Sweating and Acne like allergy reaction

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Namaste

I am sweating a lot during my Yoga practice, sometimes more than usual, it is pouring rain during the second half of the practice and i feel my sweat being acid as it burns my eyes when it gets into it

I have had a problem with little pimples on the back and arms since I started to practice really regularly and it’s always been there since then.

Now I have started an Ashtanga practice since Januray, and we are in the middle of the hot season here (Thailand)… for a couple of weeks now I have a bad allergy reaction in the neck at the edge of the ears line to the middle of the neck / throat, it looks like big red acne pimples, and i try to put talc powder, anti allergy creams but it stays and it looks really horrible… and it gets itchy at some time

Have any of this forum board member had a similar experience or could share advices?

Thank you
Peace

#2

I’v been having this exact reaction for a while now. I’m certain it’s just the toxins being removed from my body. Nothing to worry about. It is very annoying, I know. The best thing I’v found for it is Dr. Bronners Tea Tree Hemp liquid soap. At least for the body acne it has helped alot. Tea tree has a powerful astringent quality. someone told me this happens alot around this season.

#3

Certain???

#4

I’m wondering if its possible that you’re not hydrating enough (during yoga and otherwise)?? It’d stand to reason (in my limited understanding) that if you’re drinking a lot of sports drink or sodas that are high in sodium, your sweat might be excessively salty?? If alcohol can come out in sweat, why not salts?

#5
  1. change your diet to one that is primarily alkaline.
  2. wear cotton
  3. shower immediately following practice
  4. use a brush on your skin when showering
#6

Thank you IA, i’ll follow these advices and let you know,

although I already shower and wear mostly cotton, but i’ll definitely take a look at alkaline acid food-like in my diet,

Yes Brigette, it is really annoying, sometimes even painful, the irritation of the skin makes it really hard to cope with the heat!

I’ve used talk powder when i’m at home, it soothes a lot

Peace

#7

[quote=InnerAthlete;10987]
4. use a brush on your skin when showering[/quote]

Also using a natural bristled brush on your skin before showering helps as well.

#8

everyones skin is different. Though I cleared up almost all my ache as a teen by bathing in epson salt once a week followed by a milk bath. I also used a sort of hard bristle brush and even sometimes steal wool. My skin is very tuff though. Just for my face from time to time I would mix milk with baking soda to make a paste and wear as a mask for about 10-15 mins. I guess my personal solution was to dry out my skin, scarp off old skin, then hydrate it. On my neck I have used tea tree lotion sticks, but wouldnt put it on my face, dont know why i just dont like oily stuff on my face. I also found that a bit of sun was always good for my skin as well, so i went ot the beach alot, plus the salt water helped then i would come home and cover certain areas with fresh aloe from my plants and let that soak for about a hour before showering. Either way all my ideas was to dry out,flack off, refresh.

#9

Namaste

thank you for all the advices about taking care of the skin after a heavy sweating practice… I actually found that brushing the skin with green clay powder in the shower, let it dry, rinse, apply lemon juice with a cotton and then moisturize with some pure coconut oil helped a lot to get rid of this toxin reaction

my other concern is that on an Ayurvedic point of view, excessive sweating is a cause of loosing too much Ojas, which is our vigor and strength. This loss can be the indirect cause of a mind-body imbalance amd actually bad for Vatta / Vatta-Pitta like myself…

any one has an idea about this fact, some advice/information to share?

Peace
ElNino

#10

Hello ElNino,
I have been following your thread and wanting to offer something since you are now asking about Ayurveda. InnerAthlete has offered you some great advice and I would like to add to that.

  • An alkaline diet will help with any possible and excessive acidity that may be a factor for you.

  • To be clear, ojas is not lost through sweating. In fact, therapeutic sweating (Swedana) is encouraged in Yoga and Ayurveda. It is considered cleansing and appropriate to sweat, especially in your current, tropical environment. Sweat is part of healthy feedback loop that indicates your body is regulating its temperature properly. In your situation, it seems likely that you may need to assist your body by being sure to keep well hydrated and keeping your electrolytes balanced for the demands being put on your system by your asana practice, the hot season in Thailand and any other unstated impacts. Your symptoms of elevated pitta are simply signs that your body doesn’t have what it needs to manage the various pitta provoking stresses it currently experiencing.

  • Because you are vatta/pitta in your constitution, brushing your skin before your shower, or dry brushing, is almost always contraindicated for such constitutions. IA’s recommendation for brushing during your shower is appropriate however if it is proving to be helpful. Brushing can sometimes aggravate vata and therefore making it even more difficult for one to determine what is beneficial. Just watch and see how you are responding.

  • Tea tree may be appropriate to cleanse any resulting bacteria that may be part of your sores if they are pimples, but it if they are not pimples which are caused by bacteria, but a reaction to the heat, it may not be helpful in treating them.

  • Are you having any other symptoms of elevated pitta? anger? extreme thirst? frustration? diarrhea?

  • Do you have a pranayama practice? Are you familiar with the cooling breath of Shitali or used it since you’ve had this rash?

  • I don’t recommend using acidic lemon juice on your sores. Pitta type conditions are interesting because they often seem to ask for more of the same: heat, acid and other pitta provoking protocols. It is better to apply the opposite as the treatment and instead use, cool water compresses to decrease acute heat, coconut oil as a cooling moisturizer (I see that you are already doing this), aloe can be taken internal as well as used topically. I recommend aloe in these two ways if you are having other elevated pitta symptoms too. There are many ways to address elevated pitta including a pitta-pacifying diet.

I am going to post this now and check back later.
I hope that you have found some relief over the last few days with what you have been trying.
Kind wishes,

#11

Namaste, Thank you Nichole,

First of all, my skin is much better, less irritated and the pimples-like spots are fading away slowly… thanks I guess to more care, direct luke warm shower right after the practice and a better diet

You are right, my highest Dosha is Vata but Pitta is the most active one, so cooling down should be a very important part of my practice! A 2hrs ashtanga practice is the not the best solution, but it is also helping me a lot on the physical side so i rather have it in my daily routine.

I am working on adjusting my lifestyle to lower Pitta and Vata , so I will see what it brings to me and my daily life, but it is true that stress and anxiety are the main factor I am trying to wave for ever from my mind with the Ayurvedic balancing lifestyle :slight_smile:

Peace

#12

Yeah, excessive sweating can cause acne and pimples… Me too, have experience that…but thanks to the medications i have done because it helps me…