Effective Natural Eczema Treatments for Soothing Relief

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Xen (Singapore) on 01/27/2013
★★★★★

Hi, I have had eczema since I was 18 years old and now I am 26 years old. Its been 6 years since and I have had the horrible itching, oozing, red random spots all over, and the yellow crusts that are just disgusting.

I have tried zinc, supplements, no soap, juicing, modifying my diet, reading numerous websites on how to cure eczema. Just like a maniac and surfing sites late at night, wanting to get this eczema gone.

What worked for me was -

1. Stop the steroids creams that were given to me for easing the eczema - I discovered if I stopped using it, the eczema would come back after some time, but it came back worse. And my skin after using steroid creams, had an addiction to the cream, if I stopped using it, my skin would go crazy, and more eczema patches. I had to stop relying on it, you may wish to read more on steroid addiction for eczema.

2. Modify my diet - If you have been a maniac like me reading on site, you would have seen eating healthier food. I cut out dairy, wheat, processed food, and food with colours, addictives. I ate mainly natural cooked food, with good fat to moisturise from within. E. G. salmon

3. Vaccuum my room and bed - I vaccummed daily to prevent myself from getting paranoid about dust or bed. It worked in getting a nicer sleep though I still woke up late at night due to the itching.

4. Moisturise, moisturise

When I stopped the steroid creams or prescribed ointments, my skin grew worse as it was addicted to it. It's like going through cold turkey. It was way hard, but its worth it, seeing the result. The patches grew larger, I had a swollen foot, itching at night continuously (itching is when your skin is trying to expel the bad stuff, healing from inside). I cried, I prayed, frustrated about everything. It took roughly about 6 months for me to see something different. I could sleep better, the oozing decreased and stopped entirely, the patches grew smaller and it disapperead entirely.

Now, I don't have eczema all over my body in random spots or patches. I had two big patches near my ankles, and behind my legs, plus random spots all over. All is gone unless I eat something bad or if skin is too dry.

Its not easy to go through this, it would be good for anyone going through this to have emotional support like a forum. I believe there is one for steroid addiction which causes eczema, you have to search it. :)

Hope this infomation is useful. Do note that the skin will experience flares up now and then as it heals, but slowly with time, it will lessen. It may seem you have healed entirely, but if there's a flare up again, dont be dismal, for it will heal again but in a lesser time frame.

All the best!

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Ladyj (Berkeley, Ca) on 01/08/2013

Hello! I have been a chronic sufferer of eczema... From mild to severe. It starts on the thin skin of my eyelids and neck and spreads from there. One time it was so bad, my entire face was nearly covered in a red, seeping, blotchy mess. I have tried many MANY things.. Including seeing a dermatologist [who insisted I had contact dermatitis and was reacting to nailpolish and/or makeup... Not true]. Long story short, it flares primarily when I am under a lot of stress and also runs in my family. The cure when I was younger was to simply break up with a boyfriend to end a stressful relationship, and it would immediately go away. OR, I would water fast for 5 days... On day 3, it would be gone.. And then it would immediately come back once I began eating [I broke my fast with oranges]. One could conclude from the above that that the problem is therefore stress induced, and harbored as a 'gutteral' reaction. Somehow, my gut is connected to the proper functioning of my skin, especially the 'soft/sensitive' areas, and when I am upset, so is my stomach, and so are my eyes. I could get really deep here and say I feel 'blinded and chocked' and my body is warning me to DO something about it... but let's stick to remedies and 'science' for today.

Well, now I am married... I have not had a problem with it for the past 3 years, and I have found that it has been flaring up and down all year. It is currently going full bore with no end in sight and I fear it will only get worse if I don't figure out how to nip it in the bud without getting a full blown divorce! I think it's time I figure it out so that I don't end up alone with my clear complexion. Afterall, the one thing all the men of my past have in common is me and my eczema! I dont' think they need be taking the blame.

Anyway, I wanted to report something that is working [that does not include divorce]... It may be the combination of all the things I am doing, but I actually believe that _____ [a supplement that generates collagen and contains silicon and choline] is contributing the most for some reason. Anyhow, here is my remedy:

About a week ago I started on 5 drops B___ 2x per day with juice. about 3 days ago, started drinking Raw unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar, 2TBSP 2-3 times daily with water/juice. Make a water/lemon/vinegar mixture that I spray on my face and neck in the morning and at night. Cotton swab with water/vinegar all over my face as a toner, follow with Squalane Oil before it dries. Take an expensive probiotic once a day. Eat a LOT of dried figs [i don't know why I think they help? maybe]. Drink a raw unpasturized local Kombucha drink once or twice per day.

About 3 days ago my eyes were red, weeping and watering constantly. I looked like I had severe allergies or was crying all day when I had not been. My eyes were swollen upon weaking, and reddish and blotchy. This went on for the next two days... However, I have noticed that upon waking in the morning, the skin on my forehead and around my eyes is looking less and less wrinkly and more smooth and supple. Especially today and this afternoon. The skin around my eyes went from being very taught and dry and irritated to being smooth[ish] and flexible. Maybe it is just a good day, but I don't think so. I really think this B___ is making the skin less wrinkly and smoother. It may also be the ACV and Kombucha helping out, but I cannot believe that it would have such a quick effect. Either way... Try it out! Even if you do not have eczema, taking [the silicon supplement] and ACV and using a lemon/vinegar/water spritz on the skin followed with squalane oil really makes it soft at supple without being greasy or heavy. I have NOT stopped wearing make up either. I use a light foundation powder and blush over the parts of my face that are not affected by eczema, then I dab on the powder with some squa oil on my eyelids to help cover and redness so I don't look and feel so horrid. I then carefully put on any old mascara. I take make up off with the squa oil and a cloth and some water as well. It is very gentle. I know some people us coconut oil and say that works for them, but it never did anything for my eczema. I put only coconut oil on my skin for half a year and just watched my skin get worse day by day. Anyway, if it clears more and more, I will let you know!

Kefir

Posted by Namaw (Bama) on 08/21/2016

How old is the child? For an infant, I'd do maybe a tablespoon. Adjust for the child's size--a 10 year old could probably do half a cup. In my experience, the child will want it once they realize it's helping and then they can drink as much of it as they want. Just start with a small amount and observe. If you are lucky, the child will like it and self-administer. I just whiz some jam into mine for sweetness, but we don't even really sweeten it at all anymore. A second ferment will make it less sour (some like the sour; I don't.) You can also watch it for thickness--some people like it thinner and stop fermenting earlier. Others like it thick, like a cream cheese, and use it as topping for crackers. I use it thick like sour cream(love it on my hot oatmeal) and thinner to take when I carry it to work. It's a valuable addition to your diet if you tolerate it well.

Vinegar Soaks

Posted by Kyle (Bangkok, Thailand ) on 08/18/2012
★★★★★

About a year ago I had my first ever outbreak of Dyshidrotic eczema on my hands. At first glance I didn't pay much mind to it until about a week after and my hands had developed full on blisters and after a week would dry up and leave discolored dead skin which was socially awkward and frustrating. I was baffled at first as to what had caused it until I did a bit of research on it. Apparently others were suffering from the same thing as me but I wanted to narrow down the variables a bit more. After more research I came to the conclusion that my case of athlete's foot was the culprit (root cause of the fungal infection) and when my feet were at its worse the dyshidrosis would begin. I have been battling athlete's foot for years and it was just getting worse.

Long story short, I stopped my athlete's foot with a half and half mixture of white vinegar and water and soaked my feet for 30 minutes, once a day, every day for a week and a half. I started doing this after I noticed an outbreak on my hands occurring and after just a few days the treatment stopped the dyshidrotic eczema dead in its tracks and a week after the small but not developed outbreak was dried up and gone. Even though my feet are still a bit red and tender from years of having athletes foot it has drastically improved and the eczema on my hands have never returned.

In the end, I have associated my breakouts of dyshidrosis to the initial fungal infection from the athlete's foot. I am not a skin specialist, just going by what worked for me. If you are suffering from this condition my best advice would be to find a root cause to the break outs. I've heard that leaky-gut syndrome can be a cause but there is so much speculation out there which is what makes dealing with any kind of eczema so frustrating!! I hope this helps....

Cattails

Posted by Silvermist (Downeast, Maine, Usa) on 07/17/2012
★★★★★

I have been having my child soak in the ocean this summer and her eczema was improving, but we were still giving her hydroxyzine every night for the itching (it's like benadryl). Anyway, I picked some cattails and rubbed the gel that's found by peeling the base of the stalk onto her worst patch and it was COMPLETELY healed the next day- no sign of eczema at all and she slept through the night w/ no itching for the first time in her life! I am going to pick some more cattails and do the other areas.

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Liz (Boston, Massachusetts) on 04/19/2012

My teenage daughter has suffered from eczema since she was just a wee thing, and like you, we have tried every remedy imaginable over the years.When her flare-ups were really severe, she would resort to using her prescription streroid cream. But of course, that's just 'a bandaid' - it doesn't eliminate what's causing the eczema, and that was our ultimate goal.

What finally worked, was having her include at least two (but the more, the better) small vanilla yogurts each day, without fail - one in the morning, and one in the evening.

This, along with two fish oil capsules at bedtime has significantly improved (dare I say, perhaps even 'cured') her eczema. The difference is truly astounding.

Flax Seed Oil

Posted by Katherine (Copenhagen, Denmark) on 04/06/2012
★★★★★

I love this site! I recently tried cold pressed flaxseed oil on my eczema which was around my mouth, nose and eyes. As soon as it touched my sore skin I knew it was the right thing I was doing. I had tried so many creams over the years, but this worked! I applied the flaxseed oil in the morning and in the evening before bed time. I also drank 2 tablespoons daily. I can't believe it was this simple! A footnote would be to mention that because the eczema is worse in the winter I took a vitamin D supplement - I figured that my body could use it as we don't get much winter sun where I live.

2 weeks later since starting this treatment and it has almost all gone. I can finally leave the house!

Dietary Changes

Posted by Teresa (Colorado) on 03/14/2021

I am sorry for your son, mine is not diagnosed I just call it that, I can keep it at bay w Steroid cream, I drink V water daily not sure if anything works for me. But I always read Excema is caused from Yeast, which Sugar is really bad for causing Yeast. I gave up Sugar pretty much 3 mo ago and see no change tho.

Goat Milk

Posted by Stephanie (Paris, France) on 02/19/2012
★★★★★

I was in Ireland this summer, and went to waterford and heard about a herd of goats that were very rare, so I decided to go to the santurary. When talking about the goats to the lady she said that the milk was amazing for curing eczema. She told me about a little boy who had awful eczema, all over his body, his skin would flake all over the covers when he woke up. He had been to the docs and taken steriods, but they didn't work, but as soon as he started to drink the milk it improved drasticly, within 2 weeks his eczema was almost all gone, with hardly any scars! Am not sure if your able to buy the milk or where, but is worth checking it out if you have severe eczema! Hope this helps! Sorry if my spelling is bad, am not quite perfect at english!

Raw Food Diet

Posted by Yvonne (London, On) on 01/30/2012
★★★★★

I've had eczema all my life, always using hydrocortisone cream to suppress it and relief itching. But a few years ago I started doing the raw food diet (eating majority raw organic food) and found that my eczema COMPLETELY WENT AWAY. It was good for the next few years, when I was still eating at least 50% raw foods. But when I went into university and stopped eating raw, plus consuming a lot of other bad junk foods e. G. Bread, sugar, deserts, my eczema came back afterwards, and now its worst than ever! :( I'm hoping to slowly ease back into eating more raw foods and hopefully it will improve and leave me for good!

Apple Fast

Posted by Ana Lucia (Mexico City, Mexico) on 12/28/2011
★★★☆☆

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!!!

Vitamin D-3

Posted by Nestman (Provo, Utah) on 12/21/2011

I have dealt with this itchy problem for years. Over time I started realizing my situation was worse during the winter months when I would spend more time inside. Then I read somewhere on the internet that most people who work indoors do not have enough vitamin D3, which is the sunshine vitamin.

I realized that I should start supplementing and started off at a low dosage of 1,000 IU per day, then 10,000 per day and then finally I jumped it up to 60,000 IU per day and I totally got rid of the problem.

I only boosted my dosage after reading lots of information online, including stuff on the Vitamin D council website, Dr. Mercola, and interesting videos on youtube.

Now that my eczema has been eliminated for good, I have lowered the dosage down to 20,000 IU per day. Oddly enough, the government's recommendation for this important vitamin is only 400 IU. That amount is just barely enough to keep Rickets away.

As always, do your own research to determine what dosage will help your severly depleted body. Also, it may be a good idea to have a blood test done so you know what your vitamin level is in the first place.

May the Lord bless you on your question for knowledge and health.

Vitamin C, Acidophilous, Oatmeal Baths

Posted by Kiri (Perth, Western Australia) on 11/23/2011
★★★★★

I had severe eczema all over my body, you take high doses of Vitamin c to alleviate itching and for healing. Acidophilus at night for stomach inbalances, you will notice that your stomach can get very acidy, thats when you take an extra acidophilus. So one a night and one when needed. And have oatmeal baths (in handkerchief with rubber band around it, squeeze out white stuff, is healing and takes away itch) and eat as much as you can also. Put nutraplus as a healing cream, nothing else, as it will heat it up, and dove soap. Hope this helps someone out there. Kiri

Egg Yolk Oil

Posted by Lydia (Hilo, Hi, Usa) on 10/02/2011
★★★★★

I have suffered with dishydrotic eczema on my pinky fingers and ankle for about 4 months. I tried everything from emu oil to steroid creams to kamani oil and more. Then I found this site and started using the apple cider vinegar approach and the vesicles started to dry up which was great, but the skin still wouldn't heal and eventually more vesicles popped up. What finally worked was a remedy a friend told me about that she learned from someone in her Korean natural farming group--egg yolk oil. Applied 2-3 times a day, it has taken my eczema from unbearable to 95% better in 10 days, I am totally amazed. It's worth a try for anyone who's been suffering for a while, it might just be a miracle like it was for me!

I don't know of anywhere that sells it, so you'll probably have to make it yourself like I did.

Here's the method I used:

Take a dozen eggs (i used eggs from a friends chickens, very good quality with dark orange yolks) and separate the yolks from the whites, put the yolks in a shallow pan (frying pan) and whisk them with a fork to mix to a even consistency. I suggest doing the next part outside on a camping stove or gas grill burner, as there is quite a bit of smoke and it smells pretty horrible. Making sure the yolk liquid is not too deep (only about and inch or less deep in the pan), cook over med-high heat until the yolks turn black and bubbly. It should look like tar bubbling, then it's done. This should take about 15 minutes depending on how deep the yolks are in the pan. Remove the pan from heat and quickly pour the oil that is on top of the "tar" into a jar. The tar will stay in the pan, it's basically just burnt black egg stuck to the pan. You can filter it with a mesh filter to make sure no crumbs get in the jar. The oil should be black or dark brown and smells like burnt eggs of course.

A dozen eggs produces about 1 oz of oil, so if you're using it over a large area of your body you may want to make a bigger batch.

My routine which worked very well is this: soak the eczema in 50% ACV for 15 minutes once a day, apply the egg yolk oil in the morning and at night (in between I used a myrrh and frankinsence salve if it got dry), take 1 tablespoon of fish oil per day, and use gloves when washing dishes or cleaning. That's all I did, and my finger and ankle are amazingly better in 10 days. The worst part is the smell--you won't want to be in public when you have it on, but the results are so worth it. Try it and let me know if it works for you!

Thanks for reading, Lydia

Apple Cider Vinegar, Dietary Changes

Posted by Yooner (Oakville, Ontario, Canada) on 08/23/2011
★★★★★

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.

Apple Fast

Posted by Ashboo1 (Chicago, Il) on 08/19/2011
★★★★★

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.

Apples, ACV, Dietary Changes

Posted by Joanl (Arlington, Texas) on 08/07/2012

Right on Samuel! Don't feel too bad, I didn't discover the poison food issue til I was 33! 30 years of misery! 16 years of great skin.... Til lately, ate cantelope from a farmer who claimed to grow organically, ate it every day for weeks! ... Now I can't eat anything til I'm clean, almost everything is a trigger. My cycle of itch restarted and it could be a couple of months before my blood is clean. Just sweating burns my skin, the itching intolerable, maddening!! He claims it was a mineral complex he put on the crops for flavor. My mouth, neck, eyes, ears, hands, arms all begging to be lopped off to stop the itch. I can eat org. Apples, plain rice, chicken, oatmeal... FUN (gonna go try acv/h2o on my skin... Hang in there everyone! Oh, tomatoes are the worst, they get sprayed with all the -cides, and they're treated with citric acid to be canned, or made into any condiment. Organic tomatoes only folks!

Honey

Posted by El (United States) on 04/21/2017
★★★★★

I love Manuka honey for ezcema.

Fish Oil

Posted by Elaine (Dallas, Texas) on 10/18/2010
★★★★☆

Eczema probably stems from a variety of reasons, and I think one of those reasons is TAPE WORMS. Many people have them and don't even know it, so I believe if you get rid of the tape worm, your skin will clear up. I have not tried ACV for eczema, but I take fish oil pills and they work just fine. It's not a cure but it remedies the problem until I stop taking the pills for a while. I had eczema since 22 and I am 33 now. Hope this helps.

Apple Fast

Posted by Tricia (Riverside, Ca) on 10/11/2010
★★★★★

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.