Sunday, June 6, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
Tinea cruris/Jock itch/Ring worm natural remedy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hmmgb0zXvAk
I go through the products and procedure fairly quickly on Youtube, so here's the breakdown of the daily routine that worked for me:
(1) In the shower, wash the infected area last. Use soap known for its anti-fungal properties (I used both Tea Tree Oil and Coal Tar from my local health food store). Do not scrub hard, just lightly rub soap into a lather on your hands and gently wash area with bare hands. Wash hands well with same soap and rinse off bar.
(2) Dry yourself off with a fresh towel each time (you can go back to your normal towel swapping schedule after a week or so), while trying to avoid contact with infected area. I also added a few drops of tea tree and myrrh oils (as well as a touch of jasmine oil to mellow it out a little) to my laundry to make sure the fungus didn't spread.
(3) Pat infected area dry with some tissues. Then blow dry.
(4) Mix some anti fungal ointment together in your hand and apply to infected area. I found it best, especially in the beginning when itchiness was a problem, to start with a pre-made cream that has eucalyptus, as the eucalyptus "cools" and numbs the skin. A lot of these creams already have the eucalyptus as well as some anti-fungal oils in them, like the "Dream Cream" I used. For extra anti-fungal potency, you can add in any of the oils off this link, most of which your local health food store should stock. In addition to those, Oil of Oregano and Bee Propolis are all-around anti-everythings (anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, etc... even anti-viral supposedly), so I took a few drops of Bee Propolis tincture in the morning and used a Bee Propolis creme topically (mixed alternatively with Oil of Oregano and Myrrh and Cedarwood) when the Dream Cream ran out. Also, Oil of Oregano spruces up a lot a dishes! Try it with eggs sometime (just a drop or two), or any soup. Lastly, a word of caution: essential oils come in tiny bottles with tiny droppers for a reason... they are potent! Use sparingly! (and dilute with pre-made creams like I mentioned above)
(5) Get healthy! I know this is a rather nebulous statement, but appropriate nonetheless. Drink plenty of water, and focus on foods that your digestive system can process easily (delay your indulgence in a cheeseburger and poutine). I took a psyllium fiber supplement to help "get things going".
(6) Keep the area dry! This is the greatest inconvenience of all. Spread those legs and try to get airflow, somehow, someway, down there! If you can get away with having a fan blow at your crotch, more power to you. If it gets itchy during the day (as it most likely will for the first week), pat off the moisture with tissues again and apply some more ointment. You might even have to do this 3 or 4 times a day for the first few days. It sucks, yes, but it's better than the alternative.
Good luck!
I go through the products and procedure fairly quickly on Youtube, so here's the breakdown of the daily routine that worked for me:
(1) In the shower, wash the infected area last. Use soap known for its anti-fungal properties (I used both Tea Tree Oil and Coal Tar from my local health food store). Do not scrub hard, just lightly rub soap into a lather on your hands and gently wash area with bare hands. Wash hands well with same soap and rinse off bar.
(2) Dry yourself off with a fresh towel each time (you can go back to your normal towel swapping schedule after a week or so), while trying to avoid contact with infected area. I also added a few drops of tea tree and myrrh oils (as well as a touch of jasmine oil to mellow it out a little) to my laundry to make sure the fungus didn't spread.
(3) Pat infected area dry with some tissues. Then blow dry.
(4) Mix some anti fungal ointment together in your hand and apply to infected area. I found it best, especially in the beginning when itchiness was a problem, to start with a pre-made cream that has eucalyptus, as the eucalyptus "cools" and numbs the skin. A lot of these creams already have the eucalyptus as well as some anti-fungal oils in them, like the "Dream Cream" I used. For extra anti-fungal potency, you can add in any of the oils off this link, most of which your local health food store should stock. In addition to those, Oil of Oregano and Bee Propolis are all-around anti-everythings (anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, etc... even anti-viral supposedly), so I took a few drops of Bee Propolis tincture in the morning and used a Bee Propolis creme topically (mixed alternatively with Oil of Oregano and Myrrh and Cedarwood) when the Dream Cream ran out. Also, Oil of Oregano spruces up a lot a dishes! Try it with eggs sometime (just a drop or two), or any soup. Lastly, a word of caution: essential oils come in tiny bottles with tiny droppers for a reason... they are potent! Use sparingly! (and dilute with pre-made creams like I mentioned above)
(5) Get healthy! I know this is a rather nebulous statement, but appropriate nonetheless. Drink plenty of water, and focus on foods that your digestive system can process easily (delay your indulgence in a cheeseburger and poutine). I took a psyllium fiber supplement to help "get things going".
(6) Keep the area dry! This is the greatest inconvenience of all. Spread those legs and try to get airflow, somehow, someway, down there! If you can get away with having a fan blow at your crotch, more power to you. If it gets itchy during the day (as it most likely will for the first week), pat off the moisture with tissues again and apply some more ointment. You might even have to do this 3 or 4 times a day for the first few days. It sucks, yes, but it's better than the alternative.
Good luck!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Baking Soda: The best and cheapest deodorant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMcawo5BRo0
I stopped using antiperspirant years ago when it donned on me what the name meant: it stops the sweat. Well, sweating is important: it cleanses and cools. I remember at the time being disappointed at my discovery, as I had used deodorant in the past, and it didn't work too well. Well, up until recently, I still carried that disappointment. The best alternative I found prior was crystal salt, but it lost effectiveness as each crystal wore down for some reason, plus the worn crystals would start to pit, and sharp edges would form... not something you want to run all over your sensitive arm pits. So, I googled away, and found various suggestions for natural deodorants. One suggestion was for "Terra Naturals", but that just made me stink MORE (the back said "With a prebiotic ingredient to help maintain the natural balance of the skin's flora"... no wonder). Another was for "Toms of Maine", but they got bought out and quality apparently suffered, as some people's skin starting reacting badly to the new formula. Then, I found this on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcbqjEm0Eho
A bit too much backstory and buildup, but I was convinced: try baking soda. I haven't looked back... except once. At the end of one of the first days of the switch, I didn't smell all through my clothes like I did with the Terra Naturals, but if I stuck my nose to my pits, I smelled what I thought to be "BO"... it wasn't very strong, and remember thinking "Hmmm.. kinda smells like my BO.. but... not... BAD". Well, in the shower next morning I made sure I gave my pits a good cleaning, and confirmed in the shower... *sniff*... yup, all clean. Then a couple of minutes out of the shower, I sniffed again... and there was that smell again from the night prior. Frustrated (it still hadn't clicked yet), I rubbed on the baking soda and sniffed again... still there. Then the mental fog cleared, the clouds parted, and the light shone down: it wasn't "BO" I was smelling (even though it is technically "body odour"), but my own body's aroma. Then I realized what my ex-girlfriend was talking about when she said she loved how I smelled all the time(because I rarely ever used cologne, so I didn't know what she was smelling).
So, if you switch to baking soda, just make sure you don't get deceived by your first pit-whiff: it's probably the real you you're smelling unobstructed for the first time in a long time, and not the bacteria-created funk that kept getting mixed in with it.
I stopped using antiperspirant years ago when it donned on me what the name meant: it stops the sweat. Well, sweating is important: it cleanses and cools. I remember at the time being disappointed at my discovery, as I had used deodorant in the past, and it didn't work too well. Well, up until recently, I still carried that disappointment. The best alternative I found prior was crystal salt, but it lost effectiveness as each crystal wore down for some reason, plus the worn crystals would start to pit, and sharp edges would form... not something you want to run all over your sensitive arm pits. So, I googled away, and found various suggestions for natural deodorants. One suggestion was for "Terra Naturals", but that just made me stink MORE (the back said "With a prebiotic ingredient to help maintain the natural balance of the skin's flora"... no wonder). Another was for "Toms of Maine", but they got bought out and quality apparently suffered, as some people's skin starting reacting badly to the new formula. Then, I found this on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcbqjEm0Eho
A bit too much backstory and buildup, but I was convinced: try baking soda. I haven't looked back... except once. At the end of one of the first days of the switch, I didn't smell all through my clothes like I did with the Terra Naturals, but if I stuck my nose to my pits, I smelled what I thought to be "BO"... it wasn't very strong, and remember thinking "Hmmm.. kinda smells like my BO.. but... not... BAD". Well, in the shower next morning I made sure I gave my pits a good cleaning, and confirmed in the shower... *sniff*... yup, all clean. Then a couple of minutes out of the shower, I sniffed again... and there was that smell again from the night prior. Frustrated (it still hadn't clicked yet), I rubbed on the baking soda and sniffed again... still there. Then the mental fog cleared, the clouds parted, and the light shone down: it wasn't "BO" I was smelling (even though it is technically "body odour"), but my own body's aroma. Then I realized what my ex-girlfriend was talking about when she said she loved how I smelled all the time(because I rarely ever used cologne, so I didn't know what she was smelling).
So, if you switch to baking soda, just make sure you don't get deceived by your first pit-whiff: it's probably the real you you're smelling unobstructed for the first time in a long time, and not the bacteria-created funk that kept getting mixed in with it.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)