Essential Oils And Rashes

A couple years after we moved to Muncie, Indiana, I developed a rash on my left shin. It started around Thanksgiving, and went away after our yearly trip to Florida in May to visit my family. 

The following year, same thing...rash started around November ended in May when visiting family in Florida. This continued for the whole time we lived in Indiana. I went to the dermatologist several times and each time was given a very expensive cream. Guess what? It did not work. 

We lived in Indiana about 5 1/2 years before we headed to Louisiana. The first year in Louisiana...NO rash. YAY!!!! Maybe I was allergic to Indiana...lol. A year later, guess what? Rash. This time on my right leg, and it was to stay for long while! I went to two separate dermatologist on several occasions, and all I got was, "Oh, it's a rash, here is some cream."  I bet I went through over TEN different types of very expensive creams, none of  which worked. 

Fast forward to our move to Kentucky. Still the rash was there and worse than EVER!!! It itched so bad and I was not getting any sleep. I heard that Melaleucha was a great oil to put on rashes, so I tried that (from Walmart), and it got worse! Finally, I broke down and headed to the dermatologist there. Got the same thing, "Here's a cream...." Oh and by the way I was told that my lower right leg had the skin of an 80 year old. That...was due to all the creams I had put on my leg. No one ever told me that steroidal creams were meant for short term because it thins the skin...thank you very much.

Finally, after making several visits to the doctor, he sent me to a specialist three hours away in Louisville. This doctor is one of only about three in the nation that does this type of extensive allergy testing; which lasts a week. My mother in law went with me, and you can read about it here. I did find out that one of many things I am allergic to is Tea Tree or Melaleucha (no wonder the rash was getting worse). The doctor in Louisiville told me to stay away from a lot of stuff including "fragrances like lavender." I had just started investigating essential oils and knew that lavender was one of the more popular, so I asked about that. He said yes stay away! I was puzzled and then asked if I was allergic to the flower lavender. He told me no, so I assumed that lavender essential oil would be fine, since it is natural and the ingredients only come from the lavender plant. 

Anyway...fast forward to now. Just before all the fall holidays, I decided to do some hardcore investigating on the oils and my rash I had had for over TEN years. Still nothing was helping and I was suffering!!!! First I tried just Roman Chamomile and coconut oil.  It was ok, but the itching was so intense and I would not stop scratching. I would wake up at night with my legs bleeding. I knew I had to do something because scratching it, well it would never heal. 

In February, I ordered some Cedarwood. I layered one drop of that, one drop of Peppermint (for the itch), and one drop Lavender (thinking this might help me sleep better). I added coconut oil and slathered it on both my legs, as the rash was now on both shins. For the first time in a long time, I actually slept, and from what I could tell, no scratching. I decided to try this both before I went to bed and again in the morning. It took several weeks, but the rash is gone! 

During this time, my carpel tunnel started acting up again, and I am needing to wear my brace on my left had at night. Guess what? I'm allergic to the brace, and I had a horrid rash start up. I took the Peppermint, Cedarwood, Lavender, coconut oil concoction and put it on my arm in the morning. The rash quickly went away. I now wear a cotton sock under my brace, and no more rash!!!

I know a lot of you might thing that these oils are like a witch doctor type thing, but they are not. They really work. This is just one of my personal stories where I have had the oils work for an ailment. I will share more later on down the road on my blog. Right now I am investigating oils and autism. My sister has two autistic little boys, and for their birthdays in August, we are thinking about sending them some. I will let you know how that goes....