For centuries, the luminous yellow petalled Calendula flower has been treasured for it's ability to heal irritated skin in babies. Babies have delicate skin, and are prone to inflammatory and aggravated skin conditions such as nappy rash, atopic dermatitis, cradle cap and minor cuts and grazes. For this reason, gentle Calendula has been the herb of choice throughout Europe for hundreds of years.The flowering heads of the blooming plants are used to create extracts for lotions, elixirs, tinctures, oils, creams and many other body products. This herb is so safe that it can be used internally, externally and as a homeopathic wound healer.
The chemical composition of Calendula is what makes it such a powerful healer. The plant contains triterpene saponins and mucilage, both of which exert a softening and healing effect on external skin surfaces and also on internal mucous membranes. Calendula also contains carotenoids which speed up the healing rate of skin, and flavonoids which reduce cellular aging and maximize the integrity of cell walls. Where-ever there is skin irritation and redness, an anti-inflammatory action is needed to help the skin recover. Here the triterpene alcohols in calendula exert their powerful inflammation reducing effects. They contribute to the plants overall ability to heal wounds such as burns, cuts and grazes as effectively or more effectively than conventional steroidal applications.
Calendula & Nappy Rash
Calendula improves skin tone, strength, hydration, regenerative power and also fights infections from surrounding bacteria. If your nappy change cream or rash relief cream also contain zinc oxide this will further help by protecting the skin against dampness and wet spots, which encourage fungal infections.
Calendula & Cradle Cap
A little calendula oil softly massaged into the areas of your baby's scalp affected by cradle cap, will loosen up the scabs so that they can fall out sooner. Underlying skin is softened and heal in the meantime. Picking or scratching at the scabs exposes the raw underlying skin to infection, and only compounds the problem! The beauty of calendula oil is that it prevents the need to do this.
Calendula & Sore Nipples
Cracked or sore nipples makes for a difficult and painful breastfeeding experience, so you want the most gentle and nourishing medicines and calendula is just that. Applying a nipple care cream that contains calendula to your dry nipples in between feeds is a good preventive measure. Always use a nipple care cream that does not have to be removed prior to breastfeeding as constant manual removal can damage the nipple.
Calendula & Thrush
Calendula is a strong anti-fungal and one of the most powerful natural medicines for thrush and athletes foot. Adding calendula oil to your babys bath will fight external fungal infections as well as deeply cleanse.
It is important to note that babies with severe atopic eczema will be unable to tolerate most baby products including those that use calendula products, nut products and even prescribed corticosteroids. In this extreme circumstance, special care needs to be taken to reduce the incidence of aggravation.
A word of advice
Always buy organic and biodynamic calendula products. Research shows that it is the organic calendula extracts and not the non-organic products that possess the powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-viral activities. Also for pregnant mothers, it is not recommended to drink calendula tea as it stimulates menstruation.
For help and information relating to calendula officinalis uses visit Newborn Baby. Helping thousands of Australia Parents every month with baby nutrition and other baby related topics.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lynn_Shannon_M_Bailey
No comments:
Post a Comment