h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Aaaw Monsy - all soft and pink like a baby's bum!

Looks like I've found myself *another* bit of work!

When I got to the point with my psoriasis entry covering good basic skincare, I realised most of that was already covered here, hence my asking. I'll try to turn this into an entry in it's own right, credit everyone who's contributed. When it's done I'll put the link up here first for all to see (it is OK to put internal links in conversations, isn't it?) I'm not fast, so no holding your breath, but I'll get there in the end.

Peregrin - out of all the other people I've spoken to with psoriasis you're the only other person who's mentioned water... exactly the same happens with me. I feel a little less weird now

from what i am understanding with the new rules and all internal links are ok it is only the external ones that are frowned on. i am glad to see someone doing something with this thread, i thought it was full of great information myself
good luck, can't wait to see the finished product
Monsy

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A526411

So what do you all think?

I'm toying with the idea of taking this entry & the other I'm writing to the uni to start a 'skin problems' project. (No smart comments about goo or alibaster please!)

As this would involve the info posted here, I wanted to be sure none of you had any problems with that before I take the plunge.

Any thoughts?

I have just read this conversation right through and am off to read your entry now, Sue. As a sufferer of chronic snow on shins and an itchy back, I can understand what you all mean.

Two points that have not been mentioned:

When showering, use just water. No soap at all. This gives you the wake-up feeling and a clean feeling, but it is not absolutely necessary to wash (i.e. use soaps or syndets) every day, as has been said. The hardness of the water is very important. Hard water is probably the worst enemy of dry skin, or any skin. Fit a filter, if you have power over your own water supply. Otherwise, take a bath instead, and run the hottest water you can get from the system, and let it cool down (would that be chemically correct?) Also, washing your hair with just water is better for it, as the dry skin is usually at its worst on the head, and killing off the natural oils here by the use of shampoo will increase dandruff.

And for psoriasis, a friend's daughter cured this by following an awful and strict diet of indigenous grain (wheat, oats, etc) No milk, no additives. The diet has to be devised for your individual needs and I am not sure whether she will have to watch what she eats for the rest of her life, but it did work at the time.

.... Have now read the entry - jolly good for general use, but perhaps you should refer psoriasis and eczema sufferers to their pharmacist or doctor. And Deodorant doesn't have a "u" in it (footnote).

Some fun things to do which I read in magazines once :
Rub your skin with a mixture of baby oil and coarse salt before bathing or showering (or swimming).
And on the beach, you can use a handful of sand to scrub loose skin off.

Bath and Body Works do a glass jar of a sort of gel with salt in it - ostensibly for the hands - with different perfumes. This is very pleasant to use. I am sure it would be great on shins, upper arms and any other particularly rough spots. You can feel it scrubbing the top layer of loose scale away and it moisturises at the same time. An assistant demonstrated it on me once, but I couldn't buy any because the glass jars were too heavy and I would have had to take it back on the plane.

And one problem that is related, that I have a great deal of worry with - nails, too, are forever breaking if you have dry skin. I know this can be helped by drinking more and taking B vitamins, but somehow I forget to do this. Still, that's my problem. Perhaps this point could be included in the entry, though.

The diet thing is a good point. On a basic level, if you have a bad diet then the first place it will have an effect is your skin. Eating properly can make a world of difference, especially in the long term.
And on the other hand, certain food products can affect your skin adversely... a kind of allergy I suppose. There are specialists who can advise you on this; but I went to see one who was a bit over the top in terms of new age stuff, which wasn't much help (in my opinion!). The diet prescribed can be very strict - no milk or yeast, for example - but can be worth a try. It might clear up a number of problems as well as skin problems.

Just want to back up Peregrin on the stress point. I was bathing in E45 for six months, keeping it at bay, and then I got rid of my source of stress (so to speak) and it cleared up in a couple of weeks.
It has to be said, when I was but a wee lad, and hence not very clean, my excema (however you spell it) was pretty bad. It improved as I got cleaner, but there is obviously a limit.
Off to read the article now.

Thanks for the extra input on this. As I mentioned I am doing a more detailed entry on psoriasis, I have put a bit in that about diets. Not that I've heard anyone that's actually had any good come out of it but thats the real pain with psoriasis - everyone reacts so differently. Although I would be very reluctant to ever use the words 'cure' & 'psoriasis' in the same sentence - at least without the inclusion of the word 'none' - been there, done that, been conned. Anyway I'm digressing.. again!

Typo fixed, I had mentioned about doctor consultation, but I've made that a bit more obvious now. I'll stick the rest & your links in tomorrow, too knackered tonight.

Thanks again.

Any more?

Well, I've taken the plunge and put this up as a project at the uni. We'll see what TPTB think. If anyone is interested the front page is at http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A528167.

Looks good. I'll be happy to assist as a sub-editor, but I haven't got involved with the uni yet; do you know what I need to do?

Thanks... as far as I'm aware the only major difference with the uni projects is they don't go through PR. A full list of instructions is on http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A339059. I'll let you know if/when TPTB accept the project.

Thanks again!

Thanx ever so much for that link. I've been mumbling about assisting with a project but had no idea how to go about it! I feel more confident now and will get on and contact my partner.

OK, let me know when you've got some stuff for me to look over... I'm also a Guru so should be able to help you with GuideML etc. if you need it.

Help with GuideMl is *very* likely to be required, although I'm getting better now - more practice - so thanks again.

Project Skin Problems is now offically in the university. Yippee!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A528167
You've all got a mention over there

The dry skin entry has also finally been updated
http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A526411
Any further comments/suggestions/critisisims would be greatly appreciated.



Sue (wondering what on earth she's got herself into here...)

As someone has suggested, working from the inside out is just as important as working from the outside in; vitamin E, which has already been mentioned, is good for the skin. So, too, is vitamin D - the most natural source of this is the action of sunlight on the skin but in the UK you may want to consider a supplement!

Other supplements that might help are Evening Primrose Oil, Starflower Oil and Fish Oils - all help to play a major part in the health of the skin (as well as hair and nails). As an added bonus, they can also boost the immune system and help to reduce menstrual symptoms in women.

Personally, I take a complex of EPO, Starflower and Fish Oils for my dry skin, along with plenty of water, a healthy diet (fresh fruits, etc) and a high strength, comprehensive formulation of all the other major nutrients.

If you want to contact me at [email protected], I can recommend some products and suppliers for you.

Wolfie

The simple cause of dry skin is SOAP then exasperated by radiators, double glazing, air conditioning, bad diets.. My brother and I have suffered from dry skin FOREVER. I just stop using soap - conditioning/phd 5.5 nonsense is just a CON. When I have a bath I wash my hair with Shampoo and Conditioner and use the shampoo/conditioner bath water and a flannel (wash cloth) to clean the rest of my body. Then I smear myself with Vaseline Intensive Care - Yellow thin bottle. I smear the stuff thick so you can still see the cream, then I read my book till it's all sunk in. That is me sorted for a couple of days. On my face I use normal patroleon Vaseline at night, in the day I shove on the Vaseline cream then wipe it off with a tissue (this also cleans my face). Sorted. (For the health conscious I wash my toilet dirty hands with soap)

E45 on my dry skin is good....and a few drops of bath oil in my bath water, stops me peeling when I dry my skin. Apply body lotion when your skin is still damp.
I also take oil of evening primrose, cod liver oil & vitamin E, but the VE is for poor circulation & the c.l.o. is for my arthritis. If these also help with my dry skin, that's great!

I turn my back on this thread for a few days & new stuff starts popping up!

Give me a few days & I'll get the guide entry updated... again!

Project Skin problems is still staggering along if anyone would like to pop over to http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A528167 and offer help or advice... please?