HERB - what I wish I'd had

[Katherine Blackthorne]

Gaylin J. Walli wrote:

> Katherine kindly responded to my statement
>
> >>Baking soda or oatmeal. I wish I'd brought these for the people
> >with unidentified rashes this year.
>
> when she wrote:
>
> >May I suggest corn starch?  Less abrasive than baking soda in a boot
> >or on a neck, but very soothing.
>
> Actually, I wasn't aiming so much for the soothing quality
> but the drawing quality of the baking soda and the cooling
> quality of both that and the oatmeal. It's my understanding
> that the cornstarch doesn't have the same properties to
> draw away poison and heat as do baking soda and oatmeal.
> Can you help update me on this? I may just be unaware of
> the cornstarch qualities.
>
> Jasmine
>
> Iasmin de Cordoba
> iasmin at home.com or gwalli at ptc.com

I did not mean to imply cornstarch as a replacement for oatmeal -- I was more
concerned w/the baking soda.

Baking soda is "drawing", but it is also abrasive.  To take the example of the
alergic reaction to the boots, this means you may put it on to "draw" the
poisons out of the rash, but must wash it off before puting on a shoe -- or it
will cause worse irritation.  My mental picture was of using the corn starch
before donning the shoe.

I was taught to use cornstarch as a substitute for talcum when in grammar
school my legs would chafe under my skirts.  I have continued this habit into
adulthood.  In the past several years, I have dealt with a fair number of
"rashes" (usually a variant of heat rash, but at least one case of my old
childhood allergic rash as well) on portions of my anatomy that are usually
covered -- and sometimes rubbed -- by clothing.  Having clothing over the rash
was usually irritating and made it worse.  I found that liberal use of
corstarch not only acted as a dry lubricant -- keeping the clothing from
irritating -- but by itself was often enough to heal the rash if left alone &
uncovered for a couple hours.  Perhaps this is due to the wonderful "drying"
properties of cornstarch?  I don't know.  This is based on experience, not
research, yet unless one is alergic to corn, I cannot see how using it would be
harmful ("first rule: harm none"), and can certainly make life more
*comfortable* when it is not convienient to "wear" a poultice!

--Katherine


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