[YEA]  07/06/2012: Evelyn from Thousand Oaks, California: "I had really bad dyshidrosis and apple cider vinegar and water (50:50) applied on my palm and between my fingers (where I had the vesicles and blisters) for 30 minutes a day helped to clear it up as it was most likely fungus related from what I have researched."

12/22/2012: Missstarlady from Houston, Texas, Us: "I just wanted to relay some information that happened to me and my 14 year old Cocker mix. He was diagosed in 2011 with Cuhing, started on Trilostane, in addition I took him off commercial dog food and home cooked for him and he seemed to be doing vey well. About 7-8 months later he devloped an area on his right from lower left in the part that is indented which was raw, cherry red, moist and all the hair disappeared from that area. He began licking it constantly and he was given a topical antibiotic ointment which did not work and it took close to 5 months for it to heal. During this time he began getting raw red spots on which the hair would disappear on his back underneath his hair. I took him regularly to his vet for treatment, which consistd of various antibiotics for every type of bacterial and fungal infection, nothing worked.

On one day I took him back to notify the vet that the latest antibiotic treatment did not work and it was getting worse and worse with every type of red rash, patches, plaques and open lesions now extending to his abdomen and groin area. The vet that was there that day, (a different vet than who he had been seeing) immediately recognized that what he had was not an allergy or any type of infection but what she believed to be lymphosarcoma. She found enlarged popliteal lymph nodes and did an aspirate from a node and it indeed came back from the lab as positive for lymphoma. They told me I would have to see an oncologist. It turned out he had a very rare form of lymphoma called epitheliotropic cutaneous lymphoma. He is now receiving chemotherapy but there is no cure only hopes of achieving remissions which do not last long.

If your dog has any type of skin disorder which does not respond to treatment within a reasonable amount of time and/or continues to worsen get a biopsy, aspirate, skin scraping or some type of testing done and do not waste precious time trying alot of different forms of treatment. You are not only losing what could be very precious time, but also alot of money."

11/04/2011: Katia from South Bend, In: "I am looking for a remedy for ichthyosis vulgaris, please post one."

01/08/2013: Raffi from Boston, Ma Usa replies: "A Japan company has milky lotion that contains urea that is very good to this genetic skin condition. The urea attracts moisture on the skin to keep skin moist, and old skin peels off and no bad looking skin any more. It is not a cure but as long as you apply the lotion, your skin looks normal. If you know of people visiting Japan one can buy some for you in regular drug stores. They may not carry too many, so may take visit more drug store for the good supply.

I also find taking 1/4 cup per day of pure Aloe Vera juice (gallon size) that I can buy from Walgreen, CVS drug stores can help the dry skin auto float off from regular skin. What need is rubbing in shower to have the dead skin come off easy, instead it sticks to your body."

04/09/2012: Walter from San Diego, Ca., USA: "I stumbled on your web-site while seaching for information about itchy skin and possible iodine therapy. Thank all of your readers for sharing their use of iodine.

Several persons remarked that they did not observe any changes to some of their iodine uses. One major reason for this is that iodine, like all supplemental nutrients, does not work by itself. They all need helps or co-factors. Another unappreciated reason is bio-chemical differences among all of us. We need specific monitoring for a best fit.

I did a comprehensive research about iodine and posted my findings as an article on the web-site:

http://www.freegrab.net/menufood.htm

This health menu has other doccumented researched and nutritional information, including co-factors, magnesium, zeolite, body acid-alkalinity, etc..

My research, as shared by renoun researchers, found that good research about the affect of iodide on skin health is lacking. Testimonials may not be scientific but these are the best we have at this time. So one has to be careful in drawing conclusions. I have had itchy skin for a long time and have been looking the the real cause of itchy skin instead of listening to dermatologists that dry skin causes itchiness! I have re-started using Lugol's solution 2%. Lugol's is made up of two forms of iodine --- iodide and iodine. It is iodide that is stored in the skin and other issues; while iodine is used by the thyroid gland. More inbfo on all of this on the sited web-site.

Thank you, for all the info,

Walter Sorochan, Emeritus Professor San Diego State University"

[YEA]  09/07/2012: Expat-in-togo from Lome, Maritime Province, Togo: "Hello! I posted this remedy on a different site specifically about intertrigo, but I find your site very useful so I wanted to share this info here as well. I successfully solved my 7 years problem with intertrigo using kefir. My serious problem zones were always my armpits and "legpits" as I call them: inner upper thighs, *impossible* to keep dry -- as an expat living in tropical West Africa I sweat a lot on a daily basis. I tried several things before this, and I would like to report back on what helped. Topical coconut oil with turmeric powder was temporarily effective but stained clothing like crazy. Gentian violet was also temporarily effective, and also stained clothing like crazy.

I then found out about probiotics about 3 months ago, got some kefir grains 2 months ago, and a month ago it occurred to me, why not try them topically? So I did! The kefir did the job inside of a week, more like three days. My armpits look normal again. My "legpits" are no longer red-rash-looking, no itching, nothing. All I did was take a tablespoon or less (per application site) of the kefir grains mixed with the yogurt-like kefiran, smeared it on and left it on overnight, washed it off in the morning. I think what it does is crowd out the bad bacteria/yeasts with a diverse population of body-friendly bacterias and yeasts. I like drinking kefir, but this use is awesome and saved me from trying antibiotics again. So I wanted to share my success, and I hope this helps someone else solve their problem too. I should specify I used milk kefir grains, but I am guessing water kefir grains might work also."

09/27/2012: Rae from Chicago, Il, United States replies: "My teenage son has itchy armpits and the skin around his armpits is now dark and thick. I live in the U.S. So can my son just apply some liquid dairy kefir onto his armpits over night to try your solution? I do not know what you mean by kefir "grains". Thanks for your assistance!"

09/29/2012: Lisa from Thousand Oaks, Ca, Usa replies: "Hi Rae, You could definitely try the kefir topically and see if it helps. I just thought I'd clarify for you about kefir grains. Kefir grains or granules are the natural mother starter to make kefir. You can add them to milk for milk kefir or coconut water, seed or nut milk or ginger water to make water kefir. The grains themselves are living organisms that reproduce more grains. I find it all very fascinating. This is an excerpt from Dom's Kefir site explaining kefir grains and kefiran:

"A batch of kefir grains consist of many individual white to bone-coloured mostly self-enclosed bodies made up of a soft, gelatinous biological masssomewhat resembling cooked cauliflower rosettes. The complexity of the kefir grain is a mixture of protein, amino acids, lipids [fats] and soluble-polysaccharides. Kefiran a unique polysaccharide with many health-promoting virtues, is the major polysaccharide of kefir grains and is also found in kefir. The bacteria and yeasts not only create the bio-matrix structure, or the grains, the organisms are also harboured by the very structure that they create; abiding on the surface, and encapsulated within the grain itself."

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09/21/2012: Janie D from Mattoon, Illinois, Usa: "I was wondering if there might be any of you readers here that have ever heard of a very rare disease called Pachyonychia Congenita, pronounced - "Pack-e-o-knee-kia". It is a rare disease that affects the skin and the nails. I am now awaiting a DNA test to confirm what I have pretty much known I had all my life. I just didn't know it had a name until my youngest daughter found it on the internet a few years back. I had also passed PC on to her! If you know of someone who has this, I would love to hear about it. There are only about 1,000 cases in the entire world with this rare skin disease. It is important that we try to get as many people registered with the PC Project so that a cure may be found. Please go to pachyonychiacongenita.org or you can google PC Project to find out what it is. I have followed so many ideas and solutions on this website from you guys, and they have really helped in making living with this disease so much more tolerable.

Thank you Earth Clinic for all your wonderful ideas and to all the wonderful people who offer their suggestions. This site is truly a Godsend."

09/11/2012: Tara from San Diego, Ca: "Please help! My daughter has pilomatrixoma on her cheek. Doctor recommended surgery to remove it. There is not much information online as to how to handle this in a more natural way. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks, Tara"

03/11/2013: Annie from Berkeley, Ca replies: "Hi Tara, I would love to know what you found out. My 8 yr old daughter has just been diagnosed with pilomatrixoma on her eyebrow. Again, the Dr has suggested surgery, but I would like to try a natural remedy before we go down that route. Many thanks"

02/15/2013: Float-on from Lahaina, Hawaii, Usa: "Hello, I'm an 18 year old female, and since I was about 12 or 13, from time to time, I've been having these little hard things coming out of my skin. They tend to start out looking like a zit on my skin, but bigger and harder, and not easily popped. The first one I got in the 7th grade, and it took days before it finally came out. Before it came to a head, though, I noticed a hard substance beneath the skin on my right arm a few months before. When it did come to a head, the skin around it was red and swollen, and when we I tried to squeeze it, little bits of what we assumed was pus came out around the hard thing. After a day or two of trying to squeeze it out, my mom finally took a pair of tweezers and was able to pull it out by force. It was a grayish color, smaller than a pebble and bigger than a grain of sand, and hard, like a rock. Since then, I've had about 4 more come out of my skin, including the one I discovered on my back two nights ago, which came out last night. This newest one came out of nowhere. It wasn't like the very first one, which started out beneath my skin and then came to head. One day there wasn't anything, then late Wednesday night, I felt this sore, swollen bump on my back. I've had outbreaks of MRSA for the past 2 or 3 years, and at first I thought it was another outbreak of that, except I haven't had one in over 7 months, so I was a little surprised. Then last night, I was trying to look at it in the mirror when I noticed it had the same dark, hard head as these other things I've been having, so I squeezed and the little thing popped out. The other places I've had these are my arms, the top of my head, and my left leg. I also currently have one beneath the skin of my left breast, which has been there for over 2 years now. Only the first one on my arm and the one on my breast were/are visible beneath my skin, the others would just appear one day.

I really just want to know if anyone has had, heard of, or knows anything about this or something similar to this. I'd like to know what these things are and if there's anything I can do to get them to go away. Please let me know."

02/15/2013: Jane from Alameda, Ca replies: "Hi, I would recommend a dermatologist to help you diagnose this skin condition. If you can't afford one, then perhaps someone on this forum will be able to help you. I do know that most skin conditions are helped with the spice turmeric. The recommended dose is 1 teaspoon in water or rice milk (etc) twice a day. You might also try some herbs to cleanse your liver. Please keep us informed of your progress!"

02/16/2013: Timh from Louisville, Ky, Usa replies: "Float-on: You seem to be getting some type particulate matter into your body somehow. There are essentially 3 routes of foreign substances to enter the body: Skin or dermal, lungs or respiratory, and oral or digestive. Do an in-depth historical analysis of environments that might have exposed you to something. The most likely route would be one in which there is compromise. Any kind of lung disease would compromise the integrity of its defenses. Leaky gut syndrome would allow otherwise harmless substances into the bloodstream.

As for treatment. Hot Epsom Salt / Baking Soda bathes should help clear that stuff out. Steam or sauna sweat treatments will hasten the removal of foreign matter.

Hope this helps and let us know of your progress."

03/03/2013: Lisa from Las Vegas, Nv replies: "This sounds so much like what my mother, age 80, has suffered for many years, but it's just her scalp, which she constantly scratches and picks at it. Several dermatologists have claimed it was seboric dermatitis or something like that, all prescribed the same type of ointments and shampoos, and she experienced no relief whatsoever. Cortisone ointment offers some relief. She believes it's a neurological disorder not dermatalogical... but no doctor will agree or pursue the matter."

03/05/2013: Diane from Framingham, Ma replies: "You may find it hard to believe but Urine therapy will resolve the issue... I had the same thing... Read, Your "Own Perfect Medicine, " by Martha Christie.. It's on the web site... Real deal stuff better than shampoo... BTW Most all shampoos have urine in them... Murine eye drop is made of urine hense the Murine name... All expensive cosmetics have urine in them... You have to use HER urine.. Try it once for an hour and you'll see."

12/07/2012: Ginny from Boise, Idaho replies: "Lorraine, Does your daughter have a gluten intolerance? You could take her off all gluten for a few weeks and see if the sores get better. If you give her an item with gluten in it after she has been off a while, It could cause digestive discomfort. This will be a tell tell sign."

12/11/2012: Lorraine from Stortford, United Kingdom replies: "That hasn't been suggested before so I'll look into it. Thanks"

08/27/2012: Citygirl27 from Richardson, Tx, Usa replies: "Sounds like something might have disrupted your thyroid. Try increasing your iodine intake. Do iodine painting on that area, and add drops of Lugol's iodine to your tea, soup or other food. There is a lot of information here on EC about Lugol's."

06/30/2012: Citygirl27 from Richardson, Tx, USA replies: "Milk of magnesia is great and I have heard of people using it for oily skin for a long time as a mattifier and for oil control. As a bonus it kills acne bacteria with its alkaline pH. Bizarre, but I have heard this several places. I use it occasionally with positive results. It doesn't zap every last drop of oil, but it definitely helps and mattifies."

07/01/2012: Lisa from Thousand Oaks, Ca, Usa replies: "Hi Patty, Congratulations on the apple cider vinegar making your skin look really nice. If you feel you are still dealing with oily skin, I would suggest bentonite clay. You can either use it topically as a mask which is very good for the skin (also French green clay works) besides detoxing it. When using it as a mask, if you have oily skin you can mix the clay with ingredients other than water. You can also ingest it which would also benefit your entire body. Or you could do a combination of both.

I believe there are people who have posted regarding this on EC but can't tell you under what heading! Sorry. Perhaps do a search for bentonite clay here on EC and see what comes up. Hope this helps, Lisa"

07/03/2012: Jennifer from Sunrise, Fl, Usa replies: "I second the Milk of Magnesia for oily skin. You can also use it as a makeup primer. Just apply on a cotton square and smooth all over your skin, then apply your makeup over it.

Make sure to buy the unflavored kind and a brand that has ONLY magnesium as an ingredient. Additives like mineral oil or sugar/artificial flavoring can make you break out."

07/03/2012: Citygirl27 from Richardson, Tx, Usa replies: "My bottle of CVS milk of magnesia has magnesium hydroxide and purified water. It is sugar free and stimulant free. You can typically get a shop's own brand which is just as well for less than the leading make. Keep in mind it has a very high pH, close to 10, so apply it at a different time of day to ACV, or other tonics."

05/02/2012: Bonnie from Abbeville, Al replies: "Same thing was going on to a girl here at work, everwhere her body crease it was like she had a dark tan that looked dirty. They (drs) could not figure it out. She lost weight, throwing up, weak, she would come to work and lay her head on the desk. Went to hospital twice sent her home after fluids, would be better for short time then relaps. Dr. put her symptoms in his pad and came up with addison's disease. It was too late, she had burned out adrenal gland. Please seek help. She is on cortisol for life her body does not make it anymore."

05/06/2012: Dianak. from Houston, Tx replies: "Thank you Bonnie. I have taken into consideration your post above. I had a nutritionist who had been helping me with supplementation and she was giving me specific nutrition dealing with the pituitary and adrenal glands. I felt great after the protocol was given and come to think of it, when my hands had returned to their normal coloring. I have pulled out my supplements again that she gave me and have a scheduled consultation with her to re-evaluate my condition. I don't believe that I have Addison's but now I know that my adrenals and pituitary glands are playing a role in my current condition along with stress in my life that I need to get under control. You have helped set me on a path that needed addressing. Appreciate the help. :-)"