Coconut Oil? Etc...

[JJorn]

Lately I've heard a lot about coconut oil. Supposedly I can use it as a natural sunscreen and as a general skin soother/moisturizer. I've always had sensitive skin so I generally stay away from lots of things but have never tried just an oil.

I've had a skin rash which may be hives for about three months now and I'd like it to go away. I'm having to take two anti histamines every single day to keep it at bay (and I HATE antihistamines - I have unpleasant side effects when I take them). I now react to all sunscreens (I used to be able to use kids, zinc oxide only sunscreen for a few hours as long as I washed it off right when I got back inside). I'm stuck, though, since I can burn in as little as two minutes as well so I can't skip sunscreen. My kids are getting so bored because I am so sun sensitive right now that we have to stay inside from 10 am until 4 pm. Just getting the kids out of the car and into a store can be enough sun exposure for me to burn.

Now I realize that I need to find the cause of these hives but I saw an allergist yesterday and she said it could be something called chronic hives which is part of the autoimmune spectrum. In that case there is no known cure. So, I may have a permanent problem to deal with here.

So there is a whole lot going on with me health wise right now. I want to make my own sunscreen, I think, unless I can buy something that is just a few ingredients. I'm going back on my probiotics. I cook most of our food from scratch already. I take wonderful organic vitamins made from whole fruits and vegetables.

I'll take any comments/suggestions/thoughts/etc. What do you ladies think?

[Ourou]

My only suggestion would be long sleeved shirt, long pants and a broad brimmed hat... But I guess you've thought of that?

Good luck with it, I hope you find a good solution!

[JJorn]

It's been 100 here with high humidity - I wouldn't be able to last. I'm not a warm weather person at any level it seems.

Thanks for the well wishes!

[Bridget]

I make sunscreen with coconut oil but the recipe calls for zinc oxide. I believe coconut oil has an spf of 4-6. Shea butter also has natural spf. I'm so sorry you are struggling with this. It sounds awful.

[girlwonder]

I just heard about this the other day: http://inhumanexperiment.blogspot.co...opene-and.html

Eating lots of the right kind of vegetables and fruits might help a bit. I really feel for you - I live in TX and burn in 5 minutes and would be in real trouble if I was that reactive to sunscreen. It does cause minor skin rash, but not all the time and it goes away within a few hours of washing it off. Best of luck.

[JJorn]

I'll do my best to add in more fruits and vegetables but I already take vitamins made from fruits and vegetables every single day. I don't know that I would want to take more Vitamin A (beta carotene) than I already am, though. I don't think that anyone can get enough fruits and vegetables, though, and eating a wide variety of different ones (especially different colored ones) is the best investment in health that I think you can make.

I used to just get a minor rash that would go away after washing it off but now I get hives within about 10 minutes. I then have to wash it off and take more anti histamines to get it to go away. I'm not sure what I am reacting to in it - it does have various things to make it a lotion.