# Dumb mistake...lesson learned.



## Padre (Oct 7, 2011)

Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, they say.

Well I am hopefully I will survive this time but in a SHTF, alone, I would be in tough straights!!!

I am at my BOL with potential group members showing them around and my dry cracking feet were giving me some pain. So I decided to put some moisturizing cream on them. I am not one of those guys who buys moisturizer so I looked through my collection of soaps and shampoos from the (nice) hotels I stay at for business and found some lovely orange scented moisturizer...from somewhere....

Lesson learn a long time ago--don't ignore your feet!!!

Well hours after attending to my feet they and my hands (the only things that made contact with the lotion) starts itching and burning.... To the point that I was hobbling around because of pain. As the day wore on I broke out in a rash and hives. 24hrs latter still suffering.

Lessons to learn:

Don't go cheap when it comes to your feet.

Be care of what you stockpile, cheap goods are great unless they kill you.

Make sure you try stuff you plan to depend on because an allergic reaction can handicap you or worse.

Hope you learn from my mistake...in fact hope I do too!


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## Padre (Oct 7, 2011)

BTW...other than Benedryl would love to know any tips for treating contact dermatitis.


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

they must be very serious candidates if youre showing the BOL to non-group? too bad about the lotion reaction, that stinks!

I try to keep a few of the 20oz bottles of Gold Bond powder put aside. It's a lot cheaper than trying to maintain a collection of various other powder and sprays and for rash, small insect bites and sores, it seems to do pretty good. Saves some storage space too compared to trying to have a variety of other products.

One of the things I've tried with various fruits and plants is I touch the leaf or fruit, wait a couple hours if no reaction, touch it to my lips and tongue, wait a few hours. no reation, try eating a very small portion, wait a good 8 hours, if no reaction then I'll try eating it. 

For me this is actually important because I have a fruit allergy, or more accurately a specific protein that is in many types of fruits and I'd rather avoid a problem then hope an epi-pen is available and that it does more than just give me time to call medics before the reaction comes back. And you never know what fruit or extracts some fashionista is going to think makes their lotion/potion or whatever more marketable. 

Good luck!


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Padre said:


> BTW...other than Benedryl would love to know any tips for treating contact dermatitis.


Hydrocortisone cream.

Soak the affected area in warm water to pull out excess lotion from the skin. Dry then apply the cream.


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

Grimm said:


> Hydrocortisone cream.
> 
> Soak the affected area in warm water to pull out excess lotion from the skin. Dry then apply the cream.


Ditto on what Grimm said.


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## squerly (Aug 17, 2012)

Don't know if it's any good "after the fact" but it's sure good stuff before.

O'keeffe's Working Hands


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## Lake Windsong (Nov 27, 2009)

Padre said:


> BTW...other than Benedryl would love to know any tips for treating contact dermatitis.


You could try unrefined organic coconut oil, it's in the cooking oil section of many grocery stores. My favorite--A good organic baby butt balm can also clear up skin issues, try one that has calendula or plantain in the ingredients. Any organic herbal balm named 'green goodness, healing salve', or the like will most likely have good herbs with healing and soothing properties.


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

If your feet are dry & cracked, soak them in warm water for 20 minutes, pat dry, immediately cover your feet in Vaseline, then put socks on. Sleep with your feet covered in the Vaseline & socks & in the morning you'll notice a big difference. 

Hydrocortisone ointment will help with contact dermatitis, they make a prescription strength (2.5%) or OTC (1%). Oral steroids like prednisone will usually get it under control quick as well, although post SHTF I'd save them for more crucial situations. Lanaseptic works pretty good.

Really, if you just keep it clean, dry, & free of irritants like heat, friction, sun, etc. it will heal on it's own. 

I'm very careful of the soaps & lotions I store. I store basic things like Ivory soap, Cetaphil lotion, Cerave lotion, Vasaline, Lanaseptic, Caldesene powder, Boudreaux's Butt Paste, baby powder, baby oil, Cornhusker's lotion, & some personal favorites.


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## CulexPipiens (Nov 17, 2010)

Lake Windsong said:


> ...try one that has calendula or plantain in the ingredients.


I got both growing here on my property and am planning on making some salves soon. I didn't know about that combination... although I did hear of Platain and Comfrey I think it was making up one.

Got any recipes or formulas for the Calendula and/or Platain in them? (yes, I'll google for some but am always on the look out for a personally recommended test one too.)


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

Chickweed Salve

Here:
http://www.healin-hollers.com/chickweed.htm


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## lovetogrow (Jan 25, 2011)

Red Clover Salve works well and it's a beautiful tea.

http://nourishingwords.net/2010/08/18/healing-red-clover-and-lavender-skin-salve/

Healing Red Clover and Lavender Skin*Salve

"Infused oils are so easy to prepare. Just pack jars with dried plant material, in this case lavender and clover. Add oil, filling the jars to the very top and store in a warm place for a few days, preferably at a temperature over 100 degrees F. The inside of my car, for two or three hot days in a row, was the perfect place. Straining, first through a sieve, and then squeezing through cheesecloth, was quick (and smelled great)."


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

Others have already mentioned the cortisone, and you mentioned the benadryl (sp?). I would just add that a skin treatment I keep on hand is aloe vera gel with lavender essential oil added to it. I mix it up and keep it in the fridge, not because it needs to be refridgerated, but because the cool temperature is often soothing. It's good for a whole host of things, from burns (including sunburns) to stings and other irritations. Both items are good healing agents, and it's easy to store a bottle of aloe vera gel and a bottle of lavender essential oil.


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## Lake Windsong (Nov 27, 2009)

CulexPipiens said:


> I got both growing here on my property and am planning on making some salves soon. I didn't know about that combination... although I did hear of Platain and Comfrey I think it was making up one.
> 
> Got any recipes or formulas for the Calendula and/or Platain in them? (yes, I'll google for some but am always on the look out for a personally recommended test one too.)


Just checked my label on the tin I am using now: I used plantain and calendula infused oil, shea butter, beeswax. I usually use coconut oil as the carrier. I don't use essential oils, just a personal preference. The more beeswax you use, the more firm the ointment. Plantain and comfrey is a good combination.
Here's a good article about calendula with some recipes:
http://mountainroseblog.com/healing-calendula/


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## VoorTrekker (Oct 7, 2012)

For dry cracked feet and hands: Cocoa butter works for me.


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## Padre (Oct 7, 2011)

Turns out it wasn't an allergic reaction but a virus that was going around at work.

Although the lesson still holds...if you were allergic to one of your preps it could cause you a very bad day.

Thanks for all the tips.


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## labotomi (Feb 14, 2010)

It might not help the problem but lidocaine would somewhat numb any irritated skin. I have aloe gel with lidocaine that I've used for rashes as well as sunburn, bug bites, etc.


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## 101airborne (Jan 29, 2010)

Padre said:


> BTW...other than Benedryl would love to know any tips for treating contact dermatitis.


plantain! just gather a good double hand full of the young leaves, grind them up or crush them into almost a pulp. rub it onto your feet and let it kinda soak in or stay on your feet. It'll help with the itch, inflammation. and soothe both your feet and hands. If your lucky enough to have jewelweed in your area it works as well maybe a little bit better than plantain. you can make a salve out of either one.


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## musketjim (Dec 7, 2011)

I'm also a fan of gold bond cream and powders. I spend as much time as possible at BOL and always try various items, tools, meds. etc. I learn as much now there as possible. It'll help if I ever need to move there in the future.:2thumb:


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## Foreverautumn (Oct 25, 2010)

Well, whatever you do, Padre, just don't let Magus' pee ever get on your feet, or you won't have ANY feet!


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

musketjim said:


> I'm also a fan of gold bond cream and powders. I spend as much time as possible at BOL and always try various items, tools, meds. etc. I learn as much now there as possible. It'll help if I ever need to move there in the future.:2thumb:


musketjim, for what it's worth, Dollar General carries the Rexall brand medicated powder that's a knock off of the Gold Bond, and it's a better price. I don't know if you have one of those stores in your area to check out. Oftentimes it seems that the dollar stores are necessarily a good deal, but that's one of the items I definitely pick up when I'm there.


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## 101airborne (Jan 29, 2010)

musketjim said:


> I'm also a fan of gold bond cream and powders. I spend as much time as possible at BOL and always try various items, tools, meds. etc. I learn as much now there as possible. It'll help if I ever need to move there in the future.:2thumb:


 Gold bond and others are good to have and I do stock some myself. My thing is learning and trying herbal alternatives now so I know what to expect and what works if things go bad and shelf products are gone or way past use by dates.


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## CulexPipiens (Nov 17, 2010)

Speaking of feet, I'm trying this one right now on a wart on my toe:

http://www.botanical-online.com/english/celandine_for_warts.htm

Basically apply the orange "juice" from the Greater Celandine plant to a wart to get rid of it. Turns out we've got dozens of these plants on our property. Never new what they were until I saw a reference to using it for warts and googled to see what it looked like.


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## 101airborne (Jan 29, 2010)

CulexPipiens said:


> Speaking of feet, I'm trying this one right now on a wart on my toe:
> 
> http://www.botanical-online.com/english/celandine_for_warts.htm
> 
> Basically apply the orange "juice" from the Greater Celandine plant to a wart to get rid of it. Turns out we've got dozens of these plants on our property. Never new what they were until I saw a reference to using it for warts and googled to see what it looked like.


Yep should work. Sounds crazy BUT another way to get rid of them is cover it with duct tape and leave it on. Didn't believe it but had one on my thumb, tried it and after a week wart was gone.


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