Oh! It’s Hot

Summer vacations are still on for the children and elders alike to enjoy and entertain themselves. But the season with its heat & humidness brings some health hazards also. The most common amongst them is prickly heat with its rash and itchiness spoils the day. Let us know how to protect ourselves from prickly heat.

            Rashes along with severe itching are the main symptoms of prickly heat. Sweat glands get blocked with too much of perspiration and when sweat accumulates in certain parts of the body, it gives way to rashes on the skin. The main reasons for the prickly heat are exposure to the sun, eating too much spicy food, junk food, wearing skin tight dresses, artificially flavoured drinks, foods that cause acidity, too much of stress and strain, smoking, alcohol and side effects of certain medicines.

Remedy for prickly heat

■          Keep the body dry and avoid wearing dark-coloured synthetic clothes.

■          Take equal amount of neem leaves, tulsi leaves, bel leaves, harad powder and all the leaves dried and powdered, mix well and store in a bottle. Before taking bath add little water to this powder and apply to your body and then take bath. The sweat smell disappears from your body.

■          Take 90 gm of corn flour and 10 gm of methi seeds powder (it has antibacterial properties), mix well and apply on rashes.

■          Aloe vera gel which has antibacterial properties can be applied on prickly heat.

■          Add little rose water to multani mitti and apply over the rashes, wait for some time and then wash off.

■          Apply gram flour (chana) or green gram flour (moong sabut) to your body and then take bath. This removes the dead skin and keeps the body fresh.

■          Rose water, olive oil and lavender oil give a soothing effect to the body.

■          Take cold water bath at least twice daily. Neem leaves can be added to the water.

■          If it is itching, do not scratch, instead apply white sandalwood paste or aloe vera gel to have soothing effect.

■          Take 10 g of chandan, 10 g of haldi (turmeric powder), kapoor 5 g, make fine paste and apply over the affected area to get immediate relief from itching.

Preventive measures

■          Drink plenty of water and juices.

■          Eat fruits like watermelon, musk melon and vegetables like cucumber, tomatoes, bottle gourd which contain water.

■          Wear light-coloured and loose-fitting cotton clothes which let the air flow freely through surface of the skin.

■          After coming back home in the hot sun, do not drink cold water or take bath immediately but wait for some time.

Cold drinks are oftenly used to beat the heat but they don’t have cooling effects on the body. In spite of these fake cold drinks use sharbat and lassi made up of soothing herbs like pudina, saunf, rose etc. A variety of lassi you can prepare at home to protect from sunstroke and to get different benefits.

A Few preparations

1. Blend ½ cup curd and 1 cup water, add a pinch of dalchini powder, sonth (dry ginger) powder, jeera powder, 1 elaichi (cardomum) and mix all the ingredients. Drink before going out in the sun to avoid excess thirst, sunstroke, giddiness, calcium deficiency. It also increases appetite and prevents from catching cold due to heat.
2. Take about 50 g of paneer, 100 g of curd, ½ liter water, dhania (coriander seeds ) powder one pinch, 3 dates. Grind all the ingredients to make fine lassi and drink. This lassi gives you relief from acidity, burning sensation, skin problems, dehydration, and sunstroke and relieves you from excess thirst.
3. Take one cup curd, 2 elaichi, one spoon honey, 2 spoons rose water, 2 cups of water and blend all together and garnish with pudina leaves.
4. Take ½ cup paneer, 1 cup curd, two cups of water , ½ spoon roasted jeera powder, one spoon honey, ½ lemon juice and blend all these ingredients to make lassi. This lassi gives you relief from joint pains, sunstroke, thirst, depression and increases appetite.
5. Add 1 kheera, 1 tomato, few coriander leaves, ½ spoon lemon juice little pepper and pinch of salt to one cup of curd and blend all the ingredients. This prevents dehydration, acts as antioxidant, helps in free flow of urination and gives relief to constipation.
6. Orange juice with water and honey relieves of throat pain, acidity, nausea and vomiting and nourishes the body and helps in reducing weight.

 By Nibhanapudi Suguna