"datsy" wrote in message
...


My main purpose for
buying the plant was its use in skin care. Having used commercial
aloe
vera
gel for many years for things like sunburn, insect bites, eczema,
etc.,
it
seemed a good idea to be able to use it fresh. Even if my plant
turns out
not to be a true aloe vera, its gel still seems to have the same
cooling
effect.

This is exactly the sort of problem that dodgy dealers selling
spurious
plants labelled "aloe vera" to members of the public can result
in. Not
all species of aloe are benign and some have seriously caustic
sap. It
is extremely inadvisable to use any plant that you cannot
positively
identify as the correct species for any kind of medical treatment.
It is
pretty hairy using one that is the right species too since you
have no
way of measuring the concentration of active ingredients - and the
dose
makes the poison.

A friend of mine has just been through radiotherapy and she
bought a
plant to help with skin care after the treatment. In the US some
radiotherapy units have aloe vera plants so that patients can use
them
immediately after treatment. This is to get the record straight
as to why
I
have an aloe vera (or whatever it is - or more to the point,
whatever
they
are, since they're multiplying so rapidly)!

You really need to determine if your plant is aloe vera or not
*URGENTLY* and certainly before you risk using it in contact with
your
skin again.

The real aloe vera used at the right concentrations is remarkably
effective as a burns treatment. But there is not much margin for
error.


Many, many thanks for this advice, Martin. It *is* worrying if
garden
centres are advising customers to treat their skin with something
that is
not beneficial and can even cause harm.

Please do not go to garden centres for medical advice. Their purpose
is only to sell you plants, garden related materials and equipment, as
well as knick-knacks. The NHS is the place to obtain medical
information.

I bought mine from a garden centre
where they had a number of these plants and they were in fact giving
the
benefits of aloe vera to a customer in front of me who was suffering
from
bad eczema.

They were not qualified to do so. Doctors and apothecaries spend
half-a-dozen years acquiring the appropriate knowledge and experience.
How much time to you think a garden centre attendant has spent
learning about such matters?

Franz