Questions. I got "The Kava Rash"...

[infraredz]

So I've been drinking Kava for a few months to help with sleep and it's always been with Stone and never gave me any issues other than sometimes an upset stomach. 


Recently (past two weeks or so) I have been trying out different strains, namely Solomon's and Fu'u. These are both much finely ground and I definitely notice more particles getting through. That being said, when I saw/felt the dry skin and slight peeling two nights ago, I stopped having any Kava.


The next morning I woke up and it seemed the peeling skin was worse (more parts of my body) and now today, 48 hours after consuming any Kava, I notice it's spread even more.



What is going on? I would think that it would be getting better not worse. It's not painful or anything, but it is weird that it seems to be continuing to spread. Are there any ideas or experiences? I've read that Niacin is supposed to help, but there was a study that refuted that idea.


Am I going to keep getting worse?!

 

[kl.nemo.parallaxscurioa...]

I worked with a fella whom was a nurse in Fiji. Said they had a big island bloke in once recovering from a bad heart attack for a few weeks...also happened to drink kava all day every day (no idea if they were linked my friend said) anyway he recons the fellas soles of his feet literally fell of like a pair of flip flops at the end of the 2nd week after vitamin injections & no kava. Those island guys can have feet as tough as horses hooves anyway.

So a light rash through to a pedicure, that's the two ends of it I guess.

 

[infraredz]

Well, I don't/didn't drink Kava all day, everyday. Not even every week.


So what you're saying is I basically got *infected* and now this will get worse and resolve itself?


I would think if the Kava was this issue, that stopping drinking Kava would mean the side effects would stop...?

 

[kl.nemo.parallaxscurioa...]

Yes the rash will go when you stop that type of kava, takes a while. Its just what you get from java, dry skin. I get it all the time & so do most other kava drinkers. You just get very dry skin depending on type & amount consumed. For me it's maybe a week to disipate once I stop..using moisturiser helps a lot also.


I also believe its very important to take Vit B whilst drinking (or recovering) from kava. I've always done it. Of course this is certainly not medical advice however kava is notorious for giving you very dry skin that is almost rash like.


It drives me crazy when I'm drinking powdered kava however I've never once had it from green fresh roots or the resin I'm currently drinking.

 

[kavadude]

Yes, it takes a while to go away. If you drink more kava it will get worse.

 

[infraredz]

Alright, well lotion seems to keep it under control. It's strange because it started near my armpits and then progressed to my whole torso and part of my lower neck, but not my arms or legs. My hands were always kind of dry, but never peeled.


For whatever it's worth, the 'rash' looks like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ichthyosis_2.jpg


How long before it starts to clear up, and how long does it usually take to completely resolve itself?

 

[kl.nemo.parallaxscurioa...]

Kava dermopathy is variable depending on diff people & diff kava. If you have dry skin as severe as that photo I would suggest seeing a dr .(thats a pretty heavy lot of dry skin in that photo) We pretty much all get it to a degree.

I've got it now, sort of itchy all over & powdery skin spots, I take Vit B & lots of krill oil & use lots of my wife's skin moisturisers.

It's the price we pay for kava.

It's not a virus, it's not a disease ...its dry skin & leaving the kava alone & using lots of moisturiser will usually see it start to abate inside of a week.

 

[infraredz]

Well thankfully, the rash isn't that bad, I was just referencing that photo because it looks similar just not as severe.


Does anyone have any info based on their experience as to what may cause this or make it worse because I was drinking Kava for a couple months fairly consistently and didn't get any reaction? It seems that consuming raw root powder is the absolute worst, so it seems that it's due to not really the actual kavalactones themselves, but more the amount of root particles that get consumed (which would support my theory that's it's worse with finer grinds). Is there any strainer that is more fine than a nylon stocking (like the Fijian strainer from BKH)? Do Kavas from certain regions have this worse than others (ie. PNG Kavas aren't as bad as Vanuatan Kavas, for instance)?

 

[Piper Methysticum]

I noticed some small red dots on my arm while I was purely toss and washing for a period of time so I think there could be a connection.

 

[infraredz]

I think there is, which leads me to two questions:


1. Do instant kava or extracts have this problem?


2. What are some good ways of keeping the powder/sediment down to a minimum? I use a nylon stocking to filter/strain. Is there something that I could use afterwards to filter it more completely?

 

[The Kap'n]

Kavalactones themselves cause dermapothy. Even if you were to drink something made entirely out of pure lactones with no sediment at all you would still, after a period of time, gain the scaly dry skin. Toss and wash is not recommended due to the digestive upset it can cause, and that kava has been traditionally consumed in aqueous solution for the duration of its consumption by man, or around 3000 years so far. There is also a school of thought now that using toss and wash gives you any undesirable constituents you wouldn't normally get when squeezing and kneading. Also, with toss and wash, instead of using 50 grams of kava to prepare a normal beverage with unfiltered kava you would only use 21 grams or so, which gives it the appeal it has. You're hitting your system with a big shock of kavalactones all at once. I drank kava that way for several years, but I won't do it again. So to answer your questions:


1.) Instant kava and extracts both can cause dermapothy.


2.) As long as you're using a filtering method (I use 3 strainers together from Nakamal @ Home which are just paint strainers) then you're operating within the bounds of traditionally made kava.


So to conclude, there is no method of ingestion that would completely prevent kava induced skin problems. We just do it like the islanders did it for the last 3 millennia, and I'm sure they had the same issues.