Let's continue my story from the last entry.
I always like to go with the things I have in the house before I go outside to look for cure, this is called improvisation, something I learnt from Dual Survival.
So the first one I tried was the toothpaste, which contains mite-killing Limonene and antifungal-bacterial Triclosan. It was definitely an excellent itch cure, as the itch subsided almost completely in about 5 minutes, but the number of mini-blisters did not reduce. As it is not going to solve the problem, toothpaste is out.
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| Image from 21food.com |
By then, the first day of clinical trial was over, and as the number of wounds were actually increasing, I planned to search for real medicine the next day.
I skipped steps to number 5 Permethrin, and so I went to search for it, but pharmacy after pharmacy, none sells this med. Another failed attempt without even testing.
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| Image from greencouncil.org |
Another way to get Permethrin, I suspected, is from Biokill Mite Spray, but I would need to go and find a supermarket which sells it, which is not easy, need to go Apita in Tai Koo, so this one had to be postponed again, another day ended, no clinical trial.
Which leaves...
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| Image from alibaba.com |
Number 3, fungicide-cum-pesticide Sulphur Soap. I went online and searched for a shop that sells it. I remember that I used one before which is from Australia and it was really good, so this would be the second soap, but where can I get this soap? Lucky enough, through surfing over 30 websites, I found a China brand sulfur soap, but only one place in Hong Kong will sell it, Tung Tai Supermarket in Sai Ying Pun.
That Saturday, before dinner with my students in Sheung Wan, I took a photo of the Google Map with my lousy phone, the picture couldn't even show a single word of the map but I was stupid enough to think it is enough, and I didn't charge my phone battery, so after walking 30 mins, I still couldn't find the place and I was about to give up. With just one minute of battery left on my phone, I took note of the circular flyover by the harbour, and walked the reverse direction for my final try before giving up, and to my luck, I found the supermarket hiding at the end of the uphill road.
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| Image from AppleDaily |
That Saturday, before dinner with my students in Sheung Wan, I took a photo of the Google Map with my lousy phone, the picture couldn't even show a single word of the map but I was stupid enough to think it is enough, and I didn't charge my phone battery, so after walking 30 mins, I still couldn't find the place and I was about to give up. With just one minute of battery left on my phone, I took note of the circular flyover by the harbour, and walked the reverse direction for my final try before giving up, and to my luck, I found the supermarket hiding at the end of the uphill road.
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| 4 Sulfur and 1 Aloe vera soap = $20 |
$4 a bar of soap, super deal!!!! I bought 4 sulfur for extra precaution and 1 aloe vera for fun, then I use the sulfur soap to wash both arms whenever I remember for the following week. The result? You can see my forearm from the photos below.
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| Before treatment |
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| After treatment |
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| Most wounds have dried up |
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| Scars remain |
Thanks to Amy who has reminded me on Facebook that it could well be contact eczema or stress related eczema and not scabies. In this case, sulfur soap still proves to be a good cure for many skin problems and traditional Chinese and Japanese wisdom proves practical this time round.
Since sulphur is a great anti-fungal element, I suspect that it can do more than just curing scabies. Maybe it will work on other fungal related rashes and skin infections too! When I see some people on the street or on the MTR with terrible skin problem, I have an urge to tell them about sulphur soap, but since I am not their doctors and they will not update me with their progress, I wouldn't know if the soap will really help them or make them worse, so I'm choosing to keep my mouth shut for now. But if anyone of you want to try this out, especially if you have any relatives with atopic dermatitis, please let me know the result.
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| Atopic dermatitis Image from thelondonskinandhairclinic |
improvisation -- (n)[C or U] when you make or do something with whatever is available at the time
subside -- (vb) [I] If a building, land or water subsides, it goes down to a lower level
blister -- (n) [C] a painful red swelling on the skin that contains liquid, caused usually by continuous rubbing, especially on your foot, or by burning
atopic dermatitis
Resources:
Medical & TV: Scabies, Monsters Inside Me & solutions -- Part 1 @ Locky's English Playground http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2011/08/medical-tv-scabies-monsters-inside-me.html
TV: Dual Survival @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/08/tv-dual-survival.html
Tung Tai Supermarket @ Google Map
http://maps.google.com.hk/maps/place?q=tung+tai+supermarket&hl=en&cid=3827056393132540729
Eczema @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eczema
Atopic dermatitis @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atopic_dermatitis
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/improvisation?q=improvisation
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/subside_2
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/blister_1?q=blisters+#blister_1__3
