Tichenor G H Dr Antiseptic

Wait, this is a Nola thing?! Really? Even into my thirties I still discovery how many things here are regional and how much the rest of the world is missing out.
Ok, this stuff is beyond potent. DILUTE IT. Now, safety concerns aside, it’s a great product. I’ve used it for years growing up. It may not taste too good and it may blister your mouth if you don’t add water, but it’s a killer mouthwash.

If you are from New Orleans you probably have used Dr. Tichenor’s Antiseptic, or you have a story or two about it. I have used it, but also have two stories that I would like to relay. Let them serve as a cautionary tale.
Story #1
When I was a young lad around the age of 15, I believed I was invincible. A buddy bet me $ 5 that I couldn’t swish and gargle with full strength Dr. Tichenor’s for 30 seconds. Never one to shy away from a dumb challenge, I accepted. At around the 15 second mark, I knew I was in trouble. My mouth was burning and I could hardly stand it. I made it the full 30 seconds, but ended up with a mouth full of blisters. The moral of the story here is to make sure you dilute this stuff if you use it as a mouthwash. It is potent.
Story #2
I have a friend who happens to work in law enforcement. This friend is a fine upstanding gentleman, and often regales me with stories from his time working the mean streets. One day he was arresting a extremely intoxicated individual well known for his harassment of the public. Due to the subject’s level of intoxication, my friend decided to handcuff the subject in front of his body. As he was completing his paperwork he looked in his rear-​view mirror and observed his prisoner drinking Dr. Tichenor’s from a giant bottle. This apparently explained the subject’s level of intoxication. I cannot even imagine what that stuff must have done to his insides after what it did to my teenage mouth. The moral of the story is that Dr. Tichenor’s will get you mind destroyingly drunk. Don’t drink it no matter what.
I hope you find these stories useful, but most importantly, I hope you’ve learned something.

Last night as I was putting some Dr. Tichenor’s on my bug bites, I thought… hmmm I wonder if there’s a Unilocal listing for the company because my family LOVES this antiseptic/​mouthwash. Growing up this was the go to item for bug bites, animal scratches, scrapes (oh the burn!), etc.
Love the history of the antiseptic; the real George Tichenor saved his own leg from amputation during the civil war with his concoction. Antiseptics were a new concept back then. The company was found in NOLA in 1905.
But OMG, if you’re going to use it as mouthwash, DILUTE or you will seriously burn your entire mouth. I’m not as big on the toothpaste although I have used it.
Full disclosure, I also own a Dr. T hat because of course I would.