Green Tea and Skin Rash

While green tea contains caffeine and tannins that may cause skin rash, it also contains antioxidants that have been shown to combat allergy and inflammation.

A skin rash is a change in the colour and/or texture of the skin. It can result from many different factors, including allergic reactions, friction, exposure to heat and moisture, infections, medications and contact with chemicals or other irritants.

In some cases, a patient will come into contact with an irritant or allergen that causes the skin to react. In other cases, an underlying medical condition – such as infection, infestation with parasites or disease – causes a rash to form on the surface of the skin.

Skin rash usually involves reddened skin that may be inflamed with blisters, bumps or pimples.

They are sometimes itchy and may flake, scale, peel or weep fluid. Some may be painful or cause a stinging sensation. In severe cases, the rash may crack or bleed.

The anti-inflammatory properties of green tea has been reported in many studies. A 2000 literature review conducted by the Case Western Reserve University concluded:

Although more clinical studies are needed, supplementation of skin care products with green tea may have a profound impact on various skin disorders in the years to come.

Drinking green tea may not have enough impact on the skin, said Dr. Zigang Dong from the University of Minnesota, who conducted a study involving rat skin and UV light.

"Drinking tea may help, but you'd have to drink a large amount to accumulate in the skin, perhaps as many as 10 cups a day.”

"It's easier to concentrate it in a cream form, and it's probably more effective."

However, exercise caution if you buy a green tea cream. Further studies about green tea and skin rash are needed. Dr. Dong said creams were already available, but were unlikely to have undergone testing.

For further information about home remedies, visit my friend Biljana's website at Skin Care Recipes and Remedies.

Green tea and skin. Katiyar SK, Ahmad N, Mukhtar H.. Department of Dermatology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA. Archives for dermatological research. 2000 Aug;136(8):989-94.

Tea lotion could stop skin cancer. BBC news. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3090190.stm.

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