Replied by Art from California on 07/02/2018

Well, Borax has many other benefits than just arthritis, so in order to get those benefits, I take it continuously on weekdays.

Art

Replied by Rsw from Oh on 07/03/2018

Hi Art,

Wondering how much borox do you take during the weekdays? I have just started taking two teaspoonfuls/day, of a two cup water/ 1/2 rounded teaspoonful borax solution, in water (also five day/ week) which I believe is about 18 mg/day. I plan to reduce it after a while.

By the way, I have found the preservative free aloe vera juice you suggested to be very beneficial for the lichen planus! It gives almost immediate relief. It wears off but you can take it as needed. I have finally made an appointment with a Chinese medicine doctor in August for six appointments, twice/week for three weeks, which is what he requires. Have been thinking about it for years and finally decided to call. Will post any results after trying this.

Thanks for all your helpful posts and links, as usual!

Replied by Art from California on 07/03/2018

I take the 1/4 teaspoon of Borax in a quart of water per each day of the week with weekends off. I tried going down to the 1/8th teaspoon dosing, but that was not fully effective for me.

Glad to hear that the aloe was helpful for the LP! I hope you have great results with your TCM experiment!

Art

Replied by Betsy from Virginia on 09/26/2025

Hi Art -

Is it possible that because borax regulates hormones, that someone like me who is nearly 66 and 16 years post-menopausal could cause mild aching of the breasts? Additionally I have hypothyroidism that’s managed by 105 mg daily of Armour thyroid, plus a new hidradenitis suppurativa lesion on the underside of my left breast. Had the first lesion 2-1/2 years ago before I even knew about borax. I’ve been on borax since February 2025 for osteoarthritis pain, gradually increasing from 1/16th of a teaspoon up to my current amount of 1/4 teaspoon as I’m about 75 pounds overweight. I also take 1500 mg daily of niacinamide as the combination of it with borax really seem to help my pain. Thank you for your insight as always. 😊

Replied by Art from California on 09/26/2025

Hi Betsy,

Yes, the boron content in borax can cause breast pain and this is called mastalgia.

You didn't say if your arthritis pain is gone or just improved. If it is gone or very well controlled, you might consider going down to an 1/8th teaspoon to see if that will eliminate the mastalgia.

Art

Replied by Betsy from Virginia on 09/26/2025

Thank you! It’s good to know that the mastalgia can be caused by borax. Yes my pain is better though still not 100% resolved. I’ve always been slow to heal, regardless of what’s being treated. So I thought I would give the borax a full year before reconsidering using it, but in the meantime may drop back to 1/8th of a teaspoon to see what happens. Thank you for that suggestion and your knowledge.

Replied by Betsy from Virginia on 09/28/2025

Art, do you know if boron has the same side effect for some people of mastalgia, like borax does? My skin is also terribly dry and flaky on my legs and back despite drinking 90 oz of water daily. I’m wondering if I should switch to boron instead for the osteoarthritis pain to alleviate both of these side effects?

Replied by Art from California on 09/29/2025

Hi Betsy,

As I mentioned in a previous reply, it is the boron content of borax that causes mastalgia. So boron itself is the cause, but perhaps lowering the borax dose may help relieve the mastalgia.

Regarding the dry skin issue as a side effect of borax water, I have a friend who I wrote about that had a somewhat similar issue with oral borax creating a stair step pattern of dry skin on her skin. Since her arthritis pain was mainly apparent in her hands, she stopped oral borax and switched to borax lotion which I made for her to test and it completely relieved all pain in her hands in three weeks. With borax lotion she had no more stair step dry skin issues. Here is a link to her story and how to make borax lotion :

https://www.earthclinic.com/remedies/borax-lotion.html

Borax lotion (BL) works fairly quickly in the hands because they are thin, but likely not as fast in thicker joints.

Art

Replied by Betsy from Virginia on 09/30/2025

Thank you so much for the borax lotion recipe and testimonial of your friend. Definitely will be trying that and will update you in the other thread. Like your friend, I have osteoarthritis in my hip (according to doctors) but no pain there, only down my left leg. I also have a trigger finger in my right hand that’s been annoying me for 15+ years. I’d be thrilled if the borax lotion took care of both issues. Thanks again!

Betsy

Replied by Betsy from Virginia on 09/30/2025

Thank you so much for the borax lotion recipe and testimonial of your friend. Definitely will be trying that and will update you in the other thread. Like your friend, I have osteoarthritis in my hip (according to doctors) but no pain there, only down my left leg. I also have a trigger finger in my right hand that’s been annoying me for 15+ years. I’d be thrilled if the borax lotion took care of both issues. Thanks again!

Betsy

Replied by Art from California on 09/30/2025

Hi Betsy,

Regarding the trigger finger issue if the borax lotion does not remedy it, I have had two reports that melatonin lotion (ML) helped that problem, but I have no idea if either report had an actual diagnosis of "trigger finger". Here is how to make melatonin lotion and a long list of 50 health problems that people have reported benefit from ML if you are interested :

https://www.earthclinic.com/supplements/melatonin-lotion.html

Art