★★★★☆
My heart goes out to everyone and their stories, thank you for sharing. This is my story:
My eczema started at age 18, inside elbows and knees. Doctors and their steroids? Not a realistic long term solution.
Every case and effective treatment is as different as those who suffer from it.
At age 28, I decided to address my inner demons, addressing what I thought was emotionally upsetting, long story.... insecurities related to our culture and sexuality, self worth, seeking validation from others, too much to list, but alas, my skin started getting better.
Also, I also tried eliminating gluten from diet???I lost some weight, but nothing noticeable after 6 weeks, as far as eczema.
This was all while living in western WA.(Was born and raised in southern CA until I moved to Seattle at age 15 in 1984) One doctor early on (1995), suggested the humidity in this area was largely to blame. I moved to Chico CA for 3 years. 2000 to 2003, it got better. In fact, I moved back to Seattle in 2003 and don't recall it acting up again for a few years, even in the Seattle winters. Winters in AZ? (2013 and 2014) awesome. Back to WA and in one years it came back. With a vengence this winter.
Obviously food is a factor in all health, I haven't had the patience to overhaul my diet, but I am getting better at staying very far away form fast food and over processed food. In the mean time...... what has helped with this last bout?
Learning to not focus on how bad it is and be more proactive. treating the symptoms? I read for years about oatmeal baths, but also, making a paste of fine ground oatmeal (colloidial). I was at my wits end and while getting a bath ready, I made a paste with colloidial oatmeal and water, smeared it on my arms and legs, sat for 20 minutes listening to Abraham Hicks (youtube it) about skin disorders. then I soaked in the oatmeal bath. the next day, skin started to exfoliate a lot more.
DRY BRUSHING!!!! A stiff natural bristle brush. I thought it would tear up my skin but first I started with a softer brush to get used to it. Plus, it is a nice way to relieve itch without breaking skin. A few days later, I used a brush with stiffer bristles. WOW! Some suggest to brush from feet to heart area, then hands to heart area. Supposed to stimulate lymph system. help with circulation. Visible results....mass exfoliation! The amount of dead skin I swept off the bathroom floor was astonishing. makes perfect sense, moisturizing dead skin cells is not that effective.
So, the first week, I dry brushed morning and evening. Now once a day. MOISTURIZING? Many people say coconut oil helps. Not me. Just kept my skin itchy. Shea Butter? YES!
First I bought Shea butter with frankincense and myrrh. It seemed to actually help. I gave up on drugstore lotions like Euerin, and CeraVe. I then used plain shea butter, not so effective.... I read more about frankincense and myrrh. The first essential oil helps sooth the itch, the latter is said to help heal skin faster. It is the first moisturizer that has made a difference.
I ordered raw pure organic unrefined shea butter and mixed frankincense and myrrh essential oils with it, about 20 drops of each to a pound of shea butter. seems to be helping. After the first week of dry brushing 2x a day, the pile of dead skin cells on the bathroom floor reduced drastically.
The eczema on my wrists was the worst so I have been applying triamcimilone to help, and it does, several times a day. and my face was getting bad too. There is a steroid, desonide? Sort of worked for me on my face. Remembering a doc who gave me Elocon (brand name, generic is good, not recalling name now) Worked even better than desonide for my face. and cheaper!
Eczema is torture, and add the depression that comes with it, extra torture when one is too depressed to even make an effort. Again, everyone is different and what worked for one person didn't work for me (i.e. apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, drug store lotion.) Yes, the shea butter is a little "greasy", but, take the time to let it soak in before getting dressed. and wear cotton!
A big help is a psychological approach.... remember that you are worth taking care of!!!! I was too depressed to do this. But instead of getting frustrated by the time it takes to rub dabs of steroid on all the little lesions, and then to warm the shea butter in hands so it can spread, on every square inch of my skin.....I tell myself that I am worth taking care of myself and taking the time to do it. Its not a chore or a burden, but a treat I am worthy of. I believe much of eczema is physiological, but the rest is emotional.
I hope this helps someone!
Exfoliate with dry brushing and oatmeal paste. (Store bought colloidal oatmeal can get spendy. I put about a cup of oatmeal in blender for a few minutes, easing the upper outsides down with a fork, but dont put fork in too deep or it hits the blades....get it as fine as you can. I then put it all in a double layer cheese cloth, tie up end with a rubber band. Put it in bath water, squeeze the dissolved oatmeal from cheescloth repeatedly into bath water as it runs. Open cheesecloth in a mixing bowl with a little water to make a paste that is stiff enough to stick to skin, not too watery. the first time I got it just right. The second time I did not grind the oats fine enough. You cant get it too fine. It will take about 5 minutes with a blender.
Moisturize with shea butter infused with frankincense and myrrh ( I blend it all with a hand mixer in a bowl, then scoop it into glass mason jars. )
and most importantly.....
BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE WORTHY OF SELF CARE AND SELF LOVE!!!!
Multiple Remedies
★★★★☆
Hi Everyone!
First I would like to say that Earth Clinic is literally a godsend for anyone who is looking for natural healing for a variety of ailments. I have found so much fantastic information here for a variety of bodily issues. Currently I am spending the summer in Connecticut, and whenever I am here or in the northern states I get absolutely unbearable eczema (really can not figure out why only here). I currently have been suffering from outbreaks on every sensitive skin area of my body such as eyes, lips, breasts and "other" places (ugh). This week I decided to give a go at some of the natural remedies researched from a variety of sources and am so excited to say that today was an absolute break through in fighting off this awful skin issue. Almost all areas are 3/4 of the way healed and I would like to share what I did to reach that point.
First I have cut out ALL sugar and cut back on caffeine (i love coffee but limited it to one cup every few days), especially do not eat any chocolate or drink alcohol. I ate a tiny bit of chocolate after dinner the other night and had the WORST outbreak afterwards. Also it would seem like "nightshade" foods such as tomatos, eggplant, peppers etc make it worsen, as well as wheat based foods and possibly even rice. So I decided to just cut all of those things. The magic of the actual healing seems to be coming from a combination of ACV (both topically and ingested), drinking lots of water, getting lots of sunlight, AND doing oatmeal baths. Parts of my body were so inflamed this morning I was miserable. Both eyes were so puffy it looked like I was punched. Now, 10 hours later everything is almost completely healed!!
I mixed some mango juice with honey and ACV and drank this 3 times today. I did about 45 minutes in the sun with virgin coconut oil slathered all over me. I then took a bath with an oatmeal sachet in it, squeezing the cloth to saturate all effected areas and let it soak in. Also while in the bath I wet a washcloth and poured some ACV on it to dab on the effected areas in between oatmeal milk pours. It admittedly burns like hell, but the oatmeal after helps to sooth this. I literally felt and watched as all my red swollen areas started to go down and heal before my eyes. I have also found that tea tree oil lip balm is awesome for lips that have swelling and dry itchiness. I keep one in my bed with me and apply it throughout the night so I can sleep without the skin cracking. I hope this helps all my eczema sufferers!!!
To add to this, although I am not sure it is helping, I have also started eating lots of salmon (vitamin D and omegas), taking flax seed oil, probiotics and eating food with raw coconut oil and organic olive oil. Pretty much cut out all citrus fruits and opting for a mostly raw vegetable diet. :)))
Multiple Remedies
★★★★☆
Hi,
This is my first ever post about my eczema. I have been suffering since 9 and am now 31 years old. Ive seen every kind of doctor, a psychiatrist, chinese herbalist, ayurvedic and a portugese specialist, to no avail. I guess I gave up. Over the last 3 years I have been fighting a real battle, at times wishing I was not alive. However, I have learned there is fundamentally something wrong inside, I tried giving up the steroid creams and using oils like Neem, Tea Tree, Borage, Vit. E and others but, was continually shedding dead skin, and what I thought was meant to happen using oils, only dried my skin out even more and had to deal with waking up in a sea of skin every morning.
Around 3 months ago I stumbled upon Apple Cider Vinegar, and started taking baths, immediately my skin was closing up the wounds and I was on my way, however, it still didnt stop the itching. Great after scratching but, the eczema was not clearing up.
Next step, my diet, now I try to eat only Fresh & Natural, nothing out of a tin, no fruit juices, etc I have learned that Seb Derm on face is caused by fungal and found that mixing ACV and soda bicarb with water and spraying it on then showering gets rid of the fungus
The worst thing about my condition is when my face got all white from skin cells flaking off and dry scales appearing on my face and nothing would take it away. I can only dread what people would think when they saw me.
For the past 2 months I have gone on a very strict diet, of eating fruits in the morning and throughout the day, eating dates, nuts. I do eat canned tuna or sardines as I need the protein for the gym, though have been told to stop this also.
In the morning I drink Aloe Vera and Amla juice mixed with water and before bed.
Also taking Guduchi pills twice a day, however, I researched further and found that taking Vitamin B can help, B3, B5, B6, Biotin, Acidophilus and vitamin D. The main issue with B6 is that it makes me itchy for 20 minutes, though, it is definitely doing something and found that taking the B vitamins allows me to sleep without scratching.
Apart from my skin geting aggravated, it has started to heal. My skin colour, (brown, Im inidan) is coming back. It used to be a mixture of brown, grey from all the steroids and exposure to sunlight.
My only concern now is where I had Seb Derm on my face, which I'm controling by spraying a mixture of ACV and Soda Bicarb. has cleared but have got open open wounds that itch. Im trying to find a way to close them up, and think Zinc may help. Would love to hear what anyone thinks...
Wish everyone keeps strong and its so easy to give up... But, you can control your eczema and by building up your immune system your eczema can remain at bay... Im still fighting and I wont give up.... God Bless you all....
If theres anyone that wants to discuss further, contact me please on dvyas99(at)hotmail.com
Multiple Remedies
★★★★☆
First I would like to thank the creators of this site and its subscribers. Although not all of the suggested remedies helped me, just finding this site helped me to feel less alone and to decide that a natural remedy was definitely the way I wanted to go. The things I tried that didn't work also led me on to something that did, and without having other people's suggestions to work from, this may never have happened. I developed perioral dermatitis for the first time in my life about 7 months ago. I suspect it may have started because I used steroid cream to treat some facial eczema, however, factors such as moving to a cold, dry climate, lots of stress, and experimenting with different types of face care products probably took their toll as well. Having suffered physically and emotionally for very many years with acne, I was devastated to now have this happen to my face. It took nearly 3 months before I worked out that I had POD and in that time I had taken the usual route of using more steroid cream, only to have the condition return worse than before. To this day my doctor insists that the steroid cream is the best cure, just that I didn't use it for long enough!! Having now done my research, though, I made the decision not to use steroid cream ever again on my face, and also that I would much rather find a natural cure than take antibiotics for several months. Here are the tings I have tried:
1. Got rid of all my old skin care products (even though the ones I was using were organic and for sensitive skin) and found a cleanser and moisturizer designed especially for very reactive skin. At first though, I used only warm water to wash my face.
2. Swapped to fluoride-free toothpaste. I don't know if this made a difference but I still use it because of all the other nasty effects of fluoride I read about along the way.
3. Started taking probiotics. Again, I'm not convinced they helped much with the POD, but I don't think they hurt either and I do believe that part of my problem was related to yeast imbalance.
4. Dabbed apple cider vinegar mixed with warm green tea - about 1 part tea to 2 parts vinegar - twice a day. I did this for 3 weeks. I'm afraid this was not the miracle cure in my case. I think it may have kept the 'rash' contained, but it did not remove it and in the end it was irritating my skin too much. I felt my skin needed and deserved something more gentle.
5. Nappy/diaper cream. They don't sell the Balmex cream in Norway, but I bought another one that contained zinc oxide and calendula cream. This was extremely soothing and settled the irritation. My skin liked it and I saw some improvement. I applied it to the affected areas twice a day, although had to go without on work days where I needed to be around people as it's not a flattering look. In the end, however, I felt that the nappy cream was soothing the problem but not getting rid of the source.
6. I learned from my research on the internet of the theory that POD is fungal in origin. So I had the idea to try an anti-fungal type of agent, but I wanted one that was organic and going to be kind to my skin. I found an Australian company (kind of nice since that is where I am from) that makes an organic anti-fungal/anti-bacterial cream - phytoseptic cream they call it - and decided to try it. I ordered it over the internet and had it sent to me in Norway. Finally I can report that I am currently POD free and have been for several weeks. I applied the cream morning and night - it's green in colour so I applied a thinner layer in the mornings before work - and noticed change within a few days. The cream is very soothing and felt good on my skin. At first I noticed that, though the red bumps were disappearing from where they had been worst originally, I was getting new outbreaks on my lower cheeks. Maybe that would have happened anyway, or maybe the cream had to flush out all the toxins (whatever they were) before killing them. Nevertheless, within 2 months I was bump free. I just have a couple of tiny pink areas around my nose that are not bumpy at all, but given that my skin is extremely fair, are possibly just the shadows of where the POD used to be. Sometimes I get spots that I suspect are pimples but am so nervous about a new POD outbreak that I dab them with the phytoseptic cream. So far no new outbreaks. Although it took 2 months in total, this is at least how long I would have had to be on antibiotics anyway and I am very pleased that I found an alternative that was easy to use and good for my skin. I can't give the brand name here, but if you search the internet using the information I've given I'm sure you'll find the cream I'm talking about. It may not work for everyone, just as the other remedies didn't work for me. In that case, however, it may at least be an idea that leads you on to the product that does work. Good luck!
