Calming Calamine (Calamine Lotion)

Member Name: cookie334

Product:	Calamine Lotion
Date:	17/12/08 (572 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Instant relief from itching, multi purpose, cheap, long shelf life

Disadvantages: Leaves white powdery residue on the skin

Well, it's that time of year again isn't it? No, I'm not talking about christmas. I mean it's the time of year when all the bugs and infections are doing the rounds and it's hard to find anyone who hasn't had this, that and the next thing in the last few weeks.

We're no exception, having just got over the norovirus getting round five of us in the last 2 weeks, we're now onto chicken pox. I spotted the odd rogue spot on my son's face last night and new straight away what it was. Even though I knew what was coming, the sight that greeted this morning came as a complete shock. My poor wee man is covered head to toe (and hair and armpit and eyes and belly button) in the menacing itchy rash.

The little blighter is so uncomfortable and I could tell by looking at him that it was taking a massive amount of self restraint not to scratch the majority of his skin right off. I couldn't bear it any longer and sent my dad off down to Boots in search of some Calamine Lotion.

The lotion my dad came back with is Boots own variety. It comes in a clear glass 200ml bottle and cost 87p. I've never had to use Calamine Lotion before, so was unsure as to whether it was going to work or if it was merely an old wives tale. At 87p however, it was definitely worth a try - not a huge loss if it didn't and a massive gain if it did.

To be honest, the label is a bit lacking in instruction "Apply to the affected area when required". To me this is a bit too vague. Having never used the product before, I wasn't sure how to apply it. I suppose you could pour some onto your hand and then dab it on the affected area, but I decided to put it onto cotton wool and apply it that way. It seemed the easiest, but I have to say I'm sure there's a lot being wasted.

The lotion is very pale pink, although it definitely looks white in the bottle. I only realised it was pink when it was on the cotton wool. It has a very distinctive smell, which I'm guessing is the calamine. I don't remember ever having been in contact with this before, but I do recognise the smell and for some strange reason, it reminds me of my childhood. The lotion is very watery, but applies quite easily with the cotton wool and then dries to leave a white residue on the skin. Not the most attracive look, but when you're covered in spots, I don't suppose that really matters too much and it's handy to see the areas you've applied it to and the areas you've still to do.

The results were almost immediate and my son breathed an instant sigh of relief when it was applied to the larger, more aggresive spots, so I have no doubt that it has worked. A few hours later, he even told me that he needed some more, so he must've felt the itch starting to come back. I've been applying it very generously as he really is covered (He asked me to count the ones on his back and I lost count at 103!) and it has been relieving the itching for about 3-4 hours before needing it reapplied. Unfortunately my son has also got a few in his eyes - right in the corner and on the inside of the lids - so I have been unable to apply the lotion there and I can see the difference, so I can see that this is working.

Calamine Lotion can be used for all kinds of rashes and can also be used for animal stings and sunburn apparantly to remove some of the discomfort, so I'll definitely be keeping this in my medicine cupboard from now on. It also has a very long shelf life - my bottle, bought this morning, has a use by date of 08/2011, although I'm pretty sure it will be gone by the end of the week. I'll definitely be stocking up though, as it's pretty unlikely that neither of my other two kids will catch it.


**Conclusion **

A great addition to any medicine cabinet. At 87p you can't go wrong and if you're caught out with a ferrocious dose of chicken pox, you'll be glad it's in the cupboard. Would definitely recommend.

Summary: Keep it in the cupboard, you'll be glad you did