It is important, before treating your mother's skin allergy to determine what is causing it. Since it is only on her hands, my thoughts are that it is likely caused by hand soap, hand lotion, or dish soap. Try eliminating each of these for one week (one week, change hand soaps, the next week hand lotion,etc) until you can determine what is causing the allergy.
Obviously, eliminating the cause of the allergy is the first step to treating it. Some herbs that help allergies are: Thuja, Vervain, Euphorbia, Chamomile, Alfalfa, Hypericum, Kelp, Blue Flag, and Pine Bark. A mixture of these will help eliminate both the allergic reaction and the symptoms. Your mom can also put some tea tree oil on her hands to help treat any rash or sores that are there because of the allergic reaction. Another excellent treatment is using poppyseeds, lime juice, and water. Mix 1 table spoon seeds, 1 table spoon juice, and 1 table spoon water to make a past. Spread on the hands to sooth itching and burning from the allergy. Papaya seeds also stop itching immediately upon application of of mashed papaya seeds to the effected area.
answered by R P
Your mother's rash might be due to the reasons mentioned below:
- Rashes occur due to several reasons, one of the types is contact dermatitis which is caused when the skin comes in contact with certain soaps, detergents, nickel plated jewelery, cosmetics and new clothing.
- Another condition is nummular dermatitis, it is a rash that looks red and round and there might be oozing in places. The breakout could occur due to dress and skin problems. This condition is common in older individuals with dry skin or dwell in dry climatic conditions. The condition could aggravate if one bathes in very hot water. The rash mostly clears up by itself.
Here are simple tips that could help to ease the rash
- Wear cotton lined rubber gloves while washing dishes or using chemicals to protect your hands.
- After a hand wash or bath, put on a lotion that has no preservatives or scents on the damp skin
- For oozing rash apply lacto calamine
- For contact dermatitis - allergies to clothing, perfumes and cosmetics. Find the cause and get rid of it.
- For skin prone to rashes, it's advisable to wear natural fiber materials and cotton clothing.
- Take 1 tsp each of camphor and sandalwood and make a paste. Apply it on the rash.
- Apply Vitamin E to the rash
- Wash the affected area with pine tar soap.
If there is no improvement after a week of homecare, I would advice you to see a dermatologist as its difficult to diagnose a unseen condition.
answered by A W