Leprosy, also called Hansen’s disease, is the result of the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae. If you have leprosy, do not worry too much. Times have changed the history line of horror stories. Yes, the disease can affect the eyes, skin, the lining of your nose, and your nerves, but it can be treated much easier and it is not as contagious as it once was. Home remedies for leprosy can help,  but make sure that you also see a doctor to get a proper diagnosis.

Causes

Even with today’s technology, it is not known how leprosy is spread or what causes it. You do not get leprosy from touching someone that has it, but it has been found that a lot of cases are a result of long-term contact with someone that already has it. It might be from sharing liquids or from breathing the air around someone who has it has just sneezed or couched.

There are a couple of risk factors. If you already suffering from an autoimmune disease (MS, HIV and AIDs, diabetes, etc) then it is more likely for you to get leprosy because their bodies are not strong enough to fight off the bacteria.  

 

Symptoms

There are a couple of different kinds of symptoms to keep your eyes on. Seeing as how leprosy can affect different parts of the body, each part of the body shows different signs of it.

First, these are the symptoms for if the leprosy is affecting your nerves.

• Weakness in muscles of your hands and or feet
• Blindness when or if the facial nerves are affected
• Numbness around skin that is affected
• Swollen or bigger than usual looking nerves around the knees, the elbows, or in the neck
• Pins and needles feelings
• Weight loss

As for leprosy that affects the skin.

• Stiff, thick, and or dry skin
• Blisters and rashes
• Hair loss
• Discolored skin
  • Can be numb
  • Patches of discolored skin are normally flat
  • Patches are usually lighter than your usual skin color
• Losing eyelashes or brows
• Nodules growing on the skin
• Lumps or swelling on the earlobes and face that do not cause any pain
• Ulcers on the bottoms of the feet that also do not cause pain

The only two symptoms that show themselves with leprosy affecting the lining of your nose are nosebleeds and a stuffy nose.

There are couple of side effects that can come with any of the affected areas. Your skin can have a burning feeling, your nerves can be tender or pained, and it is not uncommon to have pain and redness around the area.

If you have noticed any of these symptoms, talk to your doctor. Leprosy, if untreated can lead to blindness, shortening of fingers, crippled and unmoveable feet and hands, and disfigurement or loss of the nose, eyelids, and fingers.

Home Remedies for Leprosy

1. Zinc

As far as using zinc to treat leprosy, it not at all known why it helps, but taking it orally has been found to help. Applying zinc to the affected area makes things a little worse and you do not want to use zinc chloride; it is not known what it would for the infection so it better to not risk anything.

 

2. Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3 is another supplement you might want to try taking. Studies are still being done if it can really help leprosy, but omega-3 is known to be great for skin health. Omega-3 does not have the health risks that zinc chloride does so even if it does not help your leprosy, it can still help you other ways.

 

3. Preventional Steps

Getting diagnosed quickly means getting quick treatment and that is one the most important thing when it comes to leprosy. If you live in an area with armadillos, do not touch or eat them. A lot of armadillos and they are a suspect for how leprosy gets spread around. Just do not go near the creatures.

The last tip is to be careful with the people around you. Wanting and needing help and support is natural and you should not ignore that, but limiting contact with the people you love is the best way to keep them safe and healthy.

4. Coconut Oil

If you get the numbness in your hands and feet, then you might want to consider using coconut oil. Using coconut for this numbness is really easy. Warm the oil enough so that it is no longer solid. Then you take a couple of drops of the oil and massage it into the affected area for about ten minutes in circular motions. Coconut oil helps because it has the ability to add some strength to your muscle.

If you have sores or lesions, it might be wise not use coconut oil right away. If you do not have sores or lesions then ask your doctor about using coconut oil or you can try to use after you have cleared of leprosy so you can try to regain some normal functions.    

 

5. Primrose Oil

Primrose oil does amazing things for regulating the functions of your body’s cells because of the iron, phosphorous, potassium, fatty acids, and magnesium. Work roughly two tablespoons of the primrose oil into the affected area for about 20 minutes. You can repeat this two or three times a day. Again, you should wait until after you are cleared of the initial disease to use this method.

6. Mustard Oil

Mustard oil has been found to instant relieve the numbness. You hardly need any oil, just two or three drops to be applied to the affected area. You can use mustard oil up to three times a day for a couple of days. Do NOT use this method if you have lesions or sore.

 

7. Rosemary Oil

You can use rosemary oil in the same way as the other two oils to help to replenish feeling in your hands and feet. You just need to warm the oil a little bit and combine three drops of the rosemary oil with three drops of a carrier oil of your choice. Massage this oil into the affected for ten minutes and you should only do this a day.

If you do not want to wait until you have been told by a doctor that you no longer have leprosy, then you can get rosemary that might be able to help a little when drunk.

8. Indian Gooseberry

Indian gooseberries, also called alma, improves the circulation of blood which thereby get your nerves feeling again by stimulating them. This remedy just requires your to drink a glass of water with a single teaspoon of alma powder stirred in first thing in the morning so it will be an empty stomach.

 

9. Olive Oil

Twice a day, you can warm two tablespoons of olive oil and message it into the affected area for about ten minutes. Olive oil helps because of the relaxing power it has over nerves and muscles. So if you continue to suffer from numbness in the hands and feet, you can use this on them. Nothing is guaranteed, but including olive oil in more of your cooking might be able to help a little as well if you still have leprosy.

 

10. Milk and Turmeric

This is a remedy that you can drink while you have leprosy as a chance of stopping the lack of feeling in your hands or feet. All you have to do is mix a tablespoon of honey and a teaspoon of turmeric powder into a glass of warm milk. Make sure you stir these in all the way. If you drink this every night before going to bed, then it gives the ingredients time to kick in so it can help you more in throughout the day.

Turmeric can help because the curcumin in it helps to increase your body’s overall circulation of its blood.

 

11. Lavender Oil

Lavender oil is amazing when it comes to relieving pain or numbness in the muscles because it has a strong calming property. If you do not have sores or open lesions, then you can mix three drops of the lavender oil with three drops of a carrier oil (like coconut, almond, or olive). Warm the mixture slightly and apply it the massage it into the affected area for about 20 minutes. Doing this a day should help a little.  

12. Ginkgo Biloba

This a herb that is widely used for increasing blood circulation which, as mentioned, can help with the numbness in feet and hands. You can get it in teas or in supplement pills. If you choose to use ginkgo biloba to assist with your leprosy, you should be fine to enjoy the tea once a day, but you should consider asking your doctor about dosage amounts if you plan on taking a supplement pill.

 

13. Cinnamon

Cinnamon is another good thing to help get the circulation moving better to aid in getting circulation back into the extremities. Drink a glass of water and stir a tablespoon of powdered raw cinnamon. You can should be able to drink once a day while you are still battling with leprosy.

14. Elevation

Elevation can help you with the numbness in feet or hands by prompting better blood flow to those areas. So lay back and relax for a bit your leg up on a cushion. This can also help you to feel more comfortable.

 

15. Avocado Mask

If you have dry skin, then this mask should help you. If you have lesions, bumps, swollen skin or other skin issues, it might be wise to ask your doctor before you use this.

Puree half an avocado with one teaspoon of olive oil. You can add a tablespoon of honey if your skin is really tough and dry. Apply the mask to the affected area and wash it off after between 15 and 20 minutes.

16. Warm Water

Sometimes the only thing that you need to clear up a patch of tough, dry skin is some warm water and a finger. Take some warm water and soak the affected area in the water for about 20 minutes. When the 20 minutes is up, you can just gently dry the area with a soft towel and then rub the tough skin with your finger. Be careful and you might need to do this a couple of times before the tough and dry is gone and returned to normal.

 

17. Tea Tree Oil

This is a remedy for dry skin that you are going to want to hold off on until you have cleared of leprosy by your doctor or you can ask your doctor about using this method. Tea tree oil can kill a number of bacterias and fungi.

Take a couple drops of the oil in a basin or bathtub of warm water. Once the oil is the water, you should soak the affected area in the water for no more than 15 minutes. The oil and water should help the dry skin to more or less come right off.

 

18. Egg Mask

If you suffer from hair loss like some people with leprosy do, then there is a pretty fix that you should be able to use while battling the disease. Make the mask and watch it with a mild shampoo after about 20 minutes. Beat the ingredients together and apply the mash to all of your hair. tips to the roots. To make the hair mask, you need:

• The whites from one egg
• One teaspoon honey
• One teaspoon olive oil

This hair mask should help you because of the selenium, protein, sulphur, iodine, and zinc that are in eggs. All of them work together to help your hair to grow and lessen the amount or the likeliness of it falling out.  

19. Coconut Milk

Coconut milk a foundation for another kind of hair mask that you want to try out. The milk has plenty of essential fats and proteins that aid in the stopping of hair loss and in the growing of hair.

All you need to do to get this mixture ready is to grate a medium coconut and allow it to boil for about five minutes in a pan. When the five minutes are up, you want to let it cool after straining it. When the milk is cool, you then add in a tablespoon of fenugreek seeds and a tablespoon of black pepper. You apply it to your hair and scalp before rinsing it after 20 minutes.

 

20. Carrots

Carrots might be one of the best things you can eat when suffering from leprosy. They have vitamin A which can (in the long run) help to protect your eyes, they help your hair to grow thereby limit the chances of it falling out, it can even help the numbness or tingles in your hands and feet because it helps blood flow.

21. Change Up Your Diet a Little

There are some foods that you can try adding to your diet to fight inflammation. There is no promise that it will work, but it might help the pain and swelling you might suffer in your elbows and knees if your leprosy affects your nerves.

You should try eating more of the following foods.

• Nuts (walnuts and almonds are good)
• Avocados
• Fatty fish (tuna, mackerel, sardines, and salmon)
• Olive oil
• Green tea
• Fruits (tomatoes, cherries, oranges, strawberries, blueberries)
• Beans
• Leafy Greens (kale, collards, spinach)
• Garlic
• Chocolate
• High fiber foods ( brown rice, whole grains, oatmeal, veggies, fruits)
• Herbs (thyme, basil, oregano)

 

22. Omit From Your Diet

Similar to how there are foods that can help you with inflammation, there are foods that can make the inflammation worse. Again, there’s not a 100 percent guarantee that you will no longer have pain from the inflammation in your knees, neck, and elbows but it might be worth a try.

To test this, try limiting how much or often you eat the following foods:

• Lard
• Alcohol
• Fats
• Fried foods
• Refined carbs
• Processed foods
• Pops or sodas
• Sugars

Leprosy can still be fatal. If signs keep being ignored, then it can lead to organ damage and circulatory problems. When you get on the antibiotics, the medicine can kill the infection, but cannot undo the existing damage.

Keep in mind that you have to go to your doctor if you think your might have leprosy it cannot be cured without real medicine. This home tips are to help with the discomfort or to aid in regaining normal functions after you no longer have leprosy, but you absolutely have to go to your doctor.

 

Sources

https://www.healthline.com/health/rheumatoid-arthritis/foods-that-reduce-inflammation#tea

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/foods-that-fight-inflammation

https://www.femina.in/wellness/home-remedies/how-to-stop-hair-fall-and-tips-to-control-with-natural-home-remedies-60280.html

https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-get-rid-of-calluses#treatments-and-remedies

https://www.everydayhealth.com/skin-and-beauty/natural-skin-remedies.aspx

https://www.tinyqualityhomes.org/numbness-hands-feet/

https://www.medicinenet.com/leprosy/article.htm#what_are_leprosy_early_symptoms_and_signs

sciencenordic.com/leprosy-rages-still

https://familydoctor.org/condition/leprosy/

https://www.cdc.gov/leprosy/symptoms/index.html

https://www.cdc.gov/leprosy/index.html