Effective Natural Eczema Treatments for Soothing Relief

I was reading everyone's testimonials and it gave me hope that ACV would clear my eczema that I've had for so long (since when I was 14, I'm now 21)and was irritated that my doctor couldn't help clear it and all he ever gave me was steroids to slow it down...What I did was pour of ACV on a cotton ball (soak it) and rubbed it on the places where the eczema was. Because it stings so bad I had a bottle of Sweet Almond Oil and rubbed it on the same spot where the eczema was to immediately stop the stinging and help with the healing of the skin. You can get a small bottle health food stores for around $6, I know it's expensive but it's worth it. I did this for about a week and it cleared up my eczema. I also drink 2 tbsp. of ACV in bottle water daily (tastes bad but bear with it!) to kill the eczema bacteria inside my body.

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!

I have been trying to clear up my eczema for a couple months now using Apple cider vinegar with the Mother both topically on my affected areas and internally (1/2 & 1/2 with water twice daily) for detoxing. It makes my skin very dry, though the redness goes away and sometimes the itching will be for awhile, too.

It is very painful topically, so I can really only work myself up to do it two times a day. It burns, stings, itches and although it clears my skin and body, it is very hard to figure out if my body is getting tolerant, or if I have to go back to adding baking soda to the drink to help with the acidity...

I also take baths in epsom salt, oatmeal or take a shower using just a washcloth to get off any dead skin. I've Boraxo (not Borax) so I haven't done the scalp treatment yet, as I have seen here that Boraxo is much stronger, and sometimes causes more issues with people.

When using epsom salts, I find that my skin is softer as a whole, but gets quite dry upon leaving the bath. Flaking skin is more visible. When taking an oatmeal bath, I find that I get more hydrated, but it doesn't last and soon I am all itchy again. When I take a shower with no soaps involved and just wipe myself down with a washcloth (of course), I am also very dry and agitated upon leaving the shower. I wish I could find something that could give my skin the right moisture..

I also have been using coconut oil (natural, cold pressed) the past few days. Before recently, I've tried using Olive Oil, coconut oil that wasn't cold pressed, and sometimes the occasional lotion.

When using the oils, I feel as if they are too thin, or not fully hydrating my skin- so I apply more when needed. Unfortunately, this makes me very hot and itchy, why I do not know. I would like to know if there is a way to calm the itching, hopefully so I'll have better results with all this effort. My skin will clear up to a certain point, then it stays like that (about half-healed I would assume, as most redness is gone, there's less flaking and a lot more clear patches of skin breaking through the rash) and doesn't get any better- it only seems to get worse because the itch sets in and I have yet to find anything that could help with that on the site.

I have eczema over about 80-90% of my person, it is very hard to figure out what works and what does not, as I'm trying to stick through these remedies to be sure they either do not, or do work- but gradually. I have tried tons of things over the counter as well, such as lotions soaps (even claiming to be for those effected by eczema) but to no avail. Nothing seems to keep the itching at bay- or lessen it enough that I can sleep without scratching through the night, or stop covering myself up with sweatshirts and agitating fabrics in an effort to keep myself from scratching. Sometimes, it helps; other times not so much because I find that the seams or the certain fabric can rub my skin just so... Anyways, I am having problems with more than one remedy here, and hope to know what the issue may be soon. Please, please get back to me. I was born with eczema, I've had problems with it for a couple years in a row now- the same breakout never really going away but with the help of steroids and I do not like using them or taking them.

I really hope someone will know what it is I'm doing wrong...

Hi guys, I have had eczema for a good part of five years. I'm sick and tired just like the rest of you guys.

stumbled across this site and saw the apple cider vinegar remedies. I ordered it online and it actually does work if you apple it more so then drink it. just get some Apple Cider Vinegar with same amount of water. soak it in cotton. Apply it on affected areas. it will sting at first but the sting dies soon.

Another thing I did to improve my eczema is drink plenty of water and take cold shower! Oh yeah and also try to avoid foods that flare up your eczema! Curry is a big no-no for me! The cold shower is the best method for me! It is ver effective and seems to me like my uncurable eczema is cured.

Just sharing with you guys because what it can be like having eczema..

hope u guys beat eczema!

I havent had an eczema outbreak like I have now in many years and I have tried everything under the sun to get rid of it. I was putting ACV on it every couple hours. It would calm it down for an hour or so and then I was having to reapply. I started taking a teaspoon 2 times a day. Once in the morning and once at night and putting colloidal silver directly on it instead of the ACV. It has almost disappeared. Feels so good to finally get a decent nights sleep.

I recently sent in a post on how apple cider vinegar really helped clear up my eczema but I have to say that adding diatamceous earth into the routine has been the one additional thing that made a masssive difference in drying up this huge patch of eczema. It really has speeded up the drying out time. My theory is not to moisturize, I know this helps some people beat their eczema but for me I need to dry out my eczema patch and then it just peels off leaving fresh good skin underneath.

I have been using 1/3 Apple Cider Vinegar and 2/3 water 2-3 times daily soaking the eczema area in this with a cotton swab. It has been slowly drying up and since my skin is getting used to the ACV I increased the concentration each subsequent day starting from 1/3 Apple Cider Vinegar and 2/3 water then 1/2 Apple Cider Vinegar and 1/2 water and then today 2/3 Apple Cider Vinegar 1/3 water however as I said the eczema has been slow to dry up.

The day before yesterday, in the evening I saw on this website diamatameceous earth listed as a cure and since I had some lying round I just put some of the powder on my eczema and it really dried it up so much and the redness really diminshed after one application for two hours.

I find getting water on my face is a big no-no when I have eczema especially not on the eczema patch, it makes it worse!!

So I have learnt to not get my face wet at all in the shower (where the eczema is), what I do is not use soap and water like I normally do, instead I clean the normal skin with lotion (cream-based) and toner (rosewater, Apple Cider Vinegar with water or other) and then just cleaned the eczema skin with the 2/3 Apple Cider Vinegar to 1/3 water solution.

Yesterday in the morning I waited for that to dry off then dusted more diatamaceous earth on the eczema sores.

I repeated the same no water washing and acv/water topical treatment again in the evening before I went to bed and then put diatamaceous earth on the sores and this morning I am really surprised by the improvement. Diatamaceous earth added to the Apple Cider Vinegar treatment really speeds up the recovery time impressively! Could some eczema be parasitic or other tiny creatures, I wonder? Since I know diatamaceous earth is used to kill insects in the garden and parasites in the tummy, who knows? Or is the drying effect plus the wealth of minerals the property of this earth, the thing that helps the skin? Whatever the case it really really works so well for eczema I am so relieved to see this huge patch of eczema diminsh and dry up so rapidly!

Cortisone cream is rubbish compared to this ACV diatamaceous earth treatment!

I hope this helps lots of people suffering from this horrible condition and thanks again to earth clinic for allowing us to all help each other!! Best site ever for health ailments!

Another thing I'd like to add which for me are things that help with eczema:

eat a really clean, pure diet, all organic if you can afford it. Eliminate dairy (except occasional goat products), no eggs, no red meat, no gluten and no sugars.

Supplement with vitamin D (4000iu at least), the best source is pure sunshine, I never have eczema in the summer! During the winter try to find a UVB safe tanning bed if you get eczema, it will also dry it out. Lots of people say tanning is bad and maybe it does dry out the skin but I would rather run the risk of having one more wrinkle than having a huge patch of eczema permanently across my face!

It really really helps my eczema no end and I think vit D deficiency is to blame for many ailments. The sun has been scapegoated for so many things but if you do scientific research, so much depression, MS, skin ailments are actually caused by a lack of vitamin D and although you can take tablets, the bodies' best way of absorbing it is through external exposure.
As long as you are sensible with it and only take what you need medicinally and when you need it, you can safely absorb vitamin D. Interesting when you consider the fact that people living in the North of Europe have much more MS than those in the south due to lack of sunlight.

I always feel better and look better during the summer when I get my fix of sunshine.

Do not use water or soap to wash the eczema infested area. Do not get it wet. Only clean it with Apple Cider Vinegar and water. If you can try to not wet the whole part of the body where the eczema is occurring, clean with lotion and toner or some organic wipes.

Be well!

Like a lot of other readers I've been suffering with eczema for a good part of my life, at least 20 years. I've tried everything under the sun... Both western medicine and alternative. I stopped using the steroid creams after reading about the side effects and tried the holistic approaches including acupuncture, diet changes, etc.

A combination of ACV and diet changes seems to have done the trick! My eczema has gone down significantly (been about 2 weeks now) and the flare ups only occur when I get stressed out.

I followed the instructions of what many other readers have suggested but added a few of my own changes:

- 2 tbls ACV in 8oz of water (twice a day - morning and evening)

- Application of virgin coconut oil on eczema areas (twice a day - after morning shower and before going to bed)

- Cut out *ALL* dairy, fried foods, soda, refined sugar (I now use honey instead), beef, pork, and wheat (gluten). I still eat chicken and fish...

- Increased the amount of fruits and vegetables I consume considerably

- Drink at least 4 8oz glasses of water per day

- Try to have a positive attitude as much as I can (we always have a choice on how we react to life events... Took me a long time to realize this but it's true. If you're interested, check out Heal Your Life by Louise Hay).

I'm hope this helps if you're at your wits end on how to deal with eczema. Good luck!

And last but not least, thank you Earth Clinic for hosting this thread and for sharing all this incredible information!!! Knowledge is power, it truly is.

Rob.

I am so utterly grateful for simple healing remedies for severe eczema!!!!! I have been suffering from this for approximately 1 year. No prior history of skin rashes. I have a 13 year history of being a dog groomer and using various harsh shampoos. My hands have never had sensitivities to these chemicals. I was raised on whole, homogenized/pasteurized milk, meat and potatoes, wheat bread etc. And have never had a problem with food allergies... Until now. At the age of 42 my right hand began with itching and redness at the web of my 3rd and 4th finger. The redness, and (intense!!! ) itching kept spreading up the back of my hand. Water feels awful on it, especially hot water. Chemicals bother it and I itch it so fiercely, it cracks and bleeds. During the day it oozes a clear, viscous fluid and my whole hand balances between being swollen, extremely itchy and utterly hideous to look at to swollen, painful and utterly hideous to look at. I am now an acupuncturist/herbalist and you can imagine the shame of hiding this while treating people from an alternative/holistic perspective. I wore a nitrile glove on my dominant hand for 6 months to cover my grief and shame. My hand was lobster red and scaley.

I began noticing that I was getting very reactive to foods that I normally had never had a problem with. I did my research and learned that oral birth control pills upset the flora/fauna of our intestines which makes it ripe for candida albicans to overgrow especially if you aren't on a probiotic. Fast forward to trying different remedies... I am a food lover and was so distraught at the severe restrictions of the candida diet that I tried various herbal formulas and probiotics to avoid having to thoroughly change my diet. I believe in herbs and eating healthy but my body seemed to over react to everything I put in my mouth. Eventually, I was hopeless thinking my severly damaged skin would never heal as it got to the stage of lichenification.

I had read during my research that eczema sufferers tend to have in common a severe deficiency of essential fatty acids and I also knew that disease thrives in an acidic body environment. If you properly alkalize your body, disease retreats. If you are deficient in a mineral or fatty acid then supplement with it. I had tried both of these in the beginning but I didn't stay the course with either of them.

Fast forward to today... I have been taking fish oil 10-14 capsules per day and 2-3 TBSP of unpasteurized ACV with the 'mother' in it mixed in 8 ounces of water per day. I unbelievably have not had to severly restrict my diet. I even can eat some sweets. My eczema that I have been so hopelessly suffering from is now 90% healed!! I have pictures! I am increasing the ACV and fish oil to see how soon I can finish healing that last 10%. I cannot tell you how blessed I feel!! I hope that those of you who are suffering from this infuriating disease can find some hope in my story! My heart goes out to you! Know that you too can heal!!!

I had a terrible eczema for more than 2 years on joints of my fingers. It was in a form of little bumps that started on the joints of index finger on both hands and with time spread around to other joints and also spread to the area near the finger nails. I apply (topically) apple cider vinegar whenever I have an itching episode and then, I apply a generic "baby rash" cream with 15% zinc. I also use propolis (bees wax) to prevent inflammation (I also used polysporin for the same reason). After ~ 2 weeks the eczema was essentially gone. But when I stop using ACV (apple cider vinegar) new patches appear and it takes 2 weeks to completely heal the infected region.

Remark: I noticed that when I regularly use ACV, even when I don't have an itching episode, the spread of the "bumps" stop and the infected area gets better.

I have decided to do the 3-day apple fast after living with a severe eczema flare all over my body for the past 7 months.

I was diagnosed with discoid eczema and was prescribed a steroid cream which does help with the itch; however it has been very damaging to my skin so I have stopped using it.

About a month ago I decided to give up dairy products and see if that makes a difference. My skin improved significantly although it did not clear completely. So my plan is to do the 3 day apple cleanse and then become completely gluten and dairy-free along with taking a probiotic and fish oil supplements. I also apply plenty of moisturiser – ITMve found Cetaphil to be the most effective. Virgin coconut oil and QV lotion are also great hydrators.

I'm now into day 2 of my apple detox and I'm feeling pretty hungry! I only have to look in the mirror though to remind myself why I am doing this. I'm already seeing some improvement in my eczema and I'm not as itchy. Fingers crossed it continues to improve! I will update again at the end of my apply detox!

WORKED TEMPORARILY

Apple fast for Eczema

It worked wonders for the three days I followed the instructions provided by someone else that posted way before me. I was so amazed that I did not need any additional encouragement to keep doing it. However, on the fourth day everything started to go back to "normal", meaning, itchiness, blisters, rash, aching came back. I guess that it only works because you are detoxing yourself; but the moment you go back to your regular eating habits you throw everything to waste. I am currently trying to see if there is any food allergy that might be triggering it as I have already tried two dermatologists, a homeopatic doctor, the apple fast and coconut oil (both rubbed and eaten) and nothing has worked for me yet. I need an urgent cure as I am mother of a 4yo and of a 15mo and you can imagine how painful it is even to hold them!!!

I am sick of pill pushing doctors, so I thought I would try the 3 day apple fast for eczema. It works well! I have severe eczema on my entire body (back, knees, elbows, neck, scalp, chest, arms, and ears) and have tried it all. I'm looking for healthy, and this is it. Thank you.

Day 3 of the apple detox and my fingers have no new developments. Lots of eczema still there but it's healing. Going to start back with spinach and scrambled eggs tomorrow morning.

I tried the 3 day apple detox, I had severe eczema on my back, doctors would prescribe hydrocortisone that would give temporary relief from itching but would never remove the ugly rash, I started the apple detox and finished in 3days the rash from my back has gone completely and no long itches. My skin is so smooth on my back and face.

I've tried the 3 day apple fast and I too have dyshidrotic eczema. It is on both hands primarily on the palms. I also have acne, had it since I was 15 and now I am 33. The fast seem to keep the inflammation down but not cure it. Neither did it cure my acne. Once I start back on food (I am on the 3rd night) tomorrow I am pretty sure the inflammation will start up. Thanks for the post but I guess it's not for everyone.