Allergies In Monsoon

Monsoon is here bringing joy and relief from the scorching heat of summer. But with it comes a host of allergies and infections. The most common are the stomach, respiratory and skin allergies. Most of the stomach problems are due to the food that we eat. Experts say that the power of digestion is weak during rainy season. So go for less oily and light food that can be easily digested.

People with asthma should be more careful during this season. Get rid of the dust and dampness in the house. Avoid smoke & stress. Take nutritional supplements, exercise regularly and consult your doctor regularly. Most of the skin allergies are due to the humid weather. Some people get rashes and itching due to skin allergy in rainy season. Skin becomes parched, red and dry. Sometimes it is very painful.

HERE ARE SOME REMEDIES TO GET RELIEF FROM SKIN ALLERGY

■             Boil neem leaves; add turmeric and take bath when lukewarm; it gives relief from itching. You can even add neem leaves crushed to water and take bath.

■             Add little water to the mustard oil and apply to the skin or moisten the skin and then apply mustard oil, wait for 10 minutes and take bath. Application of this oil gives relief to a great extent.

■             Kumkum is replaced by stickers with adhesive on the reverse side. This gives the effect of bindi but some people with sensitive skin have allergic reactions. On prolonged usage a grayish dot appears on the forehead. This particular cure as told by Pt.Elchuri to cure this localised skin rash is very simple. Aegele marmalos or the wood apple tree which is commonly found near the temples dedicated to Lord Shiva known as bael in Hindi. Collect the leaves of this tree dry and powder them. Store this powder. A few pinches of this powder, a pinch of turmeric powder add little water and apply this paste on the forehead. After one month of usage the patch disappears.

■             Mix a tea spoon of mint/pudina juice to lemon juice and apply on the effected part. The itching and rash disappears quickly.

■             Add 3 pinches of edible camphor to 4 table spoons of sesame oil. Apply it over the skin rash. This reduces the rash and itching.

■             Remedies According to Pt.Elchuri: Heat 100 gm of cow ghee with few peppercorns. Let the black peppercorns swell in size. Remove ghee from the stove cool filter and store. Use this ghee in your regular food. This purifies the blood, prevents skin diseases, enhances the glow of the skin and generally has a curative effect.

■             Add little old jaggery to 3 spoons of ginger juice and eat this before one hour to dinner. This is sure shot cure for all skin rashes and itching caused due to excess of accumulation of phlegm in the body.

■             Uproot the argemone plant (English name Mexican prickly poppy) wash well and extract the juice. Mix 500gm of this juice to one kg sesame oil. Heat on a low flame till all the water gets evaporated. Let it cool, filter and store in a jar. Apply this over the rash. This gives immense relief from psoriasis, eczema and other skin allergies.

■             Hyptis oil for skin diseases: Wash the plant well pat dry crush it and collect the juice. An equal amount of sesame seed oil is added to this and heated on a low flame. When all the moisture evaporates add little camphor to it when it is lukewarm and away from flame. Filter and store in a jar. When applied on the skin it cures all types of sores, itchy spots and fungal infections, dry flaky skin and many other fungal infections. This is for external application only.

■             Add one spoon of honey to one glass of lime juice and drink regularly. This is very effective in curing all kinds of allergies.

■             Garlic also gives instant relief from allergies. So include garlic in your daily diet. Two crushed flakes can be added to your vegetable while cooking.

                Apart from the above remedies always use talcum powders, soaps and lotions.

By Nibhanapudi Suguna