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Need help w itchy dry skin and eyes

Posted By Healthy248 (Digby, Nova Scotia, Canada) on 08/23/2011

Ted help please I am being driven crazy by an insanely itching neck, head, face, dry itching eyes, to the point of drawing blood due to scratching so hard, along with this are many developing skin tags that are very sensitive to touch they actually hurt to touch, eyes are burning and dry and cracked at the corners but also weep constantly a very sticky fluid. It was suggested it might be contact dermatitis, but I don't know. I do know that if I take the steroids they give me it clears up enough to feel normal. But I can't live on those. Facial skin feels tight and dry, and looks like there is no moisture in it. Can you suggest a regimen I can follow.

Thank you, Karl

Replied by Mmsg (Somewhere, Europe) on 08/23/2011

Dunno what your cure might be, but I do know that drinking plenty of water with a lick of Celtic Sea Salt per glass or two, helps the body remoisturize.

Replied by Zapper (Ny) on 08/23/2011

Besides hydrating with water, you might want to try vitamin E or omega 3 fatty acids (esp. If your omega 3 to 6 balance is off from eating too much vegetable oils and fried foods and not enough fish or fish oils). Do you have trouble adjusting from outdoor light to indoor darkness or trouble with night vision? If so, look into vitamin deficiency. You can take supplements but ti can get toxic if you take too much, it might be better to get a small juicer and have some carrot juice (maybe mixed with equal apple juice). It's too hard to eat 1/2 dozen solid carrots a day, juicing would be easier, until you feel better, if deficiency is your problem.

Replied by Zapper (Ny) on 08/24/2011

BTW I meant to write a vitamin A deficiency in particular can cause both dry eyes and dry skin.

Lots more info here

http://www.healthsupplementsnutritionalguide.com/vitamin-deficiency-symptoms.html

Replied by Francisca (Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France) on 08/24/2011

I have had dry skin, dry eyes and mouth (at night) for a while. Someone here suggested Sjogren's Syndrome but I hope not... It sounded dreadful! My skin got better now in the summer, maybe because one sweats more so it is more oiled than in the winter but it is still looking a bit too old for my age, like it is not elastic enough (for example in my thighs). My eyes got a lot better since I started taking Cod Liver Oil three capsules a day (each containing 2, 664 IU of Vitamin A and 200 IU Vitamin D). I think that one can take a lot more Vitamin A without a problem.... I am also taking two 500mg of Vitamin E a day and 3000mg of Vitamin C.

Right now I can stand my contact lenses all day without a problem and I am not more thirsty than normal during the day. The problem is at night, my mouth feels very dry so do my eyes which feel heavy and irritated when I wake up going back to normal after blinking a few times. I do use Bepanthene cream in my eyes when I go to sleep. A while ago a lady called Anabela suggested I put vitamin A and wheatgerm oil in my eyes but I asked her for some more information and never got it. I would have loved to know what kind of vitamin A, what kind of wheatgerm oil (the one I have comes with carrot oil and other stuff) and whether she mixed them together or not and whether she had tried this approach. I feel that I should be able to solve my night problems! Especially the dryness in my eyes is very annoying.

I also started drinking mineral water instead of normal water. Before I was drinking quite a bit of tap water with a bit of sea salt and I have the feeling that it was what started these problems! Maybe I was losing too many minerals.

I quite enjoyed reading the article about the Vitamin A. I have weak eye sight, night blindness, my skin is not very healthy (dry, lots of white spots, age spots, warts), I have some kind of sinusitis, I used to have bladder infections, not anymore! So I seem to fit the bill for someone lacking Vitamin A. I do eat a lot of the foods they advise but maybe I just don't convert them into Vitamin A. I have ordered a book on dry eyes, let's see what is says there! I bought Chlorela and Spirulina but I don't know what to do with the powder. I suppose one can dissolve it in water?

Someone here advised Olive Leaf Extract but I didn't see any improvement and it seemed to make me sneeze more and my nose ran the whole time.

Replied by Debbie (Melbourne, Australia ) on 08/24/2011

Hi Francisa, I am having the fermented cod liver oil which I have read is better than normal cod liver oil. The fermentation of it makes it more beneficial. They also say that butter oil taken at the same time of the cod liver oil makes the cod liver oil work better. You can read that on Weston Price website.

For your skin there is nothing better than swimming in the sea (it is full of minerals).

Also since I have been taking the spirulina and chlorella (and liquid chlorophyl), I think my night blindness has improved. I drove the other night and I was not blinded by the headlights as I normally was. It is not the cod liver oil as I started that after I noticed the improvement in my eyes.

Have you looked into a copper deficiency for your skin? It is responsible for elastin in the skin amongst many other disease problems (gray hair is usually a sign). I am also looking into that.

Replied by Debbie (Melbourne, Australia ) on 08/24/2011

Francisca, I just read that zinc and large doses of vitamin C can cause a copper deficiency. Also copper deficiency can cause skin depigmentation. It is also related to collagen and elastin in the skin. It also can cause back problems with the cartilidge between the spinal column. Vaccines can also cause a copper deficiency.

As to your chlorella and spirulina, I put my powder in liquid chlorophyl and just mix it it and swallow it in one gulp.

Many vitamin supplements can cause a copper deficiency. Zinc and Vitamin C cause copper to be lost.

I have just started putting water in a copper jug and leaving it overnight and drinking the contents in the morning. Copper also kills ecoli in water. Everyone should research copper. It was used for thousands of years as a water container.

I will let everyone know if my hair goes back to normal with the drinking of this water.

Replied by Jay (Toronto, Canada) on 08/25/2011

To Francisca from Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France who writes: "I have had dry skin, dry eyes and mouth (at night) for a while. Someone here suggested Sjogren's Syndrome but I hope not... It sounded dreadful! My skin got better now in the summer, maybe because one sweats more so it is more oiled than in the winter but it is still looking a bit too old for my age, like it is not elastic enough (for example in my thighs). My eyes got a lot better since I started taking Cod Liver Oil three capsules a day (each containing 2,664 IU of Vitamin A and 200 IU Vitamin D). I think that one can take a lot more Vitamin A without a problem.... I am also taking two 500mg of Vitamin E a day and 3000mg of Vitamin C.

Francisca, a couple of points here:

"My skin got better now in the summer"

This suggests your body was able to use your sunlight exposure to make more vitamin D. 200 IU is nowhere near enough vitamin D. This is the amount to prevent rickets in small children. You need much more to support many body enzyme and hormone activities.

Dr. Cannell of the Vitamin D Council suggests that you take 1,000 IU per 25 pounds of body weight as a starting vitamin D dosage. A person who weighs 150 pounds, for instance, would take 6,000 IU per day.

"My eyes got a lot better since I started taking Cod Liver Oil three capsules a day (each containing 2,664 IU of Vitamin A and 200 IU Vitamin D). I think that one can take a lot more Vitamin A without a problem...."

Dr. Cannell has expressed severe misgivings about using cod liver oil as a source for vitamin A or vitamin D. Use a Vitamin D3 supplement instead.

Regarding Vitamin A and dosage the following is from: http://www.advance-health.com/vitaminA.html

"Forms of Vitamin A

The parent compound of the vitamin A family is all-trans-retinol. It is also the most abundant dietary form of vitamin A. All-trans-retinol occurs naturally in the form of fatty acid esters, such as vitamin A palmitate (retinyl palmitate). Vitamin A palmitate and vitamin A acetate (retinyl acetate) are the principal forms used as nutritional supplements. Natural sources, such as fish liver oils are also used as sources of vitamin A.

The carotenes especially beta carotene are frequently confused with vitamin A. Carotenes are not vitamin A. Rather, they are compounds that can be converted by the liver into vitamin A. Carotenes by themselves do not have vitamin A activity or toxicity. They are, therefore not as efficient as a vitamin A supplement nor as toxic as vitamin A when used in excess amounts.

Vitamin A for Vision Health

Vitamin A deficiency can result in night blindness and blindness due to the destruction of the cornea (xerophthalmia). The ability of vitamin A to prevent these two visual problems and its mechanism of action in doing so is well known. Recent reports reports suggest that vitamin A may affect some visual problems in those who are not vitamin A-deficient. Sorsby's fundus dystrophy (SFD) is a retinal degeneration disorder which can result in night blindness and shares similarities with age-related macular degeneration. Macular degeneration is the most common cause of loss of vision in the elderly.

In an SFD family, it was found that vitamin A at 50, 000 IU daily resolved night blindness within a week in those members of the family who were at early stages of the disease. The mechanism of this effect is not clear. Some other visual disorders have also shown improvement from the use of vitamin A analogues."

You might want to use a Beta Carotene version of Vitamin A.

"Right now I can stand my contact lenses all day without a problem and I am not more thirsty than normal during the day. The problem is at night, my mouth feels very dry so do my eyes which feel heavy and irritated when I wake up going back to normal after blinking a few times. I do use Bepanthene cream in my eyes when I go to sleep. A while ago a lady called Anabela suggested I put vitamin A and wheatgerm oil in my eyes but I asked her for some more information and never got it. I would have loved to know what kind of vitamin A, what kind of wheatgerm oil (the one I have comes with carrot oil and other stuff) and whether she mixed them together or not and whether she had tried this approach. I feel that I should be able to solve my night problems! Especially the dryness in my eyes is very annoying."

Here again, seeing that you have tried many things, and since dryness is associated with low essential fatty acid intake, let me suggest you buy and use organic virgin (cold pressed) coconut oil. Do not cook with it but rather ingest some daily. Start with a teaspoon and work your way up to 3 tablespoons daily. You can even try some in and around your eyes as coconut oil has alleviated many types of eye problems. It is also excellent for skin or even hair.

"I also started drinking mineral water instead of normal water. Before I was drinking quite a bit of tap water with a bit of sea salt and I have the feeling that it was what started these problems! Maybe I was losing too many minerals."

It is likely that the tap water contained residue contaminants from the local water treatment facility or the pipes that deliver it to your taps. The sea salt was a good idea, and depending on the actual mineral analysis of the mineral water, you may want to continue taking it.

"I quite enjoyed reading the article about the Vitamin A. I have weak eye sight, night blindness, my skin is not very healthy (dry, lots of white spots, age spots, warts), I have some kind of sinusitis, I used to have bladder infections, not anymore! So I seem to fit the bill for someone lacking Vitamin A. I do eat a lot of the foods they advise but maybe I just don't convert them into Vitamin A. I have ordered a book on dry eyes, let's see what is says there! I bought Chlorela and Spirulina but I don't know what to do with the powder. I suppose one can dissolve it in water?"

Don't forget that vitamin D and other vitamins and minerals are essential for your body to properly metabolize your nutrients. As we age, these processes are also not as efficient so we need to optimize our nutrition as best we can.

Again, the Chlorella and the Spirulina are great supplements for overall nutritional improvements.

From Mike Adams' free ebook:

http://www.truthpublishing.com/chlorellaspirulina_p/pdf-cat21249.htm

"How to Take Chlorella & Spirulina

Let's talk about how much chlorella and spirulina you should actually take. The following figures

are based on an average 150-pound adult. Adjust proportionally to your own body weight.

Spirulina

Disease-fighting dose: 20 grams / day

Maintenance dose: 10 grams / day

Athlete dose: as much as 60 grams / day

Upper limit: there is no upper limit. You can eat spirulina like food.

If you eat "too much, " you will simply get full.

Chlorella

Disease-fighting dose: 10 grams / day

Maintenance dose: 5 grams / day

Upper limit: there is no upper limit, but introduce chlorella into your diet gradually and monitor your stools. Since chlorella can result in mild diarrhea in some persons, introduce it slowly. (Your body will adapt over a period of a few weeks, allowing you to take more.)"

Personally, I make a morning smoothie with fruit, nuts, and seeds, and I add my powdered chlorella and spirulina to it.

Someone here advised Olive Leaf Extract but I didn't see any improvement and it seemed to make me sneeze more and my nose ran the whole time."

Olive Leaf is anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-oxidant, anti-parasitic, anti-septic, anti-viral, febrifugal, and immune-boosting; so I would suggest that the symptoms you experienced were caused by the Olive Leaf Extract helping your body fight of the invaders listed above.

Replied by Francisca (Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France) on 08/25/2011

Jay, I thoghrouly enjoyed reading your answer to my questions! I haven't read the E-book on Spirulina and Chlorella but I saved it and actually the book was my reason for buying the supplement (they come together in one supplement! ). I will read it as soon as I can!

Here in France we have a lot of great mineral water, all with different compositions and I have been taking a pack of bottle of a different one every time as one is rich in one thing, the other one in something else..... I really had the idea that by drinking a lot of water (albeit with a bit of sea salt) I was loosing a lot of minerals or something because my face started looking tired and warn out, like I was looking a lot older and not healthy, stressed out somehow.

I tried to find Vitamin D on its own but the Cod Liver Oil is what they advised me in the health food store. I will try a pharmacy though. I know the quantities are quite small, 600IU a day but then it is summer and I try to be a lot outside, that is why I didn't really bother taking more. During the winter the GP gave me a vitamin D liquid one takes once and my skin got a lot better. I know that there is a lot of controversy regarding Cod Liver Oil and Fish Oil, hard to know who to believe.....

As far as Vitamin A goes I will have to find another source then. I had Vitamin A eye gel for a while but somehow it went off and one day it heavily irritated my eye when I put it in so I had to throw it away.

As far as VCO goes I have had it at home ever since Bill from the Phillipines took away my fear of saturated fats. I have to confess that I haven't been using a lot lately but I will surely start again. Actually yesterday there was an article in a British newspaper about the actress Miranda Kerr "confessing" that she has taken VCO daily for many years. The sales in the UK went through the roof! I do rub it in my skin daily now I am in the sun and I never burnt again! Why do you say that cooking with it doesn't help?

I don't take juice every day as I make it fresh but I suppose I can put the Spirulina & Chlorella in the yogurt or even water.

Interesting idea about the Olive Leaf Extract.... Maybe I try again and just get through the annoying side effects! Anyway, I will save your answer for future reference, Thanks!

Replied by Francisca (Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France) on 08/25/2011

Thanks Debbie, great suggestions as usual! A little while ago I bought a zink supplement as I heard that it might make the gray hair turn dark again.... But then if I am lacking copper it is not such a great idea! I will do some research and looking into taking copper for a while. What do you mean by your hair going back to normal, do you mean gray hair? In which case I would love to know whether you notice any changes! I have no idea where I would buy a copper can for the water. They do have copper basins to make jam here but those are quite big. I will keep my eyes open. I had the skin discoloration long before I started taking Vitamin C but then maybe I was already low on copper, who knows....

Replied by Francisca (Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France) on 08/25/2011

PS for Debbie - by the way, I started to have lower back problems a few years ago... Maybe you are right and I am low on copper!

Replied by Francisca (Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France) on 08/25/2011

To Debbie again.... I have never heard about fermented Cod Liver Oil! Will look into it! We live in France but next to Switzerland and Germany, if I can't find it in one of those countries then we don't have it here in Europe! Buying through the Internet is as a rule very expensive as the postage costs are horrendous! Swimming in the sea... I wish but we are too far away from the sea. Our next pool has salty water though... no idea whether that would help but we will only be able to use it next summer! I do put magnesium chloride (Nigari) or Dead Sea Salts in my bath once in a while (not too often as they are not cheap! ).

I am taking the Chlorophyl in tablets right now but I can look for liquid. Actually I bought it when someone advised it here to turn gray hair into the original color!

Replied by Carie (Hudson, Oh) on 08/25/2011

Hi Fransisca, I was the one who suggested Sjogrens to you. A lot of your symptoms are the same as mine- dry eyes, dry mouth, dry skin. I also had extreme fatigue, brain fog, etc. Before I was diagnosed I would always feel better in the summer due to the Vit D. After being diagnosed and starting to have problems (reflux, high blood pressure, insomnia) I started treating myself. I got a Vitamin test and food allergy test done. I was low in Vit D and others. I had multiple food allergies that I was unaware of. After changing my diet ( eliminate food allergies and am on High alkalindiet) and adding the vitamins I was about 75% better. One day my mouth just started to burst with saliva and my dry eyes have disappeared. My two last pieces of the puzzle were my mercury fillings which I had removed and a parasite cleanse (unbelieveable! ) Now I (and my husband) would say I am in the best shape of my life! I would totally agree that you should up your Vit D. I take 2,000 IU plus what is in my multi. I think that was a starting point for my turn around. Hope this helps!

Replied by Carie (Hudson, Oh) on 08/25/2011

Forgot to mention - I just started the Spirulina and Chlorella just like Jay had suggested. After a few weeks I plan to add Olive Leaf Extract also. Thanks Jay for a lot of good info!

Replied by Francisca (Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France) on 08/25/2011

Thanks Carrie, that is right, it was you who pointed me out in the direction of Sjogren's. I must say that as I researched it I got a fright.... The thought of drying out at 54 more than one already does.... Horrifying! But you seem to have it and you are ok, so maybe there are mild forms of the disease! I have just ordered a book on auto-immune diseases: Breaking Through the Untouchable Diseases By Gerald Green, just in case! Anyway, whether I have it or not it is great to know that there is help out there! I don't feel more tired than usual.... But I am not looking my best, I have to say. I always looked awfully young and although people still think that I am around 40 I feel that I look a lot older than I looked maybe a year ago. But life has also been very stressful.....

As soon as the summer is finished, which won't take long, I will up my vitamin D. I don't really believe in multi-vitamins as they never quite seem to come in the right doses. I wouldn't know where to get tested for food allergies. I have done the normal tests alergologists do and I never tested positive for anything and I haven't had mercury fillings for years. I do have an implant and although made in Switzerland one never knows what they put in there! I try to lead a healthy life, now the weather is good I swim a lot and do aqua gym, we have an infrared sauna, do quite a bit of trampolining, dancing, streching..... And I am about to order a hula hoop. I have the swiss ball but we don't really have enough space to do it properly yet.

How did you do the parasite cleanse? And if I may ask how old are you so that I can compare?

Replied by Jay (Toronto, Ont, Canada) on 08/25/2011

Francisca: Chlorella and Spirulina are amost complete foods containing most vitamins and minerals in a form that the human body can absorb and use quite easily. Chlorella, for example contains Vitamin B12 which is not available in almost any other plant-based source. I would suggest taking these on a daily basis just as you would any other food.

As far as minerals, mineral water, and regular water; an average sized healthy adult should be drinking approximately 2.5 to 3 liters of pure water per day. This is WATER. Not tea, not coffee, not wine, not juice, WATER. Feeling thirsty is NOT to let you know that you should drink some water. Feeling thirsty is your body's way of calling for help! It is saying that there is imminent danger of not being able to perform some life sustaining function without some water and it will divert water from some other bodily process to maintain life support functions. An 8 oz glass of fruit juice is not water plus juice for your body, it is 8 oz of carbodydrate that your body needs to digest.

For minerals, you need a steady influx of many minerals to maintain good health. Drinking mineral water is great but should be supplemental only, not the sole source.

The best book I have seen recently covering Minerals and Trace Elements was originally published in France and I was fortunate to be able to borrow an English translation.

The English title is "Coloidal Minerals and Trace Elements how to restore the body's natural vitality" by Marie-France Muller M. D. , N.D., PH.D.

Here is some vitamin D3 and Beta Carotene available in France(copied from Amazon. Fr). Let's see if the pictures will post -- ;)

Health Origins Vitamin D3 - 5,000 IU, Nature's Aid Beta Carotene -- 15 mg

Using Virgin Coconut Oil is great. The reason I said to eat it in its natural form rather than cooking with it is that heating any oil changes its chemical nature, no matter whether it is a good healthy oil or not.

If you go to the world's healthiest foods website http://www.whfoods.com/ they explain why they do not recommend cooking with any oils or fats or butter. They use either a vegetable stock or a chicken stock in the pan if something is needed to assist the cooking process.

Replied by Debbie (Melbourne , Australia ) on 08/25/2011

Francisca, I bought my fermented cod liver oil and butter oil online and it was expensive but apparently they work better taken together. Butter oil will also help remineralise the teeth according to the Weston Price website. They also have one jar with both in it but I bought them seperately.

Apparently if your body is in need of minerals it will take them from the teeth, that is why the butter oil is good it will help to remineralise them. I have a nephew and a niece whose teeth lost their enamel altogether. That is a severe mineral deficiency.

Here is a good article on drinking the water from a copper jug. Yes my hair is gray. I will let you know.

http://my.opera.com/hariomsrk277/blog/drink-6-copper-mug-glasses-of-water-1-5-liters-diseases-away-honey-ci

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