Effective Natural Eczema Treatments for Soothing Relief

I purchased 12% Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide on line. I diluted it with filtered water and I apply it twice a day, making sure I also keep my skin well hydrated. I was at my wits end with my eczema. It has been a wonderful miracle. This was after months and years of chemo pills, prednisone shots and prescription ointments, Finally, relief.

Will add my vote for cod liver oil. It cured my eczema after a curious start. The first time I took the gelcaps, I had the worst itchiest night of my entire life, woke up in bloody sheets, but my eczema was completely calm by then, no itch, no blisters, and the edges of the patches were already healing, back to soft new skin. I have continued to experience four months of continuous healing of my skin, no more flares. I believe I will continue taking cod liver oil all my life. People should beware that some clo on the market has synthetic vitamins added to it. Stick to high quality pure cod liver oil.

Cucumber juice for eczema

I have been suffering with eczema on my hands for several months now and the itching is making me go out of my mind. A friend gave me several cucumbers the other day and not knowing what I could do with them I juiced one. Within a few hours I felt the itchiness and pain seemed to be dissapating. I began to wonder if the cucumber juice was really helping. I have John Heinermans book "The Enclycopedia of Healing Juices" and he does state that cucumbers are quite helpful for skin itchiness. I will continue to juice my cucumbers and if you don't have a juicer, a blender with some water will work as well or even rub slices on your skin. I hope this helps someone because the suffering is almost unbearable and depressing.

Dear Earthclinic,

I just wanted to share this information with people that suffer from Eczema and hives. My adult son age 48 for a few years now was suffering first from hives and then from terrible eczema! He even had to stop working and lived with us because he was so ill. One day our washing machine broke and so we started to wash clothing at a local laundromat. Then my son's eczema (the hives subsided) got even worse! We didn't know what to make of it? One day my husband decided to rinse some of his clothing alone and my husband could not get over all the soap residue coming from the washed clothing (loads of it). My son's clothing was full of soap residue that showed up in the rinse water and had to be rinsed several times to get the soap out!

Now we only wash my son's laundry in organic Baby shampoo (by hand) and his eczema is going away! We believe that using the laundromat washers had even more soap residue from other people's wash. My son is now almost well completely from the eczema (a little redness on one leg only) and feels so much better. My son had allergy problems since childhood but this eczema/hive problem was making his life miserable. He now feels like he is back to normal. Thanks DianeC.

After having a pretty bad bout of poison ivy on my arms, I was prescribed a steroid cream. Shortly after that my hands started breaking out with what I thought was still poison ivy that was still on my boots or other items I may have touched after. Eventually I got to the point where I wasn't sure if it was in fact still poison ivy on my hands. Long story short, I went to two different dermatologists. One said it was probably Granuloma Annulare while they other said it was probably Eczema. Both agreed, however that it wasn't poison ivy and that it was probably caused from my skin being compromised (i.e. good bacteria) on my hands. I used to use a lot of hand sanitizer and wash my hands a lot because of the type of job I have. Anyway, after using their creams that they prescribed, getting good results at first and then my condition getting worse (mind you, one dermatologist actually prescribe a cream that had alcohol in it- go figure right), I decided to go natural and with the mind state that I had to rebuild my skin on my hands.

What I came up with was a mixture of oils that have both restorative and anti-fungal/bacterial properties as well as a new method for my hand washing.

First, the oil mixture which I have gotten the best results thus far over anything I have tried is 1 Tablespoon of unrefined coconut oil to 10 drops of peppermint oil, tea tree oil, and eucalyptus oil. Make sure the coconut oil is liquefied so you can mix all the oils evenly together. The best way to apply seems to be running my hands under warm to hot water (seems to relieve any itch for a few hours or so and opens up your pores so the oils are better absorbed) gently dry, and then gently rub in the oil mixture on the affected areas and around (a little goes a long way). It may be a little “greasy” at first, but it will absorb and some will wipe off on its on.

I do this right before I leave for work and then right before bed (keeping my hands from rubbing the oils off on covers as much as possible). I even found that the more you can apply this oil mixture or the longer you keep it on, the better results.

Also, now when I wash my hands I don't go as crazy and stick to washing the parts of my hands that will actually touch something (i.e. the underside of my fingers). Remember the key here is to rebuild your skin and take care of any bacteria or the like they may have your hands reacting the way that it has.

Am I completely cured, not yet, but my hands have improved tremendously. This has been the best method for me and addresses the key cause without causing other issues like many drugs do. If something starts to come out on my hands it's usually small and goes away in a couple of days or so if I stay on top of applications. I find that if I don't at least apply the mixture in the morning and at night or my hands have been exposed to friction like working with my hands or irritating them somehow and I don't stay on top of applications, they will be worse. Leaving my hands dry and working outside for example is sure to bring on something on my hands. I know this will take time because we use our hands so much so rebuilding is going to take time.

Oh yeah, and I stay away from hand sanitizer too and don't overdue washing my hands. If I must, again, I focus on the parts of my hands that actually touch (i.e. the underside of my fingers).

I developed seborrheic eczema for 2 years. It started back in 2010 July as a very small on my left cheek and soon developed to a huge red patch. I quickly went to the pharmacy to find out what it was and they said it was fungal since it was inflamed and oozed with yellow liquid. I was scared so I listened to the lady when she recommended me to use clotrimazole (fungal cream). It was going great, the patch was gone within 3 days. However it kept coming back and worse as before. I then went to see a dermatologist and he said it is definitely eczema. He prescribed me the usual 1% hydrocortisone. I used this very thinly for a few weeks and it did the temporary trick, however it keeps coming back and the condition worsened. At this point, I had no more faith in creams. I was depressed everyday looking at myself in the mirror, my skin has been destroyed with this huge patch of red, dry and flaky skin. End of 2010, I went to America for holiday. My aunt is a pharmacist and she took me to a skin specialist. The doctor asked me to wash my face with Head and shoulder shampoo and go on a course of cortisone pills for 7 days. This method did the trick for controlling the eczema for only 3 weeks. After that, it came back in vengeance. Start of 2011, I gave up in finding a doctor or taking pills and using these chemical creams. I started experimenting with natural products. For 1 and a half years I changed my diet by eating super clean (Though my diet was very healthy already before this eczema developed, maybe it was due to stress as I was still studying in university).

Second step is, I started washing my face with apple cider + water and apply coconut oil on the eczema patch. I tried this a few weeks, it did not help.

I then tried juicing raw potato, drink it and also put it on my patch, this also did not work.

Here are a list of things that I also tried (ingesting and/or applying topically) but failed:
- Aloe vera + slippery elm + probiotics
- green barley grass+ green juice + spirulina
- coconut oil (ingest and topically)
- Apple cider vinegar (ingest and topically)
- Hemp, fish, flax seed oil
- Zinc, magnesium, Vit B complex, Vit A.
- Tumeric (make it into paste as face mask and also ingest)
- There are still many other things that I've experimented but with no desired outcome.

Here comes the answers to my prayers. The ONLY things that made my eczema gone was APPLE CIDER VINEGAR + COCONUT + NATURAL BENTONITE CLAY.
I would mix them all into a paste just enough to put all over my face. I leave this on OVERNIGHT and EVERY NIGHT for 4 weeks. The first few days, my face would sting after using the mask over night. it made my skin red (my eczema looked especially angry with drier patch), however this pass in an hr and your skin goes back normal. The most amazing thing is I saw results just after 1 and a half weeks of using these ingredients religiously every night to sleep. I just kept doing it and in the 4th week the eczema DISAPPEARED. You guys have no idea how HAPPPYYYYYYY I was! To maintain this (because I was so traumatize that the eczema might reappear again) I would apply this paste every 2nd night for the next 6 months. After that, I never applied them again. It's nearly 1.5 years ever since I had eczema and it never came back (:

You can buy ANY natural bentonite clay online (I bought mine on ebay) and mix it into a paste with a few drops of apple cider vinegar + coconut oil just so your face won't be too dry. This worked amazingly with quick and fast results! I hope this works for everyone but I know we're all different. Anyone who are struggling with eczema, please please pleaseee give this a try and see how you go! At least give it ONE whole month EVERY NIGHT to see results. Do not worry if the first week makes your skin worse, 2nd week should be ok!

Good luck everybody!

My son had severe eczema from the time he was a few months old. I took him to 3 doctors and was given prescriptions that didn't cure him.He scratched til he bled. One day after fasting I read that a deficiency in vitamin A will cause dry, itchy bumps especially on the legs.

I gave him cod liver oil in a cup of juice with a top on it (sippy cup) because of the smell. The next week he did not have one spot on him and he is 18 years old now and never had that again.

Turmeric skin cream (Aurvedic medicine) helped with eczema. My two year old son has had an eczema since he was three months. It was bad, involving I'd say 90% of his body. We tried changing diet, different creams,steroids...nothing helped until we found the turmeric skin cream (somebody recommended it on this website). It worked like a miracle for my son, his skin turned soft and eczema free within hours!!! I strongly encourage all to try the cream. You may find it in any Indian store, or online. The eczema still comes back now, but it's just a few spots on his body, and the cream usually takes care of it very fast... we also use this cream for my teen age daughter for her acne- it cleared her face.

I have been suffering through a 16month eczema outbreak. Nothing has worked for long. I have tried every natural remedy under the sun. Spent a fortune on creams that don't work. Only relief I had was in France during the summer - very hot, & sunny. I've been gluten free for 3 months (worked last time I had eczema, but no relief this time, so far). I may be sharing this prematurely, and maybe it won't last, but I've been itch free for almost 24hrs! The itch has driven me mad - and I have done lots of damage to my skin because of itching. To be itch free for even a day is heaven. I've been researching iodine & eczema. Bought the 10% povidone iodine at the drug store applied as directed and hardly an itch since. One site said to put vitamin E oil on top of the iodine, which I did after the 3rd application of iodine. It is suggested that you apply it 2X a day. Even put it on my face this morning and the itch stopped. There is a decolourized iodine, which I couldn't find - the iodine will stain clothes when wet, but dries in 10 seconds and then no staining. Can't hurt to try & inexpensive too. Nothing else has relieved the itch as well - with no itch maybe my skin will begin to heal? Good luck.

This is the most successful remedy combination I have experimented with for dermatitis!

I have had itchy dermatitis on and off around my nose for about 10 years. It was triggered after working in an office in Los Angeles for a man who smoked all day long (illegally of course, but he was a top entertainment executive so no one complained at that point in time). After years of smoking, the cigarette smoke was embedded in his furniture-- that's a horrendous smell to someone whose never smoked. Plus, think of all those microbes! At any rate, it took about 3 years to clear and then came back every time I would get around old, furniture embedded cigarette smoke. Psychological response? Maybe! At any rate, it came back again this summer after a few months' respites.

But this time, I am happy to report that after years of playing around with every prescription and supplement under the sun, I think I have finally hit upon a dermatitis cure! It will only cost about $5... $.79 for the decolorized iodine, and $4 for a bottle of vitamin E oil. Here is my cure:

Using decolorized iodine for the face, take a q-tip and dab the dermatitis with iodine. If this is not on your face, you can use regular iodine. But it will stain you orange for a few hours.

If your dermatitis is on sensitive skin around your nose, like me, it will burn like crazy when you apply the iodine. Don't inhale the fumes while it is drying (takes about 10 seconds to dry). After it dries, apply some natural vitamin e oil. I open a large capsule and use that for several days before it runs out. Your skin will redden from the iodine and dry out, but the vitamin e will heal it and keep it from flaking. Keep this area moist with vitamin e oil all day and night if possible.

Do the topical iodine for 2 days, 3x a day. After the 2nd day, cut the iodine back to 1x a day. However, you will still want to keep the vitamin e oil on all day. After 3 days of 1x daily application of iodine, cut the iodine back to every other day. Continue every other day for 10 days (or less). Keep up the vitamin e oil every day until the dermatitis has disappear completely.

Let me tell you, the iodine and vitamin 3 oil starts to work on clearing up the dermatitis in about 24 hours! Initially the skin will look red and inflamed, but don't worry... the vitamin e speeds up the healing process.

I hope everyone with dermatitis (even perioral dermatitis) will try this cure. My particular form of dermatitis is one of the trickiest to heal so I am thrilled to maybe have a cure! I will let you know in the future how long this holds before I have to do the iodine again. Hopefully, never! Thanks.

2014 Update:

Took me MANY years to figure this out but it turned out my issue was a vitamin d deficiency. The iodine cure lasted for a few years and then came back. It finally went away permanently with vitamin d serum 20,000 IU per day for two weeks.

Acne, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, perioral dermatitis, and other skin conditions that cause inflammation, especially on the face, can be caused by hypochlorhydria (Low stomach acid). Take Betaine HCL supplement and/or Apple Cider Vinegar to restore stomach acid. Other symptoms may be bloating, belching, and indigestion after eating.

Regarding Samuel's post above from 2011, where he wrote:

"The bottom line is that anything that is not organic or has artificial ingredients is poison. Citric acid is It is the reason you have eczema/acne. Even regular fruits and vegetables and meats, if not organic, are full of pesticides and other junk that can do nothing but harm you.

Just to let some of you know the real face of artificial ingredients, I finally researched what citric acid is. Unless the citric acid is coming from citrus fruit, artificial citric acid is derived from MOLD. You are eating or drinking a product that comes from MOLD. This alone should let people realize that artificial ingredients are poison."

The dermatologist here prescribed citric acid for a patch of psoriasis on the back of my neck. I did not know it was mold. That could explain the huge eczema flare. He should be fired.

I have found wet wrapping the only thing to give relief from eczema (as I thought it was anyway, self diagnosed, extremely dry, cracking, lumpy and red itchy skin) on my legs.

The procedure is to soak and wring out bandages in pure cold water. Then cover with a dry layer and clingfilm. Leave at least 2 hours up to 5 hours then be prepared for tremendous improvement as you gently unwrap.

Hello Deirdre, I am sorry to hear that you are poorly?! Not good. I wonder if you might benefit from trying Flax Seed Oil, which, (among other claimed benefits), has the possible potential of improving skin conditions. Mine is a New Zealand, organic, cold-pressed, extra virgin oil that is supposed to be traceable from "Soil to Oil" (love that bit) and has Omegas 3,6 and 9 as well as natural vitamin E in it. You cannot use it for cooking, as it has a low smoke point but we dribble / "drizzle" the smallest amount over our evening meal reasonably regularly. Think it has helped my dandruff somewhat. Check out if you can rub it in?? It is also supposed to benefit joint and heart health, brain and cardio-vascular functions but WHAT are they compared to the dreaded dandruff which causes Social Death and Gradual Disintegration??!!

P.S. and FYI.... in the Kiwi vernacular the term "gummy" refers to an article of footwear more properly known as a "gumboot" (or "wellington" if you happen to be British). Invented by the Duke of Wellington when he was presented with the problem of keeping his feet dry at the Battle of (wait for it) Water loo... and the rest is history as they say. Megan and Harry have just to-day participated in our Gumboot Throwing Competition. Being a Royal can be such fun at times. So, if you have taken to eating your gummy, I would be tempted to earnestly beseech you to immediately cease and desist this unhealthy practice as contraindications may ensue.

Cheers from Down Under and get better ASAP. Michael

Cod liver oil is amazing. I did like suggested 3x's a day, plus I added Evening Primrose oil recommended dosage on bottle since I'm in menopause and think that this flare up was a result of my hormone change and could help. My hands were the worse and completely raw, swollen, red, peeling constantly, and felt like bee's stinging me constantly. I could hardly bear the pain and read all the suggestions on here. This one made sense to me and gave it a try. I've been doing this regiment for a week now and hands are normal size, not red, not peeling, not itchy, and not in pain. I will continue for another week until I see it completely healed...but rejoicing...because I'm almost there! Woohoo...I'm a very happy woman for this cure!!!

I was nursing my daughter and still am since birth. She developed eczema around 1 month old. At first I had no idea where how this happened as my two other children had no problems. I took her to her pediatrician and she said that some babies just have it and it goes away as they get older. I asked if it could be because of something I was eating and her pediatrician (rated one of the best pediatrician in NYC) said "no, not at all."

Thank God for mothers intuition, I did some research of my own and found that my daughter was sensitive to the foods I was eating. I cut out foods one at a time to see what she was reacting to and found she was sensitive to milk, nuts and eggs? Something I constantly consumed in my diet. So I had to remove them from my diet but occasionally would incorporate them, except for the nuts.

After she turned 2 years, I attended a birthday party and ate cake that was made with nuts, which made her react not just on her hands as she would normally but now on her inner elbow area and it itched and was so red and uncomfortable for her, I had to wrap up her arms. I tried some ointments which helped but it wasn't until I began drinking Kefir and giving my daughter Kefir did it help give her relief. It literally worked within 12 hours. I'd give my daughter Kefir first thing in the morning and before she would go to sleep. (I would try to be consistent although sometimes she was resistant). It made her eczema disappear.

Eczema is a digestive issue and Kefir treats those issues. Western medicine along with most doctors are good at taking your money, and playing with human health in exchange for extra bucks. Kefir is the cure! Don't waste time, buy organic Kefir and save your children and yourself the trouble of spending your money on anything else!