My Foot's Love Affair With Aloe Vera
Just before Christmas last year, we moved to a brand new house; just before it was finished, we had visited several times to check progress. At the time I thought nothing of it, going inside and walking bare foot on fresh, but dried, cement.
After we moved in, I started to see a lot of dry skin appear on the bottom of my foot, and had a large patch peeling away. Unfortunately, a foot spa therapist, who came to treat a callous on my toe, decided she would file the bottom of my foot too. Big mistake; by the next day the foot was raw.
I was sure the problem was an allergy, but was baffled, as I had never had any skin problem on my foot before, but it only started concern me after it started hurting. From then on it deteriorated, and the skin was cracking and opening up. Every time it started to feel better, I walked, and a wound would open up somewhere on the bottom of the foot.
A friend of my wife said she thought it might be caused by cement. A bit of research confirmed that cement allergy is quite common, as there are some quite nasty chemicals in there. In fact, some call it a cement burn, an equivalent of a first degree burn. It made sense now, so the research started on cement allergy, and first degree burns.
Aloe Vera quickly came to the top of the list for possible natural treatments, and there is a plant owned by our neighbor, just a few metres from our front door. We tried the fresh gel on my foot, with the owners permission of course, and the cool gel brought immediate relief, so my wife continued to apply it to the bottom of my foot every day. Problem was, it was only a small plant, so we had to stop.
My wife remembered a previous neighbor just 100 metres away had a much larger plant, which turned out to be a Mexican variety left by a representative of a herbal company. Long thick and succulent leaves gave us a big supply for a couple of weeks,and I tried having a block of gel on the foot at night. It worked wonders, and proved to be the breakthrough in the healing process.
The great things about Aloe Vera gel are that:
1. it absorbs right through the layers of skin, where its antibacterial and other properties work away at healing the skin properly;
2. it absorbs very quickly, and that means you can apply more regularly without harm, and expediting the results;
3. it feels so cool and soothing on raw skin;
4. it can be applied directly to open wounds, it is such a powerful antibacterial gel.
5. it retains water so well, after all, it is a succulent that thrives in a desert.
We had to stop using that plant too as it was looking denuded, but the owner of our compound pointed out another native plant in a corner of the garden. I had just one small area left that needed the full night treatment again. The native Aloe Vera worked its magic, and now several days have past without any soreness or pain.
Apparently, Aloe Vera is so rich in nutrients, including antioxidants, that it is worth eating some gel every day to boost immunity, making it not just a skin repairer but also a great health food .
We are now busy gathering cuttings to build up a stock of Aloe Vera plants as a permanent first aid kit and food supplement.
After we moved in, I started to see a lot of dry skin appear on the bottom of my foot, and had a large patch peeling away. Unfortunately, a foot spa therapist, who came to treat a callous on my toe, decided she would file the bottom of my foot too. Big mistake; by the next day the foot was raw.
I was sure the problem was an allergy, but was baffled, as I had never had any skin problem on my foot before, but it only started concern me after it started hurting. From then on it deteriorated, and the skin was cracking and opening up. Every time it started to feel better, I walked, and a wound would open up somewhere on the bottom of the foot.
A friend of my wife said she thought it might be caused by cement. A bit of research confirmed that cement allergy is quite common, as there are some quite nasty chemicals in there. In fact, some call it a cement burn, an equivalent of a first degree burn. It made sense now, so the research started on cement allergy, and first degree burns.
Aloe Vera quickly came to the top of the list for possible natural treatments, and there is a plant owned by our neighbor, just a few metres from our front door. We tried the fresh gel on my foot, with the owners permission of course, and the cool gel brought immediate relief, so my wife continued to apply it to the bottom of my foot every day. Problem was, it was only a small plant, so we had to stop.
My wife remembered a previous neighbor just 100 metres away had a much larger plant, which turned out to be a Mexican variety left by a representative of a herbal company. Long thick and succulent leaves gave us a big supply for a couple of weeks,and I tried having a block of gel on the foot at night. It worked wonders, and proved to be the breakthrough in the healing process.
The great things about Aloe Vera gel are that:
1. it absorbs right through the layers of skin, where its antibacterial and other properties work away at healing the skin properly;
2. it absorbs very quickly, and that means you can apply more regularly without harm, and expediting the results;
3. it feels so cool and soothing on raw skin;
4. it can be applied directly to open wounds, it is such a powerful antibacterial gel.
5. it retains water so well, after all, it is a succulent that thrives in a desert.
We had to stop using that plant too as it was looking denuded, but the owner of our compound pointed out another native plant in a corner of the garden. I had just one small area left that needed the full night treatment again. The native Aloe Vera worked its magic, and now several days have past without any soreness or pain.
Apparently, Aloe Vera is so rich in nutrients, including antioxidants, that it is worth eating some gel every day to boost immunity, making it not just a skin repairer but also a great health food .
We are now busy gathering cuttings to build up a stock of Aloe Vera plants as a permanent first aid kit and food supplement.
posted by Roy Thomsitt at
8:24 PM
0 Comments
