Skin Problems

Acne

This distressing and disfiguring complaint is mainly a teenager problem but can occur in older people as well. Teenage acne usually starts at puberty. There are many hormonal changes happening within the body at this time. As with most skin problems, acne treatment begins within the body. Following are some choices you can make for yourself for a healthy body and a healthy skin.

• Make sure that your bowels are regular.
• Eat lots of raw and cooked vegetables and fruit daily.
• Cut out, or certainly cut down on, eating junk foods.
• Think about taking the following daily supplements – multi vitamins/minerals, extra vitamin B6, vitamin E (d-alpha-tocopherol), vitamin C plus 15mg zinc, evening primrose capsules.
• Exercise every day as this increases circulation, which brings healing nutrients and oxygen to the skin.
• Drink six glasses of purified water daily.
• Treat your face to 10 minutes of sunlight a day, preferably early in the morning or late afternoon.
• Reduce salt intake.
• Talk to a doctor about Retin A therapy.
• Before breakfast, drink a glass of water containing the juice of one lemon, with no sweetener.
• Learn to relax. Join a stress management or meditation group; spend time peacefully alone; make sure you budget time for fun.
• Wash the face two times a day using very mild soap which contains glycerine, when rinse well with lukewarm water, and pat dry using a fresh towel each time if there are any weeping spots.
• Try to avoid using makeup. I know that this is hard but you stand a better chance of healing if you do this. Use only the Herbal Healing Day Oil and Herbal Healing Night Oil on your skin.
• Have a facial steam once or twice a week.
• Never, but never, be tempted to squeeze a pimple. The result of this type of interference will be scarring and a spread of infection.
Skin problems during adolescence can be greatly helped by the use of natural astringents.

Blackheads

When the sebaceous glands oversecrete and the excess sebum doesn’t move out of the duct, a blackhead results. This can become a problem if not properly dealt with, as the pore can become infected if the blackhead is carefully removed, but the area isn’t disinfected.

Facial scrubs are useful in the prevention of the formation of blackheads. The safest way to remove blackheads is to stem the skin, using boiling water and antiseptic oil to prevent infection. This loosens the sebum and relaxes the pores. Basic steam procedure for blackheads is as follows:

• Three-quarters fill a large bowl with boiling water.
• Place one drop tea tree essential oil and two drops geranium essential oil on the water, and cover your head with a towel, forming a tent around the bowl and your head.
• Steam for about 10 minutes, keeping your face about 12 in (30 cm) away from the bowl of water.
• Pat your skin dry.
• With absorbent cotton (cottonwool) wrapped around your nails, gently press the skin on either side of the blackhead until it pops out, or use a little tool for extracting blackheads, available from cosmetic counters and pharmacies.

Blackhead Remover

Never attempt to squeeze blackheads until the skin is soft, moist, and warm – as after one of the following treatments. Use a special tool for extracting blackheads or cover your nails with absorbent cotton (cottonwool) before squeezing.

• Steam the face using a blend of bay leaves, fennel seeds, lemon grass, and nasturtium leaves.
• Make and use a scrub using oatmeal.


Broken Veins Compress

Make a triple-strength tea of borage leaves and flowers, calendula petals, and chamomile flowers. Strain through coffee filter paper and apply daily as a cool compress.

Dermatitis

Dermatitis is inflammation and/or irritation of the skin. It is usually caused by sensitivity to a substance or substances with which the skin has come in contact. Bar workers and hairdressers often suffer from dermatitis due to daily skin contact with beer and the chemical used in hairdressing. Obviously, the condition won’t clear until the irritant is removed and in extreme circumstances this can mean giving up work. Stress is another factor that can aggravate the condition. The following eczema treatment is appropriate for dermatitis.

Eczema

This is an inflammatory condition of the skin that manifests variously as itching, skin inflammation, dry, thickened skin, and tiny blisters that burst, weep, and can become infected. It is a very difficult problem to treat – particularly if the cause isn’t found. Look for the cause among allergies, low stomach acid, stress, poor or inadequate diet, dysfunctional immune system, or build up of toxins.

Initially the aims of aromatherapy treatment are to lower stress, ease the itching, and so prevent scratching, and to promote healthy new skin tissue. Various oils should be tried until suitable ones are found.

Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a skin condition characterized by thick, scaly, pink patches of cells with overlapping, slivery scales. It usually appears on the scalp, back of the wrists, elbows, knees, and ankles. The condition is difficult to treat and patience may be needed. Stress or an underfunctioning liver may be the cause, and until the cause is found and addressed there will be no permanent cure.

Fighting Skin Infections

Scientists believe they may have discovered a new way to treat skin infections in people who suffer from the most common form of eczema. They say a skin cream that containing infection-fighting substances missing in the patients' own skin could be an effective treatment in the future.

Atopic dermatitis is a form of eczema usually associated with asthma and allergies. The condition afflicts children and adults and is thought to run in families. Like psoriasis, the disease is characterized by a defective skin barrier, which causes itchy, red, and swollen skin. About 30 percent of people with atopic dermatitis are likely to suffer from skin infections caused by bacteria and viruses.

Studies show substances in the skin called peptides play a key role in fighting infections. Now, researchers from the National Jewish Medical and Research Center and elsewhere theorized this difference could be due to a lack of peptides in the skin of those with atopic dermatitis. They studied skin samples from three groups -- 6 healthy adults, 8 atopic dermatitis patients, and 11 psoriasis patients. They analyzed the samples for the presence of infection-fighting peptides, which generally develop naturally in response to skin infections.

As suspected, the healthy volunteers showed little or no evidence of the peptides because their skin had not been afflicted with infections. The psoriasis patients showed high levels of the peptides, indicating their damaged skin was being afflicted with infections and effectively fighting them off. However, the atopic dermatitis patients had levels of peptides similar to the healthy volunteers, suggesting their skin was not capable of making the substances required to fight off infections.

Of particular significance was the fact that the level of peptides in the psoriasis skin was sufficient to fight off the Staphylococcus aureus infection, while the level in the atopic dermatitis skin was not. S. aureus is known as a chief cause of skin infections in the latter group.

According to the investigators, a cream containing these infection-fighting peptides could help clear up S. aureus and other infections in atopic dermatitis patients.

SOURCE: New England Journal of Medicine, 2002;347:1151-1160