Most people try topical home remedies for common skin diseases in the belief that these are entirely harmless. Nothing can be far from truth. All home remedies are not safe. Many may be ineffective in getting rid of the problem and may also cause delay in receiving effective treatment otherwise. Some of these can also cause allergic reactions on the skin.
Here are a few common ingredients used in home remedies and the reactions they could cause on the skin of susceptible individuals:
- Milk Products. Milk and its products like curd and cream are applied on the skin for their cleansing, peeling and moisturizing effect (due to the lactic acid component). Used on the face, these can produce acne-like eruptions on acne prone skins. Is milk bad for acne? Recently it has also been confirmed that milk and its products, when consumed , could cause fresh acne eruptions or aggravate already existent acne.
- Garlic. Garlic juice is used as a home remedy to induce hair growth in alopecia areata. Excessive application of garlic juice can cause severe contact irritation and inflammation of the skin, sometimes severe enough to cause permanent scarring. Patchy hair loss in alopecia areata is self limiting in most cases and there is spontaneous hair growth in most cases. Hence, irritating treatments like garlic juice applications are best avoided in such cases.
- Gram Flour. Used as a cheaper soap substitute, gram flour can produce allergy on the skin due to contact irritation.If not washed off well, this can also cause clogging of the skin pores and cause bumps later on. To be on the safer side, wash only part of the body like a leg or thigh for the first week when you start using gram flour as a soap substitute. Wash well with copious amount of water afterwards.
- Oatmeal or Fine Bran. Used as moisturizing face wash or as a bath, oatmeal sometimes causes irritant contact dermatitis. The same precautions as in the case of the gram flour may be taken in this case as well.
- Raw Egg White. Used as a peel off mask and for cleansing oily skin, egg protein causes allergic contact dermatitis, even beyond the area of application.
- Juice of Lemon, Orange or Green Apple. Alpha hydroxy acid content of these fruit juices help in superficial peeling of the skin. These quite often cause sensitization of the skin to sun rays and cause severe allergic contact dermatitis. Irritant contact dermatitis is also a common occurrence among workers in cafeteria who prepare citrus fruit juices. Parsnip, celery, parsley and fig are all common photosensitizers causing such allergic reactions in the skin.
- Rose Water. Rose water has mild astringent action and with glycerin is an effective moisturizer and is used as a regular home remedy for dry skin. Rose water alone or with glycerin can cause irritant allergy on the skin. Prolonged use of glycerin or glycerin soaps can actually increase the dryness of skin rather than curing it! This is because of the absorbant nature of glycerin which absorbs moisture from the upper layers of the skin.
- Oils. Vegetable oils, almond oils, olive oil, etc are used as moisturizers on face, scalp and body. These home remedies cause acneiform (acne like) eruptions and, at times, boils on the face, body and scalp. Eucalyptus oil, which is used as a skin toner, can produce severe allergic contact dermatitis on the skin.
- Honey. Honey has moisturizing, mild bleaching and antibacterial properties. Honey causes acneiform eruptions on oily skin. More seriously, honey, if not processed properly, can be contaminated with bacteria including spores of Clostridium botulinum, which causes botulism, a serious paralyzing condition. For this reason honey should never be given to children under the age of twelve months and should be properly sterilized before using on open skin wounds.
- Turmeric Powder. Turmeric paste is used for its antibacterial and peeling effects in acne. In addition to staining clothes, turmeric is a common cause for irritant contact dermatitis.
- Kajal and Surma. Used as a highlighter for eyes and eyebrows, these can cause both irritant and allergic contact dermatitis. In addition, systemic mercury and lead poisoning has also been reported on prolonged and continuous applications of these commonly used cosmetics.
- Fullers Earth (Multani Mitti). Used as a face pack for oily skin, contact irritant dermatitis has been reported with Fullers earth.
Guidelines on Using Home Remedies
Having examined the harmful effects of some of the common home remedies, here are a few guidelines on using them:
- While using home remedies, never apply them directly on the whole face. Apply to a small area first, preferably behind the ears, and wash it off after half an hour. Check the area after 2 days. If there is no redness or irritation, you can use it on the face.
- The above test does not detect the risk of acneiform eruption. To avoid acneiform eruption, avoid rubbing oil based remedies into the skin. Applying topical home remedies should be in the direction of hair growth, not against it.
- Avoid home remedies on infants, small children and pregnant women.
- Never use home remedies on extensive areas and for prolonged duration.
- Do not apply herbal or home remedies on skin wounds or abrasions.
- If you notice any worsening of the skin rash or untoward reactions, stop the home remedy immediately and see your doctor. Delaying treatment can damage your skin.
It is evident that being natural does not guarantee safety of home remedies. Hence it is advisable to exercise caution while using home remedies on the skin, especially the face and sensitive areas. Never use home remedies on infants and small children without first consulting your physician.
Reference
- Deepak G, Kalpana S. Household Cosmetics in Textbook and Atlas of Dermatosurgery and Cosmetology. Ascad Publishers, Mumbai, India.
- New York Times. Herbal and Natural Always Don't Mean Safe.
Disclaimer
The information given in this article is for educational purpose only so that patients are aware of the options available. No diagnosis should be made or treatment undertaken without first consulting your doctor. If you do so, the author or suite101 will not be responsible for any consequences. The images provided are for illustration purpose only.
Hanish Babu - Dr.Hanish Babu, MD is a dermatologist and a feature writer on Suite101.com with more than 200 articles related to skin diseases on the ...
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