Was cleaning out my medicine cabinet yesterday and found an old bottle of Anbesol. I said hmmm....if you can put it in your mouth, it couldn't be that dangerous on your feet, right?

Surely somebody has thought of this before. It seems to help a bit on thinner skin like around my ankles, arches, and in-between and tops of toes but not so much on pads and heels.

Not a miracle, but if you happen to have some, why not try?

Well, that is 'repurposing'!

I don't feel my feet, but maybe I will try a unique way to use it, in my mouth!

It has 20% Benzocaine in it.

This is a topical anesthetic.

If this works for you, I'd investigate Lidoderm patches. Stronger, and longer lasting. Expensive however, if you don't have insurance.

There is also alot of camphor in Anbesol. Some rubs have camphor too.

I did get some lidocaine patches a few years ago but just didn't seem able to get the placement right. Maybe I should ask my doctor for lidocaine cream--I think maybe I would do better with that.

I do have pretty good insurance. I just wish everyone could have what I have.

I have pretty good insurance too. That is the scary part. I was still denied at one point. I also wonder how long we will be able to afford it. Or how long it will continue to pay for things.

We are in position for my husband to retire, if not for health insurance. (He has worked the same job 35 years) and it is going to be a real challenge to pay $1600 to $2000 per month for insurance. We have a substantial amount saved, but, with a 20% rise per year allowed for insurance premiums, it will be really rough. We can't buy insurance on the free market unless pre-existing clauses are removed. It is hard to imagine paying 30,000 to 48,000$ per year for health insurance until we qualify for 'entitlement' programs. How many people have that kind of money saved? We are close, but, it is still scary. What if costs of insurance continue to skyrocket, or they can deny me because I get expensive treatment. I will simply have to give up the treatment and take what comes. Like most of the under-developed world.

Social Sec. kicks in at 62, but medicare not until 65, if it lasts at all. Then there is the matter of buying a supplement or facing astronomical medical bills.

It will be rationing of health care by sheer expense. If you can't afford it, you won't get it.

At some point, we will have to pack it in, and call it a day. I am more of a quality versus quantity person anyway.

Yeah, even "good" insurance isn't that good. I had to cough up 3K out of pocket two years in a row between the cancer and the hip replacement, plus the salary I lost from not being able to work during those times. And I'm darn lucky that I could eat those costs, even if it was painful. There are a lot of families in this country that would have lost their homes over that series of hits.

You can say what you want about Canada, France, et. al. but nobody loses their home over illness in those countries.