There are a lot of home remedies for rashes. Rashes are often brought about by allergens and toxins that cause autoimmune responses. To minimize or remove these allergens from the body, your doctor may recommend among others a high-fiber diet to cleanse toxins via bowel movement rather than letting them out through the skin. It is also important to maintain good hydration of your body by drinking adequate amounts of water everyday as well as eating yogurt that have bacteria that can combat fungus like candida. Obviously if you are lactose intolerant, you should avoid eating or drinking any dairy products.
Preventing Rashes through Food Elimination
An elimination diet may be effective if you think there are foods that trigger your rash symptoms. you can start eliminating items like peanuts, citrus fruit, chocolate, treated meats, eggs, dairy and shellfish then one by one, reinsert them into your diet and observe any reactions you have per food. Permanently remove foods that you know for certain cause you rash. A lot of people have an allergy response to benzoates that are often contained in shrimp and fish. Some people are sensitive to aspirin and that foods such as peppermint, paprika, dill and oregano contain salicylic acid additives which means that aspirin-sensitive people should veer away from the aforementioned spices.
Lifestyle modifications may be needed to help you avoid developing skin rash. Some people may have negative skin reactions to cold, heat or sunlight and so it’s best to wear appropriate clothing to shield yourself from weather that causes you to break into rashes. Stress can be a major cause that weakens the immune system and makes people easily prone to developing rashes. To combat stress, you can do regular deep breathing techniques, meditation or yoga.
Herbal remedies are also handy in treating skin rashes. Chamomile tea is especially effective in mitigating your skin rashes and itchiness. One specific ingredient called chamazulene is released when the chamomile is mixed with hot water. The chamazulene neutralizes the free radicals that are responsible for the skin inflammation and at the same time prevents the immune system from developing leukotrienes, chemicals in the blood that cause inflammation. When chamomile essential oil is applied to the itchy rashes, the mast calls cease their production of histamines stopping the allergic reaction. Another herb called the nettle leaf when taken thrice a day can stop the production of histamines in the body when the person is exposed to an allergen.
Other home remedy options and lifestyle modifications one can utilize to combat rashes include:
- Wearing loose organic cotton clothing
- Close-fitting pajamas with flat seams
- Avoidance of too much exposure to the sun
- Bathing not in hot but in comfortably warm water
- Use of non-soap cleansers
- Unscented moisturizers
- Melon rind (flesh side) – topical use
- Ingestion of Raw sugar, coriander and cumin
- Topical application of sandalwood or turmeric in milk paste
- Humidified environment (use of a humidifier if the air is dry)
- Rinsing of clothing two times after washing
- Oral intake of Oregon grape tea
- Moisturizer containing urea
- Avoidance of baby lotion
- Wearing of clothing that shields you from sudden and rapid temperature changes
- Sarna lotion
- Calamine lotion
- Avoidance of antiperspirants
- Cold milk compress
- Sustenance of skin moisture
- Chinese herbal medicine
- Lavender oil
- Omega-3 fatty acids
- Zinc
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin C
- Beta-carotene
- Selenium
- Topical application of bitter ghee
- Ayurvedic tea
- Oral intake of triphala
- Ayurvdic therapy (panchakarma) including herbs and dietary changes
- Topical application of Neem herbalized oil
Christina Prieto is an Orlando acupuncturist, a certified Yoga instructor and the founder of Harmony Wellness center in central Florida.