The Secrets to Skin Health
Dear Pharmacist,
Skin problems seem to run in my family. I have severe rosacea, my husband has a new scar on his face and my daughter has acne and warts! Help us; we look like the Munsters" from TV. What are some "Suzy secrets" to help clear the skin?
D.V., Tulsa, Oklahoma
Answer: Suzy secrets? That's funny. Okay then, just between you and me, this is what to do.
Rosacea: This is an inflammatory condition in the body that causes redness and pustules all around the nose and center of the face. Avoiding alcohol, direct sunlight and spicy foods will help, but stress is the biggie. Because inflammatory chemicals need to be reduced, doctors often prescribe prednisone packs or steroid creams.
Before I took steroids, I would buy probiotics, a digestive enzyme supplement and a digestive acid (like betaine hydrochloride) and take this with each meal. If you feel heartburn, stop the digestive acid supplement. I'd also take a b-complex and drink fenugreek tea daily. A day wouldn't go by without me consuming a superfood like chlorella or spirulina (sold online or at health food stores).
Acne: Kids with lots of acne breakouts may be low in zinc, or in Vitamin A. They may also have high levels of processed junk foods, trans fats and sugar! Tea tree oil sold in health food stores can be applied to the zits. Routine facials help clean and exfoliate your skin. but if you can't afford that, buy some conventional products like Clearasil, Oxy 10 Balance or Bye, Bye Blemish.
Naturopathica makes an all-natural, organic Moss Extract blemish remover, which contains Kaolin clay, calendula and other flower extracts to dry out blemishes, kill bacteria and remove redness (www.naturopathica.com).
Scars: Some people rub raw garlic cloves on their scars (or their pimples), which helps fight bacteria and reduce scars. I would take 4 mg. astaxanthin or 400 iU Vitamin E by mouth each day. Some people rub Vitamin E oil on the skin and this is fine to do as well. Drink orange juice daily and keep an aloe vera plant handy, rubbing it on your skin can work wonders.
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I'm a graduate of the University of Florida and have been a licensed pharmacist for nearly 20 years. People call me “America’s Most Trusted Pharmacist” because I've spent the last 10 years writing a syndicated column on health which reaches millions of people each week.
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Comments
Anonymous
What I have found helpful for patients with Rosacea is addressing digestive health. Many times rosacea is associated with decreased stomach acid, also known as hypochlorhydria. This can be easily remedied by taking a spoonful of apple cider vinegar in water before meals or taking a digestive supplement with hydrochloric acid (hcl) in it before meals. Other things to improve digestion are probiotics (such as acidophilus), digestive enzymes, or digestive bitters which stimulate the digestive process. The reason why stress affects this condition is because under stress digestion is reduced. The "fight or flight" nervous system becomes dominant rather than the "rest and digest" nervous system. Finding ways to better deal with stress is absolutely part of any health program for many chronic conditions including rosacea.
Dr. Iris Crawford
Licensed Naturopathic Physician
www.yournaturopathicbest.blogspo...
Anonymous
Acne cure for the poor
Wash face with peroxide 3% and baking soda paste, pat dry, and then a mask of the goey white chalk of milk of magnesia that has not been mixed by shaking. Just scrap the inside of the bottle and get the white goeuy and rub over the face lightly and dry, if you can leave it on overnight. Tinse off with water and dry. Use as often as you want, use less often if your skin gets too dry. You will see a remarkable change in a couple weeks. Almost overnight you are not as red and inflamed.
Brian Harland
I've found stress as well as eating habits to be huge contributors. http://branchesofhealth.com/acne has some more Causes for acne. Also has some simple home remedies. Bentonite clay works really well for my skin type.
tammy w
My daughter got a scar on her face. She picked off a scab on her face and the resulting scar was bright red. I gave it some time, but the redness did not fade readily. I understand scars can fade over time, especially on kids; but since it was on her face, I did not want to take any chances. That it only might work was good enough for me.
I've used the Dr. Max Powers Scar Serum regularly on her face for about a month and it is definitely faded, not so noticeable anymore.
I also have a deep scar that is 35 years old right smack on the bridge of my nose. It's not fading any more than it has. I decided to try it on that and also a recent burn scar on my arm. The scar on my arm is looking better. It's still there but smooth and fading. The one on the bridge of my nose is deep. I think it looks better but it will be many months before I think I'll truly know. I'll be back to update at that time.
For now, I think it does seem to help and really doesn't hurt new scar formation. I definitely recommend the Dr Max Powers Scar Serum if you have a scar on your face and are looking to fade it.
jamie
I used to have Rosacea back in highschool and I must tell you it was very frustrating for me. I think that's the reason I never had a boyfriend in highschool, I'll admit that. My doctor prescribed be some legal steroids back then but for full effectiveness I had to change my lifestyle. So I started paying attention to everything I eat, drink, I stayed away from the sun and wind and things got better. I hope you'll get better too.
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