Step1
Eliminate allergens. Eczema may be caused by an allergy. Common culprits are products that your skin is in contact with, such as creams, perfumes, laundry detergent, and so on.
Step2
Check your diet. Food allergies can also trigger eczema, especially in children. Common culprits are milk, wheat, citrus fruits, eggs, peanuts and fish.
Step3
Wear cotton and other natural fiber clothing. This allows your skin to breathe better.
Step4
Use bland moisturizers without dyes and perfumes. Make sure to use a moisturizer every time you bathe. Choose a greasy formula to moisturize skin if eczema is severe and skin is extremely dry. Examples are petroleum jelly or vegetable shortening.
Step5
Set up a humidifier if the air in your house is very dry. Avoid sunbathing. This can aggravate your skin. Heat can also cause your condition to worsen.
Step6
Scrutinize your bath products. Bath oils are generally fine and lubricating, but bubble baths can be drying and irritating.
Step7
Destress. Find and use methods to help yourself relax. Stress can cause eczema flare-ups.
Step8
Use the herbs dandelion, myrrh, pau d'arco and red clover. Use as a tea or take in capsule form. They are useful for healthy skin. Use all of them alternately for best results.
Step9
Make a paste from the herb goldenseal and vitamin E oil. Use goldenseal in a powdered form, and mix with a little bit of vitamin E oil; add a small amount of honey and make a paste. Apply to inflamed area.
Step10
Take vitamin A, 10,000 to 25,000 IU per day. It helps to soften the skin. Take it in the emulsion form, which is easier to absorb and safer at high doses.
Step11
Use a high-potency B-complex formula, 50 to 100 mg per day. It is needed for healthy skin and good blood circulation. Some skin problems are linked to a deficiency of vitamin B-6.
Step12
Take vitamin E, 400 IU. It helps relieve itching and dry skin.
Step13
Try evening primrose, black currant, flaxseed or salmon oil. Use according to bottle directions. They all contain essential fatty acids, which help to lubricate the skin.
Comments
cockko said
on 4/13/2007 STOP WALKING ON YOUR PANTS
www.pantsfix.com TROUSERS SOLUTION
jamiebionic said
on 10/23/2006 Alternative methods for eczema
1. zinc oxide ointment 20% or 200mg. It can be found at your drugstore or Target for about $2 a tube. After washing hands in the morning and night, use the ointment on affected areas, even if they're cracked and in pain. Use a thick lotion on the rest of your hands afterward. If the area is really bad like elbows, use Weleda's rosemary hair oil (see below) and then this ointment. What the dry skin needs is treatment and moisture.
2. Lotion: Trader Joe's biodegradable extra dry moisturizing lotion. They sell it for $3 a pump bottle. I live by this lotion. I wash my hands a LOT and this lotion has saved me from having to use Elidel or any cortisone cream. I keep one at the office, one at home and a tube in my purse. If you have wavy hair or flyaways, it can also be used to smooth the ends down. I didn't want to use a steroid cream and this was the inexpensive environmentally replacement! If you want to add your own scent, I suggest a few drops of lavender or tea tree oil into the pump bottle.
3.I just tried using Weleda's rosemary hair oil on my hands after using it in my hair. Apply lotion after. It kept the moisture in my hands even after my shower.
After washing your face or taking a shower, your skin is stripped of all its moisture. This is usually in the morning and at night. First treat the affected area (zinc ointment or hair oil) and then lock in the moisture without greasiness or residue (simple lotion without all the chemicals and smells). If you can remember to pamper your skin just these two times in the day, you'll save it from being dried out even if you wash your hands all day long. I have extremely dry skin that irritates with weather changes in dry and humid climates. My skin even gets irritated when wearing rough denim. It's also sensitive. These three products help tremendously even with all my skin problems.
4. For dandruff, Kiss My Face along with many other organic and all natural brands have tea tree and/or lavender oil shampoo and conditioners. Kiss My Face's version is very stripping and lightweighting on the hair but the conditioner can therefore be used all the way down to the scalp without weighing the hair down. Make sure to massage the shampoo and conditioners into the scalp and rinse well. It smells much better and feels cleaner than Neutrogena tgel or Head and Shoulders! You're also steaming yourself in an all natural product that travels to the whole surface of your skin and lungs. It smells great too.
If your hair is too dry afterwards, use the Trader Joe's lotion on the ends for moisture and softening. Use Weleda oil for a stronger smoothening. It acts more like a hair polisher. Use either while the hair is wet or damp.
All of these health products can be found at Whole Foods, PCC in Seattle and if you're in San Diego, even Long's Drugs.
* The chakra point for skin conditions is the heart. Heal your heart, heal your skin.
Anonymous said
on 8/14/2006 This may seem unbelievable, but my daughter was diagnosed with eczema at 2 1/2 months. Her face was covered in red scaly patches. On the advice of our doctor, I purchased a spray bottle of Avene Thermal Spring Water (available at the cosmetics counter of major drug stores). It is water from a thermal spring in France which is full of minerals and nutrients for healthy skin. They have built a dermatological clinic at the site of this spring because the water has been seen to have such great benefits, particularly for people with eczema. Unbelievably, I stopped all other treatments and just sprayed her face with this water every few hours and the eczema started to clear up almost immediately. With the exception of one tiny patch on the left side of her face which is starting to diminish now, it has all cleared up and she has beautiful baby skin. The best part is there are no potential irritants because it is just water. May sound too good to be true, but I now swear by this stuff and would recommend it to anyone. The change in my daughter has been unbelievable.
Anonymous said
on 6/30/2006 Recognize every disease or illness as a friend who wants to show you that something needs to be changed in your life.
Reading the tips here, I noticed most people talk about trying lots of different things, but are referring to stuff that you can put on the skin to help it. Nothing you put on the skin will heal eczema, but can only temporarily relieve the symptoms. Even creams containing strong medication, like hydrocortisone, will only suppress the symptoms, but not heal it.
To truly heal eczema and get rid of it for good, the key is to look for the trigger, to find out what causes the skin to flare up.
Food is important and I agree that sugar can be a big aggravation. Sugar causes our system to become more acidic - anything that increases the acidity of the blood and/or body should be avoided e.g. soft drinks, coffee, tomatoes, capsicum, orange colored citrus fruit. Lemon, first thing in the morning, seems to be OK. Some people have the juice of one lemon in a glass of water first thing in the morning. This is an excellent tonic for the digestive system which is another important factor.
Try to eliminate all foods you notice you don't digest well. Your body might give you very mild signals that a certain food is not wanted, like a tired or heavy feeling after a meal, or more severe signs like a headache, acid indigestion, bloating, wind or diarrhea. Wheat and dairy products often cause digestive problems and consequently eczema, because for some people they can be like glue in our bowels, not necessarily because we are allergic to them.
In my opinion food allergies can only really be tested by leaving out certain foods for a period of at least two weeks and then reintroducing one by one - skin prick tests don't really work for food.
Try to adopt a well balanced diet consisting mainly out of fresh organic produce as pesticides and herbicides in conventionally grown food might also add to the problem. By eating freshly prepared food you are helping the immune system, because fresh food contains more vitamins and nutrients and you are avoiding harmful additives such as MSG, artificial flavors, colors, stabilizers, preservatives, etc. Please read the labels when you shop and buy foods with as few and as natural ingredients as possible.
Drink lots of good clean water (avoid chlorinated) to help the body flush out unwanted "toxins", there will be less need for using the skin as a means of eliminating whatever the body can't handle. Drinking plenty of water also helps to moisturize the skin from the inside.
I have heard some people have completely cured their eczema by simply leaving out all red foods.
As far as putting stuff on the skin to help relieve dryness and itching, I recommend using only things that are actually edible, because our skin absorbs everything! Sweet Almond Oil or Olive Oil for example. If that's too light, gently warm the oil and dissolve a little bit of beeswax in it, to make it thicker. Honey is good, too.
Finding inner peace helps a lot, I know, it's much easier said than done.
Be assured, even if all the doctors have told you "there's not much we can do", don't give up. Keep looking for what causes your skin to flare up in your particular case, if you find it and if you then are prepared to change your lifestyle accordingly you can get rid of it!
Good luck!
Anonymous said
on 3/17/2006 I have had severe hand eczema for years and have tried everything to clear it up, without success. I have tried every non-prescription suggestion and many prescription medications, including Elidel. Nothing worked. Finally, I had a dermatologist prescribe Clobetasol Propionate 0.05% cream. That was the end of my problem. It takes the itch away in minutes and now with infrequent use, my eczema problem is completely under control and mostly forgotten about. Clobetasol is highly recommended!