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| slices of cucumber or tomato, fresh lemon juice, green tea, or fresh plantain leaves. Tea tree oil, sage or lemon balm ointments are also useful standbys to keep in the first aid kit. If bites become infected or weeping, use marigold, tea tree, echinacea, or St. John's wort cream or oils. |
| Aloe vera plants also contain a cooling sap that will reduce irritation. If you have a plant, simply split open a leaf and apply it directly to the affected area. The sap remains liquid for several hours, so keep the leaf by you and simply reapply as the irritation develops. Keeping insects away is also important; see p. 93 for some suggestions. |
| Itchiness and Skin Rashes |
| Itching skin has many causesfrom contact with an obvious allergen like stinging nettles which produces the irritant weals of nettle rash (urticaria or hives) to nervous problems, certain liver disorders and drug allergies. As always, identifying the cause is important, and persistent itching for no apparent reason should be referred to a health care professional. |
| In most cases allergic rashes from eating certain foods such as shellfish or strawberries or contact with irritants will fade within a few hours, but in severe cases there may be swelling of the hands, face, arms, eyelids, or throat with painful joints or breathing problems which can require emergency treatment. |
| Itching can be soothed with a lotion made by combining marigold or chamomile infusion (2 teaspoons of petals or flowers to a cup of water) with an equal amount of distilled witch hazel and applying this with a cotton swab to the affected area. Alternatively, add 2 drops of lavender or peppermint oil to a teaspoon of marigold or chickweed cream, mix well and use that instead. Borage juice (Borago officinalis) is also very effective in easing itching rashes or you can use aloe vera gel (as for insect bites). Fresh chickweed or plantain leaves pulped in a food processor can also be used as a lotion. |
| One of the most common causes of skin rashes is salicylate |
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