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?Women’s Razor Burns

Posted on November 17, 2011
Filed Under First Aid | Leave a Comment

Women often get irritations of the skin after shaving their legs and under their arms; nothing is more unattractive than razor burns. Razor burns develop because shaving takes off the outer cells of the epidermis; the skin reacts with blood flow racing to the injury to start the healing process. It is the dilated blood vessels just under the surface of the skin that causes the appearance of razor burns.
Women have options to prevent razor burns. One way to stop razor burns is to stop shaving, but most women don’t want to have unsightly hair showing on their legs and underarms. Hydrocortisone cream 1% used after shaving will prevent or reduce the appearance of razor burns. It is important not to use hydrocortisone cream on a daily basis without the consent of your physician. Hydrocortisone cream should not be used more than a couple of times a week. Your skin can become accustomed to any cortisone preparation and react with redness if you don’t apply it. It is kind of like becoming dependent on a drug. The skin will crave for it if used too much, and at the same time the skin will get thinner over time when using cortisone preparations too often.
A good skin moisturizing cream is good to use after you shave. This will soothe the irritation from razor burn and prevent redness most of the time. Shaving is best done after bathing when the hairs on the skin are saturated with moisture, and the skin is extra soft. Apply a good quality shaving gel to your legs and underarms and have. You don’t need to use a lot of pressure while shaving; a sharp blade will work well with a light touch. If you use a disposable razor, don’t use it over twice because it will get dull and cause pulling and create nicks.
Many women who use soap to shave with end up with razor burns. Stop using soap and use a foaming shaving gel or shaving cream. Shaving cream and gels create a surface for the razor to glide on the skin. Shaving with shaving cream or shaving gel will decrease the likelihood that you will get razor burns. Shave your hair in a downward motion in the way that it grows; shaving downward is less irritating to the hair follicles. Shaving in the opposite direction against the way the hair grows is more likely to cause skin irritation.
Another option to prevent irritation is to switch to a cream depilatory that dissolves hair. Cream depilatories dissolve hair quite quickly and the hair follicles are not irritated nearly as much. It is important to check the progress of the hair removal with a depilatory because it dissolves hair and it dissolves some of the top cells of the epidermis. You can get just as irritated with a cream depilatory if you are sensitive to it or leave it on too long. However many women prefer this method for removing unwanted hair without suffering from razor burns.

?Leg Bruises

Posted on November 17, 2011
Filed Under Bruises | Leave a Comment

Introduction

Injuries and bruises are the most common form of pain-related events in everyday life. Apart from the pain, the most critical part of an injury is the discomfort and a sense of handicap it causes.

Such injuries and bruises are normally tolerable for a few days, by when they usually recover. However, when these bruises occur on parts of the body which influence our efficiency in daily life, it becomes all the more important to heal them properly and that too at a quicker pace. Once such body part that can be affected is the legs. An injury on the leg or leg bruises can significantly mar your efficiency in everyday life, even restricting your movement at times.

The Details

Unfortunately, it has also been observed that the leg bruises often occur more easily than bruises on other areas. Normally, the skin on the thighs is much softer and tends to get bruised easily. Interestingly, the tendency to bruise easily also seems to be hereditary and can hence make some individuals more prone to get bruised easily.

Leg bruises often occur in individuals who are physically very active and tend to move around a lot. Homemakers and mothers of small kids are the most common category in such cases. It is very common for a housewife to suffer from leg bruises as she goes around finishing the household chores. In addition, mothers who have small children have a tough time running around them and attending to their needs, often suffering from legs bruises and other injuries in this process.

Moving on, individuals who ride a lot of two-wheelers also tend to get a lot of leg bruises. It is a common occurrence for bike riders to get leg bruises of many sorts owing to the nature of the activity. Young children who skate around a lot or even ride around on their bicycles are also quite vulnerable to leg bruises.

It is important that you educate yourself properly of the various types of bruises and injuries so that you can conduct a proper treatment method for the same. For instance, if an individual is suffering form leg bruises, the steps and intensity of treatment can be slightly different from a case where there is a bruise under the eye.

In most of the case, including those of the bruises on legs, it is important o seek proper medical help if the bruise has not healed after a certain stage. In situations where the bruises continue to hurt a lot and refuse to slow down on discoloration, it is always advisable to seek help, as this could be a sign of some further complication.

?Skin Irritations and Allergic Reactions

Posted on November 17, 2011
Filed Under Allergic Reactions | Leave a Comment

Skin irritations and allergic reactions are sometimes serious, and most of the time, uncomfortable forms of allergic disorder. It is caused by a reaction in the immune system and can take different forms, with different causes. The most common skin irritations and allergic reactions today are atopic dermatitis, angioedema, allergic contact dermatitis and urticaria.

Atope dermatitis is also called eczema and is a skin irritation that affects mostly the face, elbows and knees. The most prominent symptom here is itching that can be intense sometimes. The lesions here tend to scale and flake over time while there may be oozing with bacterial or viral infections start here with scratching. To cure dermatitis, it is important to first identify the antigen. The most common triggers are emotional stress, allergens, overheating or sweating, some foods and contact with some irritants like soaps, pets, wools and other agents.

With angioedema, you find swelling in the deeper skin layers and it is sometimes connected with hives. There is no itching or redness here; while the allergy takes place in soft tissue like the mouth, genitals and eyelids.
Urticaria is hives and is red and very itchy. The swelling of the skin on the body ranges in size, and may appear anywhere on the body. Acute cases of hives are associated with viral infections, food, drugs or latex which can go away with or without medical intervention or removal of the trigger. In fact, there are some people who suffer from chronic hives practically everyday, for months and years. The trigger for these people may be various circumstances like scratching, pressure and nerves where the elimination of the trigger does not have much effect on the course of the allergy.

Skin irritations and allergic reactions such as allergic contact dermatitis are triggered when the skin comes in contact with some allergic substance. This reaction starts after a day or two where the skin becomes red, itchy and inflamed. Sometimes, there may also be blisters. The most common cause for this skin irritation is poison ivy; but other plants, cosmetics, medications and metals can also trigger a reaction. It is possible to treat allergic contact dermatitis by scrubbing the affected area with soap and water after its exposure to the allergen. Sometimes it may be necessary to take some prescribed antihistamine and cortisone medications, depending on the severity of the skin condition.

The best remedies for skin irritations and allergic reactions are witch hazel that acts as astringent that can relieve itchy skin rashes. It is also be used for treating sunburn. St. John’s Wort is effective in treating skin irritations and allergic reactions with its astringent properties. Aloe vera is another herb used for treating minor skin irritations as it produces anti inflammatory, anti bacterial and anti fungal properties. Besides this, jewel weed and wild pansy are some herbs that are effective in treating skin irritations and allergic reactions.

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