Natural sunblock?

[cd365]

You mean dock leaves ...



The best way to deal with the problem is to break off some dock leaf and chew it for a few seconds, then gently rub the saliva/dock sap mixture around the sting. The antihistamine from the dock leaf together with the natural healing properties of saliva will ease the stinging sensation

I remember as a kid being shown to chew dock leaves before using it for nettle stings, just had to make sure no dog had pee'd on it first! lol

Nettles don't seem to sting me anymore, but I think I grew a strong level of immunity to them as a kid, I was playing frisbee and dived head first into a load of nettles and got badly stung.

 

[summerdays]

I've never heard of chewing dock leaves and the idea of testing it to check no dog had pee'd on it first ... yuk... wouldn't it be easier to use the dock leaf and then dab on some saliva....?

 

[slugonabike]

Although I have dark hair, I also have very fair skin and burn easily (much to Mr Slugsta's constant amusement). Believe me, keeping out of the sun when my shadow is shorter than me is not all I need to do to prevent sunburn!

My mother, who tans very easily, also heard about the mystical properties of vinegar a a sunscreen and used to splash it on all over' Slugfather and myself and then sit us in the sun for hours (no poncey olive oil for us midlanders ). I remember her telling me that I couldn't be burning cos she'd applied penty of vinegar. A couple of years ago I was talking to someone who worked in product development for a big skincare manufacturer - he said that vinegar was the factest burn accelerant they had found so far ...

I did try the P20 when I was a runner, unfortunately it caused a photosensitivity rash. Another thing to remember is that P20 is formulated to still allow you to tan - which means that it doesn't totally block the rays responsible for causing skin cancer.

 

[Moodyman]

It's times like this that I appreciate my South Asian ancestry - melanin is a great sunblock.

 

[coffeejo]

Our distant ancestors got it wrong when they lost all their hair.

 

[supercooper]

My link try this link

 

[adds21]

I remember as a kid being shown to chew dock leaves before using it for nettle stings, just had to make sure no dog had pee'd on it first! lol

Apparently, there is no truth behind dock leafs being a remedy for nettle stings, other than as a placebo (which obviously helps with children).

I heard it on QI, so it must be true!