Mustard and yogurt for curing sunburn naturally



Sunburn is caused by an overexposure to the hazardous ultraviolet rays of the sun. Generally sunburn is accompanied by red and peeling skin, in more severe cases nausea and fever is not uncommon. Mustard seeds contain Allylisothiocynate Oil that is released when the seeds are powdered along with water. Allylisothiocynate counters irritation and helps to draw blood to the surface of the skin. Although this may make your skin flush even more, it is only temporary. Mustard helps in the dilation of the capillaries resulting in an increased circulation. When applying mustard to sunburned skin, make sure that you use powdered seeds along with a little warm water. The Father of modern medicine, Hippocrates himself advocated using mustard as a poultice to counter skin irritation. Never ever use mustard oil as it is an extremely powerful irritant and will aggravate your condition. In addition to this it is a rubefacient (makes the skin red) and produces almost instant blisters.

Yogurt contains natural enzymes and acids that will help to nourish and soothe your sunburned skin. Yogurt also contains an alpha-hydroxy acid called lactic acid. Lactic acid stabilises the PH of the skin and thus reduces irritation caused by either sunburn or rashes. Yogurt is also considered to be cooling and will therefore reduce the inflammation. Yogurt does not really react to other food based products and so it can be used along with other oils or raw fruits and vegetables to form a poultice. It is often used along with Aloe Vera gel as the mixture is supposed to be both soothing as well as anti-inflammatory.

In case you experience any feelings of nausea or dizziness, increase your fluid intake. These are extremely common symptoms of sunburn and are associated with dehydration. If your symptoms do not seem to be clearing, contact your doctor.

answered by M W


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