Home remedies for sweating & sunburn – tips for summer
What naturopathic remedies for sunburn or excessive sweating are there?
It’s summer! The sun is shining, it’s warm. For most People, this is what makes summer the most beautiful time of the year. But the intense sunlight also has its drawbacks. One of them is excessive sweating, also known as hyperhidrosis, which makes summer a real nightmare for some People. This is not something that can be prevented, but naturopathy does provide some home remedies for sweating, which can at least alleviate the suffering of those affected in some cases.
Sunburn is equally troublesome if, for example, it occurs because the sunbathing session was too long. Here, too, complementary medicine can offer natural home remedies for sunburn, which do not contain any chemicals.
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Tips for sweating – what purpose does it serve?
Sweating serves an important purpose in the Human body, as Christian Rüger, alternative-medicine practitioner at Naturheilzentrum Bottrop (‘nabo’ for short), explains: “Sweating is extremely important, especially in summer. If sweat evaporates on the skin, it’ll cool us down. In this way, the body can regulate its temperature so as not to overheat.”
In some People, however, there is an excessively strong sweat reaction, i.e. hyperhidrosis, through which sweating can quickly become unpleasant. This type of excessive sweating is often limited to individual parts of the body such as the head or armpits. Those affected suffer, above all, from deeply-felt shame. This often arises from the fear of being negatively perceived by those around them because of very visible sweat spots or because of the smell of sweat. They then want a remedy for excessive sweating.
Home remedies for sweating: walnut leaves
Although sweating cannot be prevented under normal circumstances, a naturopathic home remedy for sweating can at least somewhat reduce the psychological stress. The treatment consists of walnut leaves, which have even been recognized as a natural remedy for sweating by the European Medicines Agency (EMA): https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/herbal-summary/walnut-leaf-summary-public_en.pdf
Rüger describes how crushed walnut leaves can be used as a home remedy for sweating: “Take two teaspoons of the leaves and pour about 250 ml of boiling water over them. You can just let them steep for about a quarter of an hour, before you sift out the leaves. After the brew has cooled down a bit, you can make an excellent compress out of it and lay it on the particularly affected skin areas for a while.”
This is how e.g. walnut leaves can be used as a remedy for sweaty hands.
Home remedies for sunburn: how does sunburn occur?
Unlike sweating, sunburn does not serve any purpose for the body. It is simply the body’s reaction to damage to the skin, as Rüger points out: “With prolonged or intense contact with the skin, UV rays from the sun can attack the genetic material there and lead to damage that is similar to burns. The result is sunburn.”
Regular sunburn, especially in childhood, is considered one of the biggest risk factors for black skin cancer and it can also accelerate skin aging. Experts therefore advise taking protective measures against too much sunlight.
What other naturopathic home remedies for sunburn are there?
Sunburn home remedies: chamomile
One particularly tried-and-tested home remedy for sunburn, which has also been recognized by the EMA, is chamomile: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/herbal/matricariae-flos
According to Rüger, the treatment is almost as simple as preparing a tea: “Take 2 teaspoons of chamomile flowers. Make sure that you get them from a naturopath or pharmacist, because only these will contain a high concentration of active ingredients. Now pour about 150 ml of boiling hot water over them and let them steep for up to 10 minutes. Now sift out the flowers and let the whole thing cool down until it is at most lukewarm. Now soak the compress in it and put it on the affected skin area for about half an hour. This home remedy for sunburn is now complete!”
It is important to note, however, that some People are allergic to chamomile. Chamomile should definitely not be used as a home remedy for sunburn in such cases.
More nabo tips for summer
Rüger and his colleague Farid Zitoun explain what other home remedies can improve every summer in their new video on the Naturheilzentrum Bottrop YouTube channel as well as in the blog post Circulation Problems in Summer.
For the two managers of the nabo institute, these are just examples of the great possibilities that naturopathy can offer within the field of complementary medicine: “Naturopathy provides many natural remedies for everyday ailments, which have even been recognized by doctors. We use this wealth of experience in our work every day”.
In order to avoid even hotter summers in the future, Naturheilzentrum Bottrop also provides information on measures to tackle climate change.
