Calamine is a mixture of zinc oxide (ZnO) with about 0.5% ferric oxide (Fe2O3). It is the main ingredient in calamine lotion and is used as an antipruritic (anti-itching agent) to treat mild pruritic conditions such as sunburn, eczema, rashes, poison ivy, chickenpox, and insect bites and stings. It is also used as a mild antiseptic to prevent infections that can be caused by scratching the affected area, and an astringent to dry weeping or oozing blisters and acne abscesses.
From the Wikipedia.org Calamine article used under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.
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