Kalongo Hospital in Uganda is on high alert. Medics are facing the pandemic amid an already precarious healthcare situation, in a country with only 55 intensive care beds.
Home remedies for dry, chapped hands
Cold temperatures, excessive use of water, manual labour can damage the hand’s protective layer of skin. Here are a few tips to take care of it.
Protecting your hands is an important aspect of self-care. We use them to do many works and therefore they are more likely than any other part of our body to be chapped and dry. The contact with harsh detergents and soaps, as well as the frequent use of water – for example, for washing fruit and vegetables and for cleaning the house – can damage the hand’s protective layer of skin. With the arrival of autumn and winter, then, our hands are more susceptible to weather changes (cold, humidity, wind). Let’s discover some natural remedies to take care of our hands and prevent chap and dryness.
The first tip is to use natural protective gloves for household chores, whenever possible. In any case, even if you adopt this measure, it is important to moisturise and nourish the skin, avoiding products containing alcohol, paraffin, parabens and other harmful chemicalsfor the dermis. Without spending too much money, we can rely on what nature supplied us with to nourish and protect our hands. We can use, for example, a beauty secret suitable for many treatments that is used in cosmetics since ancient times: olive oil. Pouring a few drops on your hands and massaging them carefully will help restore skin lipids and preserve its elasticity. We suggest that you do it in the evening, before going to bed, so that the hand skin absorbs the oil all night long. In order to avoid staining your sheets and other objects with oil, you can protect your hands by wearing gloves made of natural fibre.
Olive oil is high in vitamin E and A, that’s why it’s an excellent ingredient to prepare moisturising treatments. One of the easiest to prepare is this: heat in a bain-marie a spoonful of shea butter and add 3-4 drops of olive oil. If you want, you can also add the juice of half an organic lemon. Apply this mixture on your hands, massaging carefully. Let it sit for at least 10-15 minutes and then remove the exceeding mixture with a cloth made of natural fibre or washing your hands with lukewarm water and lemon.
Another ingredient you can use to prepare chapped hand treatments is argan oil, a powerful antioxidant substance rich in vitamin E, carotenoids, omega-6 and omega-9. Shea butter is another beneficial substance for the skin. You can either combine it with a good type of oil (sweet almond or jojoba oil) or with honey to regenerate your skin.
For its anti-inflammatory and vulnerary properties calendula is perfect for the purpose; if combined with aloe, it is an effective soothing remedy for delicate and sensitive skin. You can prepare a protective cream by mixing a few drops of macerated calendula oil with aloe vera gel. Mix well the ingredients and apply the mixture on your hands, massaging. The remaining cream can be stored in a sterilised glass container, to be kept in a cool, dry place. Let’s not forget that beauty is closely linked to our diet and in order to protect and nourish the skin we need to consume foods rich in vitamin E, A, C, and trace elements, including selenium and flavonoids (such as asparagus and chilli peppers). The latter are natural substances that determine the colour of many plants, as well as fruits and vegetables. They have anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic properties and they prevent the formation of free radicals. The foods rich in flavonoisds that we suggest are blueberries, beetroots, black grapes, black currants, raspberries, apricots, peppers and broccoli. We also recommend cabbage, a seasonal vegetable in winter and autumn, as it contains antioxidants as well as selenium and group C vitamins.
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