase Ascorbic Acid powder, Sodium Bicarbonate(Arm & Hammer pure Baking Soda brand will do fine) and Magnesium Chloride flakes. And depending on where you live in the world, you should be able to buy all these aforementioned items from well known online retailers like Amazon, eBay, purebulk.com, Ali Express, Lazada or Shopee.
Here's how to make Ted's cooling remedy:
1. First make Sodium Ascorbate by dissolving a 1/4 teaspoon Ascorbic Acid in a glass of water. Then carefully sprinkle in the Sodium Bicarbonate until the fizzing stops.
2. From a dropper bottle containing the Magnesium Oil add 10 drops to the glass containing the water + Sodium Ascorbate.
3. Now drink it all and your done. The cooling effect of this drink should be almost immediate.
And if you decide to supplement 5% Lugol's Iodine an a daily basis like me, make sure that you take the Borax at least two hours before or two hours after taking the lugol's iodine dose. If you take the Borax at the same time as the iodine then they will each cancel out the other's beneficial effects. So just make sure that you supplement Borax well away from when you supplement the 5% Lugol's Iodine.
(Wi)
10/12/2023
Borax Side Effects

I have ongoing issues with candida and constipation related to EDS and I'm gluten-free and mostly avoid dairy.
The first 5 days of the 'bug' were 2 times a day mass evacuation of sludge (I assume to be the impacted content). Then I got to 4 days of water type and one explosive day with green (I'm assuming that was the actual bug coming through) - then it slowly returned to twice a day sludge alternating with more traditional type watery diarrhea.
there have been what I'll describe as colon spasms (rather than 'stomach cramps') that will occur randomly over the day.
Is there any chance that the borax has caused an issue - in the first few weeks I was seeing improvement with candida so I was thrilled that this might be helping - but now I'm wondering if I should stop?
any thoughts would be much appreciated as I can't find a page with 'real side effects' as all the searches will go straight to mainstream, it's 'poison' type information.
(Idaho)
09/18/2023
AlleyCat, try taking borax a couple of times per week instead of daily for a while. Give your body a chance to recover and recalibrate after being sick. This Covid or RSV virus is giving lots of people trouble for weeks on end. You can pick the borax back up to 5 days a week if you feel necessary once you're feeling better.
Borax Side Effects

Vernard,
If you have an irritation in your esophagus, the borax can worsen it because the normal pH of the esophagus is around seven, but the pH of borax is considerably higher at around 9.24 and that can potentially further irritate an already irritated esophagus.
Ted's recommendation was to mix the 1/8th teaspoon of borax in a quart/liter of water, whereas you only used 24 ounces of water. Another consideration is some people have found benefit at 1/16th teaspoon. Diluting as Ted said to and using a lesser dose may make borax more tolerable, but if it continues to irritate your esophagus even with the changes, you will be better off looking at ECs over 100 other remedies for arthritis here :
Art
(Indianapolis IN)
09/17/2024
Hi, I'm replying to find out if you know if anyone has reported any results from borax use with RA. I've only read, so far, of people with osteoarthritis. My daughter suffers from an extremely bad case of rheumatoid arthritis, and any relief would be wonderful.
Kathy
Hi Kathy,
Yes, it has shown benefit for people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) also as discussed in the following human study :
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5289089/
Here is a relevant study quote :
' After 60 days, both types of boron significantly improve the clinical scores, in association with significant decrease in the serum levels of ESR, hsCRP, IL-1α, IL-6, and TNF-α with remarkable superiority for calcium fructoborate (CFB) over sodium tetraborate (NTB), compared to baseline and placebo-treated group.'
Calcium Fructoborate is a type of boron derived from plants while sodium tetraborate is Borax. In this study the calcium fructoborate outperformed the borax most likely because the amount given contained more boron than the borax did. Calcium fructoborate though, is a good option to have for people who are opposed to taking a laundry booster for their arthritis. It isn't as inexpensive as borax which costs less than 5 dollars per year.
In the above study they used either the calcium fructoborate or borax in addition to the biologic, Etanercept. They didn't use an arm without Etanercept because they said it was "ethically unaccepted", but there is other research and anecdotal reports where borax or boron has been used as a sole treatment for arthritis as discussed here :
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1566627/
Here is a relevant quote :
' Since 1963, evidence has accumulated that suggests boron is a safe and effective treatment for some forms of arthritis. The initial evidence was that boron supplementation alleviated arthritic pain and discomfort of the author. This was followed by findings from numerous other observations epidemiologic and controlled animal and human experiments. These findings included a) analytical evidence of lower boron concentrations in femur heads, bones, and synovial fluid from people with arthritis than from those without this disorder; b) observation evidence that bones of patients using boron supplements are much harder to cut than those of patients not using supplements; c) epidemiologic evidence that in areas of the world where boron intakes usually are 1.0 mg or less/day the estimated incidence of arthritis ranges from 20 to 70%, whereas in areas of the world where boron intakes are usually 3 to 10 mg, the estimated incidence of arthritis ranges from 0 to 10%; d) experimental evidence that rats with induced arthritis benefit from orally or intraperitoneally administered boron; e) experimental evidence from a double-blind placebo-boron supplementation trial with 20 subjects with osteoarthritis. A significant favorable response to a 6 mg boron/day supplement was obtained; 50% of subjects receiving the supplement improved compared to only 10% receiving the placebo. '
A link to the full study is available inside of the above link.
Ted's dosing recommendations for borax are described here :
My personal experience is that borax has kept my severe psoriatic arthritis (PA) in remission for 16 years now. PA is just one of many forms of arthritis.
Good luck to your daughter and keep us posted on her progress if she and her doctor decide for her to test borax!
Art
Borax Side Effects

Selena,
You can stop borax and if the rash resolves on its own in a month or so, the borax is the likely problem.
Art
(Hone Sweet Home)
07/22/2023
99% pure flowers of sulfur improved the acne-like rash above my mouth, I ran out before the rash was completely gone.
It started when I took lysine tablets. I had the rash for over a year before I tried the sulfur. I drank a teaspoon of the sulfur in a cup of water once a day for a few days. Made me feel really good, too.
Otherwise look up boron co-nutrients and try those maybe.
Borax Side Effects

The Borax I used WAS several years old... but still...
And I doubt this was a detox reaction... I have been taking some cilantro and lugol's occasionally, eating pretty healthy...
Borax Side Effects

My husband and I have started taking borax in the 1tsp to 1 liter solution. He has systemic candida and broke out in mouth sores within 3 days of taking it.
I have arthritic pains in my hands that come and go and within a week of taking the solution, my hands are much worse.
We both also experienced crushing depression as well. Is this just a normal herx reaction? I'm going to stick it out but I have been unable to find anything that mentions these specific symptoms.
(Kitchener On)
07/07/2023
Hi Tania
Too much Borax. Men 1/4 spoon daily and Women 1/8 spoon daily.
I have been Borax happy for 4 years and no-side effects but feel great.
God Bless
Gary
Borax Side Effects

(California)
05/10/2023
Mel,
Boron is an active component of Borax and it can direct more magnesium and calcium toward the bones, possibly leaving insufficient magnesium available for the soft tissues. This potential insufficiency of magnesium could cause muscle cramps. If supplementing an absorbable form of magnesium such as magnesium glycinate resolves the muscle cramping, then you have your answer.
Another common cause of muscle cramping is insufficient potassium intake.
Art
(Auckland, New Zealand.)
05/11/2023
1/4 tsp of borax is over 1,100mg, which is over 120 mg of boron.......wonder if this is too high a daily dose.
(Pennsylvania)
06/30/2023
Are you taking magnesium supplements with it?
Borax Side Effects

Chris,
I have seen a dry skin condition develop in a friend who was using 1/8 teaspoon of borax every week day. She stopped and the dry skin went away. She restarted and the dry skin slowly came back, so she stopped completely. I asked her to try 1/16th of a teaspoon, but she said no. Some people don't tolerate Borax, but the majority of people do.
An alternative is to try higher dose boron based supplements, which has also shown the ability to put arthritis into remission.
Art
(America)
04/26/2023
This could explain why I have such dry skin for well over a year! I recently decided to stop the borax because it no longer helps my arthritis, not sure why it quit working. But the dry flaky skin is so embarrassing, maybe I finally know what causes it!
Borax Side Effects

(Deerbrook Wi)
04/04/2023
Sounds like ( from what I am reading) your concentration is too strong, try 1/16 to 1/8 tsp in 1/2 liter of water once a day.
Borax Side Effects

Borax Side Effects

(MI)
12/30/2022
My research said it is due to detoxing the body so the darker the urine the more waste is pulled out.
(Philadelphia, PA)
02/07/2023
This is what happens to me when I was doing detox baths with borax. My urine became darker yellow with slightly green color. I believe that this is part of the detox.
Borax Side Effects
★★★☆☆
(London)
09/15/2022
It sounds like a detox reaction, like an Herxheimer reaction. Take Vitamin C to counter. If you take ‘normal Vit C' (calcium ascorbate) by tablet it may give you diarrhoea, so try magnesium ascorbate which is slower to work but helps body repair. Tablet Vit C only gets about 10% absorbed. Better still, try and get Liposomal Vit C. I use Altrient C but it is not cheap. It dissolves in the gut but has an 80-90% absorption.
(USA)
11/22/2022
Did this issue resolve? Also did the arthritis and yeast improve?
(Kentucky)
11/23/2022
Bleach bath is very benefical for folliculitis of the body. You will have to take a bath daily for good results. Use a wet wash rag to lay over your face when take this bleach bath. Pour 4 oz (¼ to ½ cup) of unsented chlorine bleach into your bath water. Soak the entire body for 10 - 25 minutes. Do not rinse your skin after the bath and quickly dry with a towel to avoid chills. Repeat bleach bath every day for one month. Diluted bleach baths are safe and effective.
Borax Side Effects

I did the 1/4 tsp in a litre of water first day loading but by the time I reached 3/4 of the bottle about 5-6 hours later I started to feel antsy and nervous. I was a little anxious. Later in the evening I felt anxious again. Like it had a second cycle in my body. Probably going through my liver.
I have read that the dosage of the 1/4 tsp = 114mg is incorrect. Can you please confirm that it is correct?
Isolda,
The quarter teaspoon of borax is the dose that Ted recommended for men and half that dose for women. So if you were trying to follow Ted's directions you are correct.
Something that I don't remember Ted covering in his remedy was that some people can not tolerate borax, but that is something I have seen in some friends who have tried borax for arthritis. On the other hand, the dose that the originator of using borax/boron for arthritis, Dr. Rex Newnham, recommended a significantly lower dose of borax/boron and claimed to get very good effects back in the 1970's and 1980's. Here is a link to info on him and the doses he used, which were significantly less than Ted's dosing schedule.
https://freedomforcenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/1904borax.pdf?ref=tfrecipes
Art
Borax Side Effects

(USA)
11/22/2022
Did this issue resolve? I also noticed reflux but wasn't sure if it was just a beginning side effect or a long-term one
Borax Side Effects

Red bumps could be the beginning of a rash and you may be allergic to Borax. Stop and see if they go away. If they do, you probably don't want to use borax as a shower soap either as you were considering. Some people are not able to tolerate borax.
As an alternative, you might look into Boron supplementing. Dr. Rex Newnham used Boron also effectively for arthritis.
Art

