Aloe and burns

Aloe and burns ... aloe has traditionally had a strong reputation for helping in this situation. One of its common names is "the burn plant" ... another is "first aid plant".

I’ve used Aloe juice direct on sunburn – its soothing effects are wonderful!

In the kitchen ...

We now keep a tube of aloe-based lip salve handy in the kitchen to use on burns and scalds. I had an accident the other day: puring water onto a pan I'd mistakenly left on the hob.

The water immediately exploded in to steam and my fingers were badly scalded. I lost the skin after a few days, but the aloe controlled the pain (after the initial shock of applying the aloe) and overall the damage was minimal.

Aloe and burns: out on the trail ...

A very fair-skinned friend broke open the wrong plant when we were in Mexico recently. She had been affected by the sun ... and knew about the reputation for Aloe and burns.

... but ... our botany wasn't up to the job of correctly identifying the plant!

And our Mexican friend wasn’t quite quick enough to stop her applying the wrong gel.

This plant had an irritating sap – and made the sun burn worse. In fact her skin became blistered very quickly from the effects of this plant. This took only minutes.

We washed the sap off. Our friend quickly found the real thing, broke open a leaf and applied the gel. This quickly soothed the effects of sunburn plus the damage caused by the irritating sap. It did that within half an hour or so.

Pity we didn't have that aloe lip salve with us!! It's now part of my camping first aid kit, too!

As an "after sun" preparation ...

I now routinely take a tube of an aloe based preparation with me on holiday. It isn’t even described as an “after sun” preparation on the tube … but it really works!

Aloe and burns: sun burn and sun screens

The increased incidence of skin cancer is due in part to the damage sun does to the DNA of skin cells. This can lead to cancerous changes in skin cells (which most people will be aware of).

High SPF values are important. They protect against burning of the skin and damage to the DNA of skin cells.

However, by themselves, they do not address another effect of too much sun – the lowering of the immune response.

Cancer is more likely when the DNA of cells is damaged AND the immune system is weakened. That’s because it’s the immune system’s job to keep a look out for dangerous changes in cells and - when it finds them – to destroy them.

Part of the role of modern sunscreens should be to provide a local boost to the skin’s immune system as well as protecting the skin from damage.

Animal and human studies have shown that a group of complex carbohydrates (called oligosaccharines) found in plants provide this important line of defence.

So - the Aloe and burns story has another twist: delivering a local boost to the immunity - right where it's needed.

Aloe is a good source of these compounds. So ensure your sun screen contains it – or another source of these important local boosters of the skin's protection system.

Do make sure that the quantity of the active ingredient you seek is high. Buy from a reputable manufacturer. It does seem that - in the world of Aloe vera - a big splash on the label is not necessarily being matched by a big splash in the bottle!

Xyloglucan (from tamarind) has been described as particularly important in this respect. Something to look out for on the label from now on! (More on that when I find it.)

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