Healing A Mysterious Skin Rash

One of my first patients was an eleven-year-old girl called Anna* who had suddenly come out with an all over body rash. It started with a couple on her arms and torso but within a couple of days the little raised red bumps were starting to cover most of her body.

It wasn’t chickenpox, nor eczema. The small raised red bumps looked like hives and because it had developed so quickly and in the Spring time, I suspected this was an allergic skin reaction.

It was a bit itchy, a little bit warm, and worrying the girl because it was now spreading onto her face.

The girl went to the doctors who prescribed a steroid cream to clear it up but as it was now over so much of her body, it didn’t seem practical to put that much cream all over on her each day.

The "Allergy Bucket"

Allergic reactions happen when the body's immune system and tolerance for everyday allergens seems to reach its limit or spill the immunity "bucket" into an allergic reaction.

Let's imagine that every person has say 100 allergy points for their immune system before it gets overloaded. You might clock up 30 allergy points for having a milkshake a few times a week because you actually have a bit of a dairy intolerance. Plus, you get another 30 points because you're pet-sitting the neighbour's cat while they are on holiday and you didn't know you have a mild cat allergy.

Your immune system is also working all day at work because you have quite a bit of mould at work in your office and that's aggravating your lungs. Your body is now at 90 points - but you're incredibly efficient immune system is dealing with all of these - and you are still healthy and reaction free.

Finally though, you step outside into the Spring sunshine and the air is filled with an ocean of teeny pollen particles from the Peppermint trees in full bloom. That’s another 40 points - and now your immune system is overloaded and your body is displaying full-on hayfever symptoms - or maybe breaking out in a skin rash.

What was upsetting Anna's allergy bucket?

Anna didn't have any food allergies that she knew of, nor pet allergies and lived in a mould-free environment. All the usual suspects for allergic reactions were promptly dismissed.

I checked in and asked her to notice if any foods were causing her to have a tingly tongue or an upset tummy. But she couldn't think of anything. Sometimes, we just don't know what's upsetting the allergy bucket and all we can do is remove the usual culprits from the environment and see if that works. And of course, boost the immune system with herbal medicine.

The Constitutional Medicine Approach: Skin Rash

When diving into her background, it became obvious that Anna was a constitutionally "hotter" body type even as a child. She rarely became sick with a cold or flu and when she did, her mother reported she would develop a very high fever overnight and then get up the next day as if nothing happened.

Anna was a very active and enthusiastic child. She's highly intelligent and always wants to be creating and doing. She hated to wear a jacket even in winter.

Anna had all the signs of a hotter body type and they can suffer with skin problems more than others. This internal excess heat can manifest into problems like digestive complaints, heartburn, stinging eyes, frequent urination, acne and skin rashes.

Prescription: Case Study of Mysterious Skin Rash

Kids sometimes need a little coaching to get the medicine in. In this case, a tincture wasn't going to cut it so we decided on a mum-and-daughter drinking herbal tea session together.

For Anna, we settled on strong Nettle tea with honey - just the single herb of Nettles.

For her diet, Anna was to avoid all processed sugar until the rash had healed.

Why Nettle?

Nettle is a wonderful herb for allergies and I use it in most allergy formulas whether it's hayfever or itchy eyes. But yes, it does excel at skin rashes. Nettles are nutritious to the body and very safe to use for all including pregnant women and the elderly.

Is it strange that a plant that causes itchy allergic type rashes actually helps them to heal them? I like to think there is something in the plant that stops it stinging itself... And it is that "anti-sting" component that might help us when we use it for allergies.

Anna was instructed to take 3 cups of strong Nettle tea per day and to put ice cold flannels onto the rashes whenever possible. (You can soak a flannel in cold water and store them in the freezer and this becomes a wonderfully cool compress for itchy skin conditions where trapped heat is the problem.) Also, her bath at night had to be cooler, lighter bedding, and no strenuous exercise.

Result?

Within 4 days of the strong Nettle tea, Anna's rash had almost disappeared. Only a few remaining on the hottest part of her body - her torso - and these soon cleared up within the week.

It was one of my first miraculous healing experiences with a single herb. We didn't use a complicated formula or even a tincture. Just the innate healing power of a single herb in a tea.

Warmly, Jess x

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*Name changed.