By Sandra Dee Owens
Every summer my skin was covered in ooze. My immune system’s response to the itchy blister rash caused by Southern Vermont’s most productive crop: poisoned parsnips.
Minutes after mowing, weeding or walking, the skin on my hands, arms, chest, torso and legs would get hot and itchy, foreshadowing the outbreak of weeping blisters – and itchy madness, I would suffer for the next 3 minutes . -4 weeks.
Our medicine cabinet was overflowing with topical creams, desiccants, antipruritics, antihistamines, topical steroids, gauze pads, and bandages of all shapes and sizes.
I have a lifelong allergy and have a lot of experience with my body’s response to environmental invaders, but no medical or scientific knowledge of histamines, inflammation, infections, blisters, skin rashes, poisonous plants or how our immune systems work.
And honestly, I wasn’t that interested in learning about it.
However, I was interested in finding a way to work and play outside in the summer – without all the suffering.
So I took some time to think about it.
I thought about all the products I owned that dry, numb, numb and relieve discomfort once a skin breakout occurs — and how none of them are designed to prevent a breakout.
Since avoiding contact with poisoned parsnips is nearly impossible in my area, I wondered if it was possible to live my life outdoors and prevent an outbreak?
So I shifted my focus from my skin and went deeper – to the core. I thought of the word “core”: the origin, the marrow and the marrow. I thought of the core of an apple and the off-white, hard shell for the seeds inside – the little house of an apple seed. We call earth blisters volcanoes.
I thought of my own core, that elusive center of mine, where heat is generated.
The core – where everything begins.
I thought of my beloved practice of swimming in cold water and the term “post-fall,” which refers to the permanent drop in body temperature even after you’ve left the water.
And I thought about how, after summer chores, my core temperature stayed high for a very long time after I stopped working.
One day, after a bit of hot, sweaty yard work, I sat down to rest and soon found myself absent-mindedly scratching the back of my wrist. The urge to scratch had been so subtle that by the time I realized it, I had a red-hot patch of skin with a single, raised bump in the center.
the observer
Once that little bump appeared, the itchy feeling all over the body started to increase exponentially.
It was as if the heat had radiated from my core upwards and outwards to my skin, with some scattered help from me.
And suddenly I realized that I was complicit in my own suffering.
So I decided to be a noticer and become ‘skin mindful’. I resolved to notice every itchy sensation, especially the small, subtle, first one, and vowed not to scratch.
Then I went out and mowed my lawn – in the hot sun.
Then I stepped into a cold shower to rinse the plant’s oil from my skin, concentrating the icy water on my head and torso, slowly spinning round and round in the cold jet.
I imagined my core hissing like an extinguished campfire, radiating cold to the underside of my skin.
I was surprised that for the next two weeks, whenever I got hot, I noticed the subtle itchy feeling returned. Determined to notice, I was conscious not to scratch and instead “cool” myself with a cold shower or swim in the lake when needed.
That first refrigeration experiment was six summers ago, and I haven’t had an outbreak of poison parsnip or poison ivy since. I’m thrilled (and a little shocked) at how effective this simple, drug-free approach is, and I especially love the space in my medicine cabinet.
Funology Medicine
Last spring, I (and a few million others) suffered a bout of seasonal asthma.
It was horrible.
In a quick online search, I learned that allergies, eczema, and asthma are kissing cousins.
Recalling how effective my “Core” approach was for dealing with poison parsnip (and poison ivy), I wondered if I could relieve the inflammation in my chest, throat, and lungs. What did I have to do to create the healing power of ‘cold’ for my airways?
On a sweltering spring day, my husband and I drove to our convenience store for a cold drink. To my delight, the cremeee machine was up and running for the season, so I ordered a chocolate coconut cone and went out to race the sun, licking it before melting.
Immediately I felt the fast-melting treat send a numbing cold down my throat and spread across my chest and lungs. The cold temporarily constricted the inflammation in my airways and I felt my airways relax.
Although the effects were temporary, it helped, and once again I saw the healing power of the common cold revealed in a new and delicious way.
I love Funology Medicine!
For more information about Sandra, visit: sandradeeowens.com.