Natural Remedies For Heat Rashes and Prickly Heat

by L. L. Smith

Here are a few natural remedies that help deal with a range of skin rashes that you may encounter from time to time:

Heat Rash (Prickly Heat)

Any time your body overheats you can develop heat rash. Especially in very hot, humid conditions. Make a soothing powder by browning 1/2 cup of flour in the oven, apply to the rash.

Take a watermelon rind and rub the prickly-heated area.

A vitamin C supplement taken regularly will help relieve the itch.

Shaving Rash

An irritating rash - men get it from shaving, especially on the neck and women are prone in the bikini area. Try one of the following remedies:

Puncture a vitamin E capsule, mix the contents with a little petroleum jelly. Spread the mixture on the irritated skin.

A great soothing powder for underarms or other rash areas is cornstarch.

Ringworm

Ringworm is a minor fungal infection of the skin's outer layer and related to athlete's foot, jock itch, nail infections and some types of diaper rash. It produces red, scaly patches of blisters, and can spread quickly.

If you have access to cigar ashes, try mixing blue fountain-pen ink with the ashes and put the mixture on the fungus infected area. Within days, the ringworm should completely disappear.

Apply minced or grated garlic to the area, cover with gauze and leave on overnight. Throughout the day, puncture garlic pearls and rub the oil on the areas. It should help relieve the itching and heal the rash.

Seborrhea

Babies and teenagers are most prone to this chronic skin rash, since these are the stages of life when the oil glands are most active. You usually see red patches of skin and greasy, crusty scales. If the itching is mild, these remedies may provide some relief.

Put cod-liver oil on blotchy, scaly and itchy skin. Leave it on as long as possible. Use cool water when you wash it off. You should be able to find Norwegian emulsified cod-liver oil that doesn't smell.

Rub liquid lecithin on the problem areas and leave on as long as possible, rinsing away with cool water.

Poison Ivy

There are three poison weeds - ivy, oak and sumac. At least one of those grow in just about every part of the United States. They all produce the same sort of uncomfortable reactions.

Usually if you are allergic to one, you are allergic to all of them. About 10 million Americans are affected by these plants.

Know what poison ivy looks like and avoid touching it. Also, be familiar with what jewelweed looks like - it is a natural antidote.

You can crush the leaves and stems of the jewelweed to get the flower's juice. Apply the juice on the poison ivy rash several times throughout the day.

As soon as you think you have poison ivy, let cold, running water wash the plant's urushiol oil off the affected skin. This only works if you can do it within about 3 minutes of contact.

For a poison ivy rash, use a mixture made from equal parts of white vinegar and rubbing alcohol. Dab the solution on each time the itching starts. It should dry up the rash and relieve the itching.

Crush a piece of white chalk till powdery. Mix the powder in a pint of water. Apply the mixture onto the poisoned parts. Repeat several times a day.

Fresh mud will ease the itch.

Many fresh food items can relieve itch: the inside of a banana skin, a slice or two of lemon, ice cold while-milk compresses, an oatmeal bath, mashed pieces of tofu, the water that is left after you cook a crab.

Now, to get rid of poison ivy plants - do not ever burn them, as the oils get in the air and can be inhaled. Wear gloves, uproot the plants and leave them on the ground to dry out in the sun.

You can also kill them with a solution of 3 pounds of salt in a gallon of soapy water. You may have to spray the plants many times. After you have gotten rid of the plants, take off your gloves by turning them inside out and disposing of them. And take care to make sure no oils got on any of your clothing, as it may not wash out completely.

To learn what to put on prickly heat rash, click on treating prickly heat rash You'll find dozens of articles about skin problems and skin care on this site, so make sure you check out the a-z directory section of the site as well.