Last updated on August 19th, 2022 at 10:24 pm
I had an experience recently that forced me to find natural remedies for a rash. In the Fall, I tend to be more sensitive to allergies and allergens in my environment. Tree pollen makes me itchy and watery, and apparently more prone to allergic reactions.
One day my ears started itching. The next day, I woke up with my entire face broken out into a bumpy rash that extended to my neck and a few other spots. It was awful.
I wracked my brain trying to figure out the cause… did I use new laundry detergent? lotion? eat something unusual? No. I had done nothing out of the ordinary that I could think of. I was so uncomfortable, so I took a trip to the Urgent Care center nearby. The doctor took one look at me and said,
“Have you eaten any mangoes lately?“
I had. I bought 10 of them at the grocery store two days prior. My kids love mango, as do I, and we eat them all the time.
These mangos looked a little different than the usual ones, but it didn’t seem to be a big deal. I peel them and cut them up for breakfast or smoothies for the kids. I’d been doing it all summer.
Poison Ivy And Mango Both Contain Urushiol That Can Cause A Rash
It turns out, and I learned this the hard way, that the Mango tree is related to the poison oak/poison ivy family and has the same oil on the tree sap and fruit skin called urushiol.
I am allergic to urushiol from being in contact with it on poison ivy. Thanks to my childhood cat, I’ve suffered from those rashes in the past. So I must have peeled the mango, touched my face, and promptly sweated it all over myself. I went for a bike ride shortly afterward – it’s all I can think of as a reason it spread down my neck and in other sweat-prone areas. Hello, rash!
So there I was with this rash, which was incredibly ITCHY. I tried my best not to itch it since it was on my face, and I was concerned about scarring and infection. I decided to be as careful with it as possible, but I needed some relief. Here’s what saved my life.
What Are Natural Remedies For A Rash?
Here is a list of natural remedies for a rash.
- Oatmeal – Oatmeal has always been known for it’s soothing properties… when I was a kid, it was oatmeal baths that I sat in when I came down with Chicken Pox. For this particular exercise, a thick paste of oatmeal and water was made into a mask for my face. Normally it might be a beauty treatment, but this time it was a very unattractive method of relieving my allergic reaction.
- Lemon Juice – I had read online that lemon juice was a natural remedy for poison ivy rash, amongst many other things like brightening your laundry or as an emergency deodorant. So I was squeezing lemon wedges on my poison ivy-style rash to stop the itching and dry it out. This was temporarily effective!
- Earth Mama Organics Bottom Balm – I continue to find uses for this stuff as life continues. Chafing, cuts and scrapes, and now this. I had a few really irritating itchy spots on my neck and chest that, during the day, would be re-irritated from my clothes. Bottom Balm was the one thing that would relieve me. It didn’t look attractive to be smeared with Bottom Balm, but when your face is covered with a poison ivy-like rash, you simply don’t care. Bottom Balm has healing properties since it’s designed to soothe, heal and protect a baby’s rashy bottom. It seemed only logical to use it for this!
I read a ton of other natural remedies like soaking in a baking soda bath, witch hazel, and a few other weird ones that I’d probably never have the resources to create.
Have you ever experienced an allergic reaction to Mango Peels? Or Poison Ivy? What are your itchy home remedy solutions?