Methods, products to help control poison ivy rash
Q: I have been using Tecnu for years to control poison ivy. It removes the poison ivy oil completely when it’s used after contact with the plant. It also helps dry up the rash if I wasn’t able to wash with it soon enough after contact, though I don’t know why.
Some people use Zanfel for their poison ivy rash, but I have found that it is pricey.
A: Zanfel Poison Ivy Wash and Tecnu Outdoor Skin Cleanser help remove the urushiol oil from exposure to poison ivy, oak or sumac.
If used promptly after contact, these washes can prevent the itchy rash that normally results.
A barrier cream such as IvyX can be applied before going outside. It should help protect the skin from urushiol and make it easier to wash off.
Q: My husband and I will be spending two weeks in Italy soon. Most of the driving in the area around Naples to Rome to Florence will be by tour bus. I get motion sickness easily.
What can I take for this that won’t make me drowsy? I read about a product called QueaseEASE. I believe it is an aromatic inhaler. What can you tell me about it?
A: QueaseEASE contains four essential oils with distinctive fragrances: peppermint, ginger, spearmint and lavender. A study published in the journal Anesthesia and Analgesia (September 2013) reported that aromatherapy including spearmint, peppermint, ginger and cardamom was superior to placebo at relieving postoperative nausea.
Other studies have shown that sniffing isopropyl alcohol from a gauze pad can alleviate nausea within 10 minutes (Annals of Emergency Medicine, July 2016).
Another option is taking ginger by mouth, either as an extract, in capsules or as crystalized ginger candy. Some research shows that this can have an anti-nausea effect (European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences, April 2015).
Q: More than 20 years ago I had chronic smelly feet. I soaked my offending extremities in an inch of common white vinegar. The odor went away and has not returned.
A: Your results are better than average. Most people report that it takes several weeks of soaking for 15 to 30 minutes a day before foot odor goes away.
Bacteria and fungi that can cause foot odor thrive in warm, dark, moist environments. Vinegar changes the pH of the skin and makes it less hospitable to these microbes. Q: Years ago, my eldest child had head lice. I went the chemical route and spent a fortune on nasty, stinky chemicals that eventually worked. Years later, when my youngest contracted the nasty critters, I had learned a quicker, cheaper and far healthier alternative, which was totally successful.
I coated the hair very liberally with olive oil, massaging it through and through.
Then I put a tight shower cap on the kid and put a towel on the pillow before she went to bed. In the morning, all the creepies had suffocated and the hair was very nicely conditioned!
A: Lice can be smothered with mineral oil, petroleum jelly or Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser (PLOS One, June 10, 2016). Olive oil has not been shown to be as effective, though one study reported that an olive-oil based soap was roughly 76 percent effective in killing lice (Semergen, March 2017). The suffocation methods require retreatment, since they don’t always kill lice eggs (nits).