Effective Natural Eczema Treatments for Soothing Relief

I have tried almost all the remedies on Earth Clinic's eczema section one at a time this summer to no avail. These remedies include topical borax paste, topical magnesium, Art's indigo powder in cetaphil remedy, lugol's iodine, baking soda paste, sea salt poultice, Himalayan salt poultice, topical apple cider vinegar, and finally essential oils like lavender, tea tree oil and mint. Most of those remedies soothe the area but nothing gets rid of it. Also to note: any remedy mixed in a cream lotion or oil like coconut oil makes the rash itch fiercely and spread.

The best remedy so far has been holding a qtip dipped in lugol's iodine on each itchy spot for about a minute as it takes away the fierce itch for about 12 hours. However, it also stains my foot and takes a couple of days to disappear. I am going to switch to decolorized iodine and try that next.

I was wondering if anyone had additional suggestions of remedies I can test.

Art, I am on day 2 of Pine Bark Extract supplements. That is the first supplement I am trying internally to treat this condition.

Thanks so much for any and all advice! D

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.

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).

https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/art-solbrig-psoriasis-protocol.html

More recently, a friend of mine who saw how fantastic my results were, decided to try the topical ointment on his eczema. He applied it for the first time, two days ago. I talked to him today and he told me that he can already see an improvement in the eczema that he applied it to. I told him to just apply it to one area of his eczema so he could see if it helped or if he was just having spontaneous remission. Since only the area where he applied the lotion showed improvement, this is likely not a case of spontaneous remission and the lotion does seem to be working for his eczema. He has had eczema for over 10 years now so he is quite happy about this lotion and its effects. I'll have to check back with him in a couple of weeks to see how his eczema is doing.

This would tend to add further confirmation to the studies that have suggested that such an ointment may be helpful for psoriasis and eczema.

In the link above that takes you to the psoriasis protocol I used successfully to clear my severe psoriasis are directions for three different ways that I made the lotion and what I thought of each version. As I mentioned before, given the studies for the three supplement protocol that I used, those same supplements seem likely to offer potential benefit for much more than just psoriasis and this would be the first confirmation of that idea!

Art

My cure is probably a combination of lemon juice, transdermal magnesuim chloride oil and possibly overnight fasting of 16 hours e.g. stop eating at 7pm and breaking my fast at 11 am with a decent breakfast.

The lemon juice was a sheer fluke. My arm was so very itchy so I grabbed 1/2 a lemon which had been sitting in the fridge for a few days. The rind was hard and so rubbing the arm with the lemon rind was sheer bliss. Hours later the redness had disappeared and the skin was still calm, not itchy. I continued to rub my arm with lemon juice only washing it off before the next application. The lemon juice exfoliated all the dead skin which may be the reason that the itch and redness disappeared but the skin was still thick (lichen simplex chronicus) but not scaly so I decided to drench it regularly with transdermal magnesium chloride oil which I massaged into the skin.

When all the rough skin disappeared except for two extra thick "spots", I removed the top layers of dead skin painlessly from these lumps with a sterilised needle. It was about this time that I changed my regime only eating during an eight hour window during the day which means that all the food in my stomach will be digested before I tuck into breakfast the following morning.

Epilogue: I broke my upper arm four weeks ago and since then it has been envelopped in a sling so my arm has not been exposed to much fresh air recently but I have continued to spray my lovely smooth skin on my arm with the magnesium chloride and to date the eczema has not returned. Hurrah!

After you find out what the safe limit on vitamin D is, I would squeeze the vitamin D3 gelcap into baby's food.

Also, try to get her out in the sun, to make her own vitamin D. The best part of our body for making vitamin D is the upper arms, and the oil on our skin is necessary for the creation of vitamin D -- so let her skin accumulate oil! And no sunscreen! To prevent burning, avoid getting refined sugar into her system before going out in the sun. It is refined sugar that causes us to burn. Also, if you are worried about sun damage, get lycopene into her. Lycopene fights skin cancer, and it is the red pigment found in tomatoes, in tomato products like ketchup, and in watermelon.

There might be some B vitamin that also is deficient in babies who have eczema. I think I might have come across it in my online searching about B vitamins. You might want to look that up.

As for trying to control symptoms of any malady with diet -- aaaaghhh! I have NEVER seen diet change cure anything! Except that switching to healthy foods can stop weight gain -- that is the only one. I have not seen diet change stop gassy tummy distress in babies. I have not seen diet change relieve depression or Attention Deficit Disorder in any way whatsoever. I have not seen diet change help with ANYTHING. I say, if humans have been eating it for thousands of years, and it tastes good and makes you feel good -- then eat it!

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I thought of two more things to help after making my last comment. One is -- you are giving her formula. Are you using tap water, or fluoridated water to make her formula? Because both of those have fluoride, and tap water also has chlorine -- and fluoride and chlorine cause eczema, because the body is trying to detox these toxins through the skin. I take gallon containers to my local grocery or health food store and refill them with water that has been filtered, run through reverse osmosis, and treated with ultraviolet light. When I move to a new area, I try all the sources of this kind of refillable water -- to find which location has the best tasting water. I would use this kind of water to make baby's formula with.

Secondly, I would give her organic coconut oil -- probably in her formula. I read Adelle Davis' book called Let's Eat Right To Keep Fit, and in it she writes of a baby that had eczema, and she fed the baby vegetable oil, because he had been on a low fat diet. The baby was ravenous for the vegetable oil, and it healed his eczema. I'd put coconut oil in baby's formula, because it is the BEST vegetable oil of all, and also kills viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi! As for how much coconut oil to give a person, I just follow my instincts, although you might want to online search on that as well. It's been a long time since my kids were babies.

Secondly, I would give her organic coconut oil -- probably in her formula. I read Adelle Davis' book called Let's Eat Right To Keep Fit, and in it she writes of a baby that had eczema, and she fed the baby vegetable oil, because he had been on a low fat diet. The baby was ravenous for the vegetable oil, and it healed his eczema. I'd put coconut oil in baby's formula, because it is the BEST vegetable oil of all, and also kills viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi! As for how much coconut oil to give a person, I just follow my instincts, although you might want to online search on that as well. It's been a long time since my kids were babies.

Cheers, Michael

I am so sorry to hear about your baby's eczema!

I would take her off strawberries for a while, especially if they are not organic.

If it would be possible for you to make goat milk kefir fresh, that is the first thing I would be trying. If not, some high quality plain yogurt (maybe with some of the fruits you give her.) I think Fage is a good one.

Topically for relief, if you could find a plantain or calendula salve at your health food store it may provide some relief. It isn't hard to make and I can walk you through how to do that if you think you would want to make your own.

I would also try some baths with baking soda or Epsom salt or raw organic apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup if a tub of warm water.

Did the eczema begin when you began the formula? Have you tried any other types? What does the pediatrician think is the cause?

I hope you find relief for her soon!

~Mama to Many~

Concerning ACV in my case it calmed the itch because it sloughed off the dead skin. Moisturising the eczema helped create the itch because the dead skin was soaking up the creams and oils and they probably discouraged my skin from producing its own moisture while I plastered it with lotions and potions. I have had a modicum of success with Lugol's oil too as it obliterated the dead skin and tamed the itch.

The first and only other bout of eczema that I have experience was 17 years ago and I managed to clear that up immediately thanks to four treatments of colonics but that did not work for me this time round. There was no marked improvement after three sessions whereas the previous time, the eczema cleared up overnight after the first session but I had been recommended to have a minimum of four sessions so I completed the treatment.

Let food be thy medicine! Good luck!

So, I read somewhere to mix a small travel sized spray bottle with hot water, add a big pinch of both Himalayan salt and Epsom salts, shake the bottle real good, and spray that rash down liberally. Less than 1 week later the eczema rash is completely gone. Unbelievable. It cost pennies. It's worth a try for all you eczema sufferers.

3 days after eating more zinc rich foods, ie. Liver, beef, pumpkin seeds and just eating more foods. I had been trying to do more anti inflamitory diet of green smoothies and more colourful produce. I didn't expect to get healed eating meats!!! I am looking into supplementing iwth zinc although there are a variety of different forms so I have to research which one is the most absorbable. I am 80% better and no longer have to wear gloves to work. Still have dry skin with a touch of redness, but am so relieved to know what caused this. Thank you so much for your comment as this was what steered me in the healing direction.

Recent studies are suggesting that there is a correlation between vitamin d status (25 OH d serum level) and eczema or atopic dermatitis. You mentioned that your eczema worsened in Washington and improved in Arizona and that it did not start until you moved from Southern California to Washington.

In Southern California you would have been getting more UVB exposure and consequently a higher 25 OH d level than you would get in Washington.

You also said that it started around the age of 18 which would have been when you finished high school. Thinking back to high school, I remember being in the sun a lot because of all of the outdoor activities associated with being in high school and I also remember that it seemed like I got a lot less sun exposure after high school. It may be that this chain of events was enough to get your serum 25 OH d level into the insufficient or deficient range and possibly make it easier for eczema to take hold.

In any case, it seems like an easy enough and inexpensive enough thing for your dermatologist to get your vitamin d level into the optimum range to find out if it can have a positive effect in controlling or eliminating your eczema. Below 30 ng/ml is considered insufficient and below 20 ng/ml is deficient. The reference range is 30~100 ng/ml.

Some cancer studies have shown that being around the 75 ng/ml area may help to reduce risk of certain cancers.

Here are some recent studies suggesting that there may be a relationship between vitamin d and eczema or atopic dermatitis.

Http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/8/12/789
Https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28017448
Https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25282565

Art

It looks like you are partly there in your treatment of your eczema. I have had various forms of eczema on and off SINCE I WAS 4 MONTHS OLD and have tried many things over the years to treat it (medically as a child and holistically as an adult). I agree that the hot water and the coconut oil treatments are great and have been using them for quite some time as required. I see you have also identified the current irritants and some of the nutrients to supplement your diet.

My greatest improvements came when I acknowledged the fact that the skin is part of the body's detoxification and elimination system along with the kidneys and liver. The skin is not the only thing reacting to surface toxins. The skin absorbs everything it touches and the blood quickly routs toxic material to the liver for treatment and/or elimination. Any skin issues are a reflection of the toxic build-up in the body which the liver is struggling to cope with. My first main skin improvement condition came when I realized that my food intake mix promoted an acid condition in my body and I changed my food intake mix to produce a more alkaline balance. This allowed the liver and kidneys to do their jobs more effectively. Also the severity of the itchiness ‘attacks' went down considerably.

Secondly, doing liver cleanses helped with the liver overload and reduced the frequency and severity of the eczema. I still have a way to go but hopefully you can find something useful in 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!!!!

Softress dot com says, "A healthy body produces natural oils that form a skin barrier that keeps skin soft and slightly acidic (pH between 4.5 and 6, depending on age, with an optimum at around 5.5), helping skin to resist infection by disease-causing bacteria. When the body is unable to produce these natural oils, the skin becomes very dry and the skin barrier is damaged, exposing the skin to infection.(4) To make matters worse, the body's immune system may overreact to common substances, causing inflammation and further damaging the skin.

Current research focuses on why the body is unable to produce these natural oils. Central to this research is an enzyme called delta-6-dehydrogenase (D6D), which converts the linoleic acid in dietary vegetable fats into gamma linolenic acid (GLA), an essential fatty acid necessary for maintaining healthy skin. In both eczema and diabetes, the D6D enzyme may be impaired--it may not function properly. Levels of the specific vitamins and minerals required for D6D to function are often very low in people with eczema or diabetes. Nutritional supplementation to increase the levels of these nutrients may reduce or eliminate the symptoms of eczema and help stabilize insulin and glucose metabolism."

I think that the vegetable oil they are talking about is Omega 6, and that the best source of that is sunflower oil.

Also, I remember that I used to drink a tablespoon full of ACV in a glass of water, and there was no stiffness in the skin of my hands and face, but when I stopped drinking it the stiffness came back, and I could feel it in the skin of my hands, when I clenched my hands. I stopped drinking ACV because someone on this website said that ACV wipes the iodine out of our bodies -- but now I am thinking this must be nonsense -- and I am drinking it again, starting today.

So, here's the nutritional remedy for my type of eczema, caused by dry winter skin that is exposed to workplace chemicals.
1. Balanced B vitamin complex (too much of one will make you deficient in another, and physical or emotional stress will deplete you of all).
2. Vitamin D3 (the amount you need will be based on your skin color, plus how much sun you get -- website page from the Vitamin D Council will tell you how much you need.)
3. Zinc supplement
4. Sunflower oil supplement, or some form of Omega 6
4. Selenium gave me ovarian cysts, but maybe you can take it.
5. ACV
6. 500 mg of magnesium, at bedtime. It is better to take magnesium and vitamin D at different times of day.
7. Vitamin B6 supplement