This is the absolute finest, gentlest cleanser I have ever used. It works great as a face wash (I've been using it that way for almost 10 years). It takes off most makeup and is appropriate for babies. It's also cheap as sand.

If you have chapped or very dry skin, Bag Balm is the absolute gold standard. Bag Balm is great on hands and feet at night, put on natural fiber socks and gloves and wake up to new skin. Sensicare is zinc and Vaseline, so it theoretically can be used as high octane sunblock.

Honey. Yes, honey. Manuka honey is irradiated and sold as Medihoney ($$$), but raw honey is better. Honey is a miracle - a living food that never rots. I have three different friends who have cleared up mild psoriasis with honey. It's got an absolutely beautiful microbiome and

Kersasel is ideal for callouses as it is non-painful and urea based. As nurses, we were not allowed to file or cut callouses, even painful, dry cracked ones. Removing them is a long process, even at a podiatry office. This stuff works amazingly well on calloused skin anywhere on

Sunblock: you want zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, and NO OTHER active ingredients. All things being equal, zinc is preferable over titanium. They are gentle and healing, and create a physical rather than chemical barrier on the skin. These are often marketed as "organic", "kid

For seborrheic dermatitis (aka dandruff or cradle cap), use regular old school Head and Shoulders, work it into the scalp or other affected area, wrap it and let it sit for 20 minutes, then rinse thoroughly. For babies too small to tolerate this, mix 2gtt per L (for normies, two

For burns, cold water followed by aloe is outstanding. After Sun Gel -that's mostly aloe, but with lidocaine- is extremely effective pain relief and appropriate treatment for first degree burns. It's cheap, widely available, and good to have on hand.

Hydrocolloid bandages: These are tiny little wound vacs. I would describe them as water resistant rather than waterproof. They create negative pressure that sucks out pus, fluid, and infection. They work great on blisters, bug bites and stings, stubborn splinters, and pimples.

Epsom salt. An epsom salt bath, or even just a foot and hand soak, restores fluid balance to the skin acting as an internal moisturizer, and, much like zinc, is both healing and drying to exterior skin. The change in lymphatic pressure is often pain relieving.

On triple antibiotic ointment and hydrocortisone cream: These work well, but they are DRUGS. Do not use these for more than three days in a row without giving yourself a break. Too much tantibiotic ointment can upset your skin flora and cause cellulitis, and too much cortisone

On recognizing strep: A large minority of people have streptococcus colonized as part of their skin flora. Strep is halophilic, meaning that unlike most bacteria, it drives and grows in a salty environment (like human skin). Puncture wounds can become dangerous because our salty

On cosmetics: Mineral sunblock, salt in your diet, lots of water, and occlusives rather than moisturizers work well for most people. Stridex does the same thing that Lume and other super expensive "whole body", antibacterial deodorants do. Adapalene is over the counter and is

@terfnurse Ok so our grannies really knew what was up. Most of these were home remedies for many in my family. I also have a father that’s a doctor and a sister that is an esthetician, so I have been able to get well rounded info. You are a gem for those that may not have that. 🥰

@stahhr Yep! The basics are basics for a reason.

@terfnurse My late husband had excellent result for major skin (burn injury) problems, crisis, from chemo. Moderate pain for him, but difficult, discouraging. There was relief, before he died. Thank you for ALL you do in the relief of pain amidst these types of crises. Deep compassion.

@achrosen 💜

@terfnurse I had a large boil somewhere very private & painful! I read that Vicks Vaporub would get rid of it! It did… overnight 😁👍👍

@Samanth28732567 Vicks cures cancer and heals heartbreak .

@terfnurse I assumed the magic honey was horseshit as one might expect to find on the crunchy mama homesteads. My cousin has gotten mild psoriasis that keeps coming back. It's right near his hairline, so honey in hair is kind of icky, but he's ordered some. Will let you know!

@TeamPfizer It's crunchy approved, but it works!

@terfnurse What a great thread. Even though I’m too lazy to follow these instructions for the most part i still found it educational and fascinating

@BottleC83823199 The best thing you can do to ensure your own comfort, safety and independence in old age is to take care of your feet. So if you want to prioritize, there you go.

@terfnurse Any suggestions for HS?

@lady_devildog1 This is a really tough one because everything is changing all the time. I will say that it's very difficult to go wrong with chlorhexidine, iodine, and sensicare.

@terfnurse Any advice please for open wound management? I have had an open wound for 3 months now and using silver urgotal and gauze currently to promote healing, but there has been very little improvement in the last 4 weeks. Thanks

@CWilliams0611 Where is it and what was the nature of the injury?

@terfnurse A list of useful suggestions & probably best I’ve seen! Will bookmark! Suffered from undiagnosed allergies for years - turned out to be steroid & nickel allergies - best recovery/relieving stuff I found was a Manuka honey & aspirin mask & medical grade lanolin or urea.

@alishawgriff I'm also scarily allergic to nickel.

@terfnurse This is a fantastic thread! Am saving it! And wishing you a Happy New Year!

@Silkpyjamas You too! And thanks!