Summer Skin Irritants

Summer is our favorite time of year here at Peas HQ! We love the warm weather, seasonal produce, 4^th of July and the long days that come with these summer months.  But as they sang in the Facts of Life theme song, “you take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have, the Facts of Life.” Like the early 80s television show taught us, with the good comes the bad; with the goodness of summer comes the not so goodness of summer skin irritants.  We want you to be armed with the knowledge around the most common summer skin problems and how to stop them before they start as well as deal with them when the reaction sets in.  So take the good and be prepared for the bad with this week’s Peas Perspective.

Poison Oak/Ivy

     Precautions:

• If you are hiking through an area that is known to have poison oak/ivy do some research before hand and get familiar with what it looks like this way you can stay far, far away from it. 
• Also wear long sleeves and pants as well as closed toed shoes.
• When you arrive home wash everything! This includes all your clothes, your dog (dogs aren’t affected by poison oak but they can carry the oil on their fur which you ARE affected by) and of course yourself. The best way to thoroughly clean yourself after coming in contact with poison oak is with a cool shower and dish soap.

     Relief:

• Continue to take showers (multiple per day is best) with dish soap as this will help dry out the rash. 
• Do not use any lotions (besides calamine lotion to stop the itch).  
• Use cold compresses with a little bit of hydrogen peroxide to help with the swelling and itching. 

Mosquito bites

     Precautions:

• Similarly to poison oak, the best defense against mosquito bites is pants and long sleeves.  
• Start your day off right with a B vitamin; supposedly Mosquitoes don’t like your smell if you’ve taken your daily does of B-1. 
• It also can be helpful to put a few drops of citronella oil on your neck and wrists.

     Relief:

• Our favorite remedy for bug bits is tea tree oil.  This essential oil is full of incredible anti-inflammatory properties which helps reduce swelling and itching as well as dry out and heal the bite.

Heat Rash

 Precautions:

• Heat rash usually comes with a sudden change of temperature (aka: a vacation to a hot place) so it’s important to take the proper precautions.  
• If you are spending a lot of time in the sun, stay hydrated by drinking LOTS of  water.
• Continuously apply a hyper-allergenic (oil free) sunscreen.  Heat rash is caused when your sweat glands are clogged so it’s important to use sunscreen with a high SPF but also one that will not clog your pores. 

     Relief:

• The best thing to make your angry rash feel better is getting out of the sun and into a cool oatmeal bath. 
• Simply fill your tub with cool water and place a cup of oatmeal into muslin bag, cheesecloth or 100% cotton sock. Tie the bag closed and soak in water as you would a tea bag. It may also feel good to add a few drops of lavender oil.  You can also use the bag of oatmeal to exfoliate your skin.