- Do you have rashes or itching on skin?
- Do you often suffer from red, bumpy, scaly or swollen skin?
- Your skin is flaky?
- Is this seasonal?
MAY BE YOU ARE SUFFERING FROM ALLERGIES…
What is an allergy?
Skin is the largest organ of our body and it plays a protective role and when irritation or alterations occurs on the skin then it is known as skin allergy. Irritated skin is the first sign to skin allergy. An allergy is a strong reaction by body’s immune system to something which is normally harmless such as food, plant or medicine.
Allergic reactions are commonly shows in the form of
- Eczema (Inflamed or irritated skin)
- Hives (Round rashes or weals)
- Angioedema (Rapid swelling on the skin)
- Allergic contact dermatitis (Allergen contact with the skin)
How we can identify the allergy?
The common symptoms of skin allergy are
- Rashes (Spot or redness on the skin)
- Itching
- Swelling
- Flaky skin
- Dry skin
- Rosacea ( enlarged facial blood vessels leads to flushed cheeks and nose)
- Less often carbuncle (areas filled with pus)
What are the main causes of skin allergy?
Allergy is caused due to two types of factors
- Internal factors – Developed inside the human body itself such as heredity, age and sex.
- External factors –Present outside in the environment such as environmental pollution, exposure to infectious disease, dietary changes and various allergens (substance responsible for causing allergy).
Ayurvedic perspective of allergy
Ayurveda regards allergy as a disorder caused due to imbalance of doshas (pitta, vata, kapha) specifically pitta. Imbalance of pitta dosha results in the release of specific toxins which accumulate deep into the tissue like rasa (nutrient plasma), rakta (blood), mamsa (muscles), lasika (lymphatic) and contaminate them leading to various symptoms of skin allergy. Ayurvedic treatment of allergy mainly done by pacifying the imbalanced doshas and also advises some dietary and lifestyle modification.
Herbal remedies of Skin allergy
Use of herbal plants helps in eradicating the vitiated doshas and thus helps in treating allergy (skin). Plants useful in treating symptoms of skin allergies are Aloe (aloe vera), Curcuma longa (turmeric), Matricaria chamomilla (chamomile), Avena sativa (oat), Ocimum sanctum (basil, tulsi), Santalum album (sandalwood, chandan), Curcubita pepo (pumpkin), Plumbago zeylanica (leadwort), Taraxacum officinale (dandelion), Cinnamomum camphora (camphor), Allium cepa (onion), Azadirachta indica (neem), Cynoglossum zeylanicum, Mimosa pudica, Senna auriculata, Asystasia chelonoides, Averrhoa carambola (kamrakh), Luffa cylindrical and many more.
Home remedies for allergies
- Take Triphala
- Avoid the allergen (raw fruits, vegetables, cows’ milk, egg and peanut)
- Avoid excessive intake of spicy food, pickles, chillies and fried foods
- Avoid excessive or physically demanding exercises
- Drinking lots of water helps in flushing toxins from the body
- Drinking carrot juice alone or in combination with cucumber or beet root
- Follow a Dosha-Pacifying Diet
- Cleanse or lubricate the nasal passage
- Meditate a few minutes to relieve stress
- Practice Pranayama and yoga
- Sun salutations
- Moon Salutations
