Eczema

Hi MoonFlower08, have sent you a PM with a couple of suggestions.

There are enough natural options that you should be able to get something that works for you. It's just sometimes a case of having to try a few as each person's case can be different. And pay as much attention as you can to what makes your eczema worse, and then try to cut out those triggers.

Hi Moonflower,
I agree with lewey that eczema can have a lot of triggers, the wrong diet can play a big part in skin problems (intolerance to dairy etc) aswell as emotional factors.

Externally, Virgin Shea Butter is a really good active moisturiser that helps with eczema. It is brilliant at reducing inflammation & dryness, if you haven't tried it before - I'd really recommend giving it a go.

Also, as it is on your hands, its best to opt for a natural soap as a lot of soaps contain synthetic foaming agents (such as SLES) which can really aggravate eczema & other skin conditions.

My son's skin flares up from time to time. Hence my interest in alternatives.

At the moment his feet are terrible, we are currently using 'dead sea salts' in a foot bath or his bath each evening, then moisturising with aloe vera gel, with a few drops of very good quality lavender oil. In addition we 'wet' wrap his feet with bandages. He sleeps with another pair of socks over his hands (I treat his hands when necessary) to help delay him scratching his feet in his sleep.

He is still doing exams at the moment and only showed me his feet when they were really bad. When he was small I could moisturise every day but he now only tends to let me help him when it has gone too far. Typical teenager.

Try finding out what causes the itching in the first place, is it food, chemicals, creams, washing up liquid, emotional, etc, etc.

Good luck

Fudge

Forgot to mention that we use to live by the sea and I found that if he regularly went for a paddle in the sea his feet and legs improved.

With life as it is we haven't been doing this, but it does help.

Fudge

Calendula (marigold) cream helps my friend who has bad flare-ups on his hands.

Also,that zinc-based baby's bottom cream in a grey pot, for nappy rash, is v soothing for sunburn, bites & skin conditions in my experience (though I'm no expert.)

hi
i suffered from excema for years on my inner arms wrists hands and occasionally backs of my knees.
After years of potions and creams from the doctors which all made me worse - (i always felt like creams were somehow blocking my skin from breathing and releasing whatever was trying to get out of me!!) i went for some allergy tests when i was about 28 and discovered i had a dairy allergy. I cut out all dairy and have been fine since.
The thing most people dont realise is that dairy products are in so many things!! Anything labelled with whey, lactose, lactic acid is a culprit. Things i never dreamed off such as cooked meat slices, fish in batter, pastry, biscuits, cakes, chocolate, pizzas as well as the more obvious cream sauces, yoghurts, cheeses etc.
I converted to eating my cereal with soya milk which was absolutely disgusting to me but after persevering with several brands i found one i liked from tesco which is sweetened.
you can try putting dairy back into your diet after 6 months. It didnt work for me then but 13 years later i now seem to be able to have the odd bar of chocolate or a pizza without any probs. I don't eat a lot just in case. I've stayed with soya milk though.
Its worth a try.

Hi tt1,
Its great you have managed to keep your skin clear by your diet.
I have managed to help my skin a lot with my diet, I don't have eczema, I have psoriasis ... oh but it is so frustrating when people (namely medical people in higher places) laugh & undermine the connection between diet & skin health 🙁
I know a little girl & she has really bad eczema but her parents refuse to let her give up on 'normal eating' because they think its cruel... so she just drinks cows milk & butter & ice cream like the rest of her siblings. Its horrible to see her in so much pain - I only hope that when she gets older she will maybe decide for herself to try cutting it out her diet & hopefully see a difference.
As you say, creams may help relieve the symptoms on the outside but they will not remove the cause inside!

Btw, Fudge ... himalayan crystal salts are really healing & you can add them to bathwater if visits to the sea are a bit scarce! They really helped me.

Good luck x

Hi Moonflower 08,Eczema is caused by an overactive immune response .If you have had it for awhile you need to correct your immune system and everything will fall into place.There are someinteresting articles about the immune system here
www.healthyimmunesystem.org

Eczema and probiotics

I saw your post about eczema and had to join the forum and reply!

Probiotics are the way forward for eczema. The friendly bacteria in our gut, all 2kgs of them produce much of our immune system and also affect how our body is. Our skin is often called the third kidney and so reflects that there is an imbalance somewhere. Probiotics help to recolonise the intestinal tract with friendly bacteria.

Avoiding any chemicals, anything that is 'alphabet soup' i.e. a name that is long and confusing or has letters and numbers is not going to help your eczema at all. Washing up liquid even the so called 'eco' ones are full of grotty chemicals that can irritate the skin, and hands especially with washing up. Soaps in public toilets are also a no no as they are so harsh.

A gentle lotion preferably with aloe vera and calming herbs is perfect.

Hang in there, eczema is perfectly treatable and you'll look back and think 'wow' I can not believe I used to have eczema.

All the best
Joanna

hi tangleberry
my parents were of the opinion their diet didnt do them any harm so why should i have any probs. Otherwise I think I wouldve been symptom free earlier. I was rather annoyed to find out in my adult life that when i was a baby and toddler I was given goats milk cos i couldn't tolerate normal milk, yet my parents put me back on dairy when I started school. I only found this out from my doctors records when I moved practice. My parents didnt even tell me!! How they couldn't see the connection I don't know. I have to say its certainly worth going for tests. most health food shops offer a basic test for about £20/£25. My father has had asthma for years but he wont entertain the idea it could be allergy related. I had problems as a child breathing but soon as I left home I was fine. That I blame on animal hairs though!! We always had cats and if I touched them and rubbed my eyes they used to swell up. But my father would rather suffer than take an allergy test. He thinks any alternative or new ideas to be rubbish!! Thankfully most of the world are not like that and have moved on with the times and will look at other options!! I'm so pleased to be one of them and am always open to trying new therapies etc

hi tt1, yes its kind of scary sometimes how parents are in that position of doing the thinking for us when we are little - you'd assume that if there was a known intolerance that it might encourage them to keep you off normal milk... but I guess a lot of people won't if they don't really believe in it.
At least now you are all grown up - you can have full control whether you allow cows or cats into your life 😉

And I agree that allergy tests are a good idea if you want to know for sure & you feel an elimination diet might be too random.

You are not alone, I was allergic to cow's milk as a little girl & was given goat's milk. Then (like you) my parents put me on cow's milk when I started school. I suffered from asthma, hay fever, acne, all sorts. We can't blame our parents they were under pressure from their friends and colleagues and chances are we might do the same as them in a similar situation that number of years ago.

Ultimately allergy tests are fine but your own body's intuition is far the best. Try a food, see what happens and then make a valued assesment. Why spend vast amounts of money only to be able to find out what you can do yourself?

Your body renews itself reguarly and so you will not be the person you were a few years ago. Change now and you will renew.

All the best
Joanna

probiotics

i have to agree with joanna here on probiotics being the solution.
my little cousin has been suffering from eczema since birth, but after i found and recommended Probiostart for her, the whole family has been relieved! they noticed the redness and itchiness going down within a week of taking the sachets every morning. I'm not sure up to what age you can take these probiotics - as this product is aimed at infants. but having seen the results I'm pretty sure that a similar product aimed at adults would be equally effective.

I have found that when mine is bad, & I have it all over my feet, using castor oil is fab, tried all others and as an aromatherapist I have used everything oil wise, cream wise, from Dr., herbalist, homeopath everything -except HP brown sauce!
Went to see a client who was an old gypsy and he told me to use it.