CHAPPED SKIN

CHAPPED SKIN

The Best of the Balms
Scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch.
''Kevin, stop that!'' Kevin looks up at you with a frown. Telling him to stop scratching his dry, chapped little arms isn't much help. What do you expect him to do? his frown seems to ask.

Fortunately, there are several things you can do to soothe Kevin's chapped skin--and a dozen more things you can do to keep it from recurring.

First, it helps to understand that water is what keeps the outer skin layer soft. Chapped skin is a result of dehydration. It frequently runs in families and is most common during the late fall and winter months in northern states, although any child can get it anytime, no matter where he happens to be.

MEDICAL ALERT

When to See the Doctor
If your child is itchy over a wide area of his body, or if his skin is cracking, seek professional help, says Rodney S. W. Basler, M.D., assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Bacteria can invade the skin through such cracks and cause infections.

Fortunately, there are a number of things a parent can do. When some part of your child's skin is rough, red, itchy and scaly, try these expert remedies.

Treatment

Apply bath oil directly to the skin. ''Skin hydrates from the inside out, so apply a good bath oil directly onto your child's skin after bathing,'' says Rodney S. W. Basler, M.D., assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. The oil puts a barrier on the skin to keep moisture from evaporating into the ozone.

''Use a good bath oil like Alpha-Keri,' ' says Dr. Basler. ''Apply it to your child's skin while he's still damp, to lock in moisture.'' But he advises against baby oil, because that just sits on the skin rather than being dispersed into the skin. ( Bath oils have ingredients that act as dispersants to make sure oil gets into the top skin layer.)

Smear it. ''If your child drools in his sleep, the skin around his mouth may get chapped,'' says Dr. Basler. Use petroleum jelly or zinc oxide (which comes in an ointment) just in the mouth area to protect the skin from chapping. Apply it right after his bath and before bed.

Start the moisturizer habit. ''Teach your child to use a light, unscented moisturizing lotion whenever she washes her hands,'' says Dr. Basler. ''She can apply the moisturizer anywhere her skin tends to get dry,'' Keep a squirt bottle handy on the sink--right beside the soap.

Leave the desert. A room humidifier is a must, says Dr. Basler. Ask your pharmacist for advice on models, then buy the best you can afford and place it in the room where your child spends most of his home time. It will not only help relieve his dry, chapped skin, but will help prevent any recurrence as well.

Preventive Care

Play dirty. ''Teach your child to take a five-minute shower or a short bath,'' suggests Jane S. Wada, M.D., a dermatologist in private practice in Montrose, California. ''Twice a week or every other night is enough for young kids. Older children who are more active can supplement their baths and showers with sponge baths to clean the essential areas.''

Soft-soap it. ''Don't let your child wash her face with a harsh soap that strips oil from her skin,'' says Dr. Basler. ''Cleansing bars like Dove are the best. Deodorant soaps are the worst.''

Spot clean the pertinent parts. ''If your tiny baby's skin is dry, don't use soap when bathing her,'' says Dr. Wada. With a newborn's skin, all you really need to do is spot-clean the folds--particularly around the knees, neck and diaper area.

Skip the powder. Avoid following a bath with either talc or powder, says Dr. Basler. Both can dry the skin.

Rinse well. ''Be sure your kids rinse their mouths well if they're using a fluoride toothpaste,' ' says Dr. Basler. Fluoride toothpaste is a known irritant to skin. If a smear of toothpaste dries on your child's chin, or he drools during sleep, the toothpaste residue may irritate the chin and cause chapping.

Banish bubbles. Avoid bubble baths if your child tends to chap easily, says Dr. Wada. ''Bubbles irritate the skin.''

Pat-a-cake. Always pat your child dry, and teach her to do the same, suggests Dr. Wada. Rubbing with a towel can chafe the skin and set the stage for chapping.

Dress your child in soft clothes. ''Irritating clothing contributes to chapping, especially when it's made of coarse fibers like wool,'' says Dr. Basler. Be especially aware that denim has a tendency to chafe the skin, particularly when it gets wet.

Choose mild detergent. Some very strong detergent soaps--particularly those with additives--cause chapping, says Dr. Basler. After all, the word ''detergent' ' means ''to take out oil.'' Avoid using strong detergents on your child's clothing until the chapped areas have cleared up. Try Dreft or Ivory Snow instead. The detergent residues on your child's freshly laundered clothes are just as likely to take out oil as the detergent in your washer.

Toss out dryer sheets. The residue from dryer sheets impregnated with fabric softener can also cause chapped skin, says Dr. Basler. It stays on the clothes and may leach moisture out of your child's skin. Instead of using sheets, switch to a liquid softener, he suggests. Or try one that's combined with your detergent.

Go from pool to shower. Children can get chapped skin just from getting out of a swimming pool and toweling down, says Paul Rehder, M.D., a pediatric dermatologist in private practice in Oxnard, California. The towel roughs up the top layer of skin and dries it out.

Instead of toweling down when the swim session is over, either have your child take a cool shower or sprinkle cool water on his skin for two or three minutes, suggests the dermatologist. ''Then apply a moisturizer like Vaseline to trap water in the skin.''

LIVER CARE

LIVER CARE

The liver is the largest single gland in the body. It is located on the right side of the abdomen under the lower ribs and just under the diaphragm which divides the chest from the abdomen. Liver performs a number of important functions in the body. When the liver is healthy it works very smoothly. But the liver can be affected by a number of serious disorders, such as virus infections, parasites, and disturbances of the circulation, stone formation in the bile ducts, injuries due to poisonous substances, and various kinds of tumors.

Most of the foods we eat are stored in the liver, after having been digested and absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. The liver has another very important function, that of detoxifying or destroying many harmful poisons and even certain medicines that are taken into the body for other purposes. When the liver is sick these functions are impaired and soon the whole body suffers. Not only does the liver store food materials, it also produces bile, a golden-yellowish liquid that is needed for the absorption of fat from the intestine. Another important substance produced in the liver is cholesterol, part of which passes into the bile. It may even form stones in the bile ducts and gall bladder under certain conditions.

Another important component is prothrombin, which is needed for the clotting of the blood. Urea, an important component of the urine, is also produced in the liver. The production of all these substances may be changed under certain disease conditions.

Jaundice is a disease marked by a yellow discoloration in the skin or in the whites of the eye. This is due to excessive amount of bile in the blood stream. Hepatitis is an acute inflammation of the liver caused by some infectious or toxic agent. The skin may be discolored and the whites of the eyes turn yellow. Various substances and organisms may be responsible for hepatitis, including germs, viruses, and toxic agents.

Another important disease of the liver is the cirrhosis of the liver. It is mostly associated with alcoholism. Poor nutrition may be responsible for this condition also.. In some cases chronic poisoning with industrial fluids, such as carbon tetrachloride, may also play a part. In the early stages of the disease there may be frequent attacks of gas and indigestion, with occassional nausea and vomiting and with abdominal pain and weight loss.

Cancer may occur in almost any organ of the body. When it begins in the stomach or large bowel, the liver may soon be involved mainly because the blood flows toward the liver from all the digestive organs including the pancreas and gall bladder. This is known as metastatic carcinoma.

HOME REMEDIES FOR LIVER CARE

Papaya has been found beneficial in the treatment of cirrhosis of the liver, caused by alcoholism and malnutrition. Take a tablespoon of juice by grinding the seeds, mix with ten drops of fresh limejuice, and take it once or twice daily for about a month as a medicine for this disease. This is one of the important home remedies for liver care.

The herb trailing eclipta, botanically known as eclipta Alba (Bhringaraj ), has proved invaluable in cirrhosis of the liver. Take the juice of all parts of this plant in doses of one teaspoon, mixed with one teaspoon of honey, three times daily.

Picrorhiza known as picrorhiza kurroa (Katuki) is a drug of choice in ayurveda for cirrhosis of the liver among adults. Mix a tablespoon of the powder with an equal quantity of honey, take this thrice daily.

The juice of carrots, in combination with spinach juice, has been found beneficial in the treatment of cirrhosis of the liver. Mix -200 ml of Spinach juice with 300 ml of carrot juice to prepare 500 ml or half a liter of combined juices. Similarly, 300 ml of carrot juice, combined with 100 ml each of cucumber and beet juices can be used effectively. The patient must stop taking alcohol in any form. One of the best home remedies for liver care.

Vegetables such as beets, squashes, bitter gourd, eggplant, tomatoes, carrots, radishes, and papaya are especially useful in this condition.

The patient should avoid all refined, processed, and canned foods; spices and condiments; strong tea and coffee; fried foods; all preparations cooked in ghee, oil, or butter; all meats; and all chemical additives in food. The use of salt should be limited.

Application of hot and cold compresses, for two to three minutes each, on the liver area are beneficial.

Daily morning exercises, which involve stretching and deep breathing, are also effective in preventing the liver. Stretching and deep breathing kind of exercises early in the morning provide the most benefit for anyone with sluggish liver.

Soak 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of Bentonite clay in 1 cup of filtered water for 12 hours. Then add ½ to 1 tablespoon of psyllium husks or plantago seeds to the clay mixture and mix well. Drink and eat the whole cup of mixture immediately and then followed by 1 cup of warm water before bedtime. This is an effective home remedy for liver.

Drink at least 8 cups of warm water a day including 2 cups first thing in the morning. Epsom salt may help in flushing out the stones from the gall bladder. Epsom salt dilates the bile duct.

Take 2 tablespoons of GCG to crush the stone and wait for 1½ to 2 hours before taking 1 tablespoon each of Coptis and Curcuma again. The crushed stones appear to move easier and the pain is relieved. This is one of the best home remedies for liver care..

Milk thistle is found useful in patients who have developed acute liver disease from drugs, environmental toxins or ethanol or mushroom poisoning.

Another good home remedy for liver care is to take one tablespoon each of Coptis and Curcuma can usually help to push out the stones or other blockages.

A licorice root extract called glycyrrhizin has also shown good result as a possible remedy for chronic hepatitis C and liver cancer.