Ocean Soothe harnesses the therapeutic power of the ocean in combination with natural cucumber extracts and pure magnesium to relieve the physical symptoms of psoriasis: pain, itchiness, flakiness and redness. Driven by science, underpinned by successful trials, and developed by a psoriasis sufferer, the Abundant Natural Health CEO understands how debilitating psoriasis is but he also acknowledges that everyone’s psoriasis is unique and different people respond to different treatments.
Ocean Soothe has 3 constituents that improve Psoriatic symptoms:
1. NaCl (salt) is used to clean the skin and remove bacteria and dead skin cells. Ocean Soothe is 160% more concentrated in salt than the Dead Sea! This extremely high concentration will remove everything. Once the bacteria and dead skin is removed from Psoriatic plaques, there is a reduction in flakiness, itchiness and redness (Proksch et al, 2005). In psoriasis there is an overactive immune response where the body continues to produce an excessive amount of skin cells. This exaggerated response leaves healthy skin under layers and layers of dead skin cells (flakiness). This flakiness as well as inherent inflammation causes itchiness leading to scratching. Scratching relieves the itch momentarily however scratching the skin creates abrasions and open wounds. These abrasions or wounds can become infected very easily with bacteria. Salt is a cleanser which is why it stings. The best analogy is when you fall off a bike and graze your knee, you put antiseptic on the wound and it stings. This is because these agents activate receptors in the body that trigger a burning sensation to kill off the bacteria. Like alcohol, salt will sting an open wound and cause initial pain before improvement follows. (Stathopoulou et al, 2018). With Ocean Soothe it takes a week or two for the bacteria and dead skin cells to be removed, and the stinging to subside. You just have to bear with it. Sorry!
2. Magnesium as an acid penetrates the skin and acts to further block pain and itchiness. Getting magnesium through the skin is as difficult as driving a bus through a pin hole. The magnesium in Ocean Soothe is present as a natural acid, and it is this format that the skin allows magnesium to penetrate through the skin barrier. Psoriatic skin more readily absorbs salt compared to non-Psoriatic skin. The second aspect is the itchiness. It is important to acknowledge that the mechanism behind “itch” is not full understood. Many people believe it is a constant, light, painful stimulus that creates this signal which the brain processes as itchiness. Magnesium reduces these painful signals by directly blocking the receptors on the nerves that are responsible for this signalling. But why doesn’t magnesium naturally block these signals in psoriasis? It is all down to chronic inflammation and the chemicals in our body that induce inflammation- i.e. calcium. Magnesium and calcium are antagonists. They work against each other. In chronic inflammatory states, like psoriasis, there is more calcium moving intracellularly and thus a decrease in magnesium levels intracellularly. In other words, in inflammatory states there is a marked magnesium deficiency. Calcium increases nerve signalling so pain is more efficiently signalled to the brain in these states (Denda et al, 1999). Once magnesium enters the skin it blocks the receptor that allows for overactive pain signalling, it “calms the farm”, and instantly itchiness will abate (Denda et al, 1999).
3. Cucumber is a welcome addition as it increases permeability of magnesium through the skin (Portugal-Cohen et al, 2009). Ocean Soothe uses natural amniotic fluid of the cucumber, i.e. pregnancy cucumber juice, that is rich in lactic and citric acid. These natural acids are the way magnesium penetrates the skin more easily. Cucumber is also a natural astringent so it tries to reduce the burn that normal Magnesium would do if applied to skin (Portgual-Cohen et al, 2009). We also know that the amniotic fluid of the cucumber carries life protection chemicals that extremely hard to identify. But if it is good enough to protect a mother cucumbers babies and keep them safe it will do the same for your skin. So this combination of highly concentrated salt, pure magnesium and pregnant cucumber juice is why Ocean Soothe is so successful in reducing pain, itchiness, flakiness and redness associated with psoriasis.