So many people suffer from unexplained rashes on their skin. They can be caused by your diet, heat, allergies and chemicals in lotions or left in your clothes when washing with a commerical laundry powder. Here are some natural tips for dealing with rashes:
Bath in lukewarm water.
Use natural, cold-pressed oils after washing. Apricot oil is particularly good.
Have an oatmeal bath.
Tip in a cup of oatmeal and soak in it, or put it in a cloth handkerchief, tie at the top and sponge yourself with it.
Cotton clothing is a must, avoid all synthetics or wool.
Fake nails – avoid acrylics; a study found that the chemicals cause dermatitis.
Use cold milk as a dressing – put milk into a glass with ice cubes. Let sit, then put onto a gauze pad of thin cotton and apply for 2-3 minutes. Continue the process for 10 minutes.
Use good old-fashioned calamine lotion.
Look at your diet. Traditionally, eggs, orange juice and milk have been implicated, but it would pay to have a test just to see.
Avoid quick changes in air temperature. Dress in layers of cotton and avoid going from a cold room into a hot shower, for instance.
Use white toilet paper with no patterns or added fragrance – dyes and chemicals irritate.
Emollients containing urea can relieve itching because it is a sloughing agent.
With clothing use perfume-free washing powders or make your own. Go to wendylsgreengoddess.co.nz, click on ‘Recipes’, then click ‘Cleaning’.
