Ask the Doctor:
Question: My son has scaly, itchy patches on the inside of both arms which sometime are wet. What is it?
Many years ago, I had a newly adopted patient presenting with a thick, scaly, itchy patch behind her left ear. Her parents, as expected, were nervous, however, it only took a few short weeks of changing her diet and applying soothing salve to see the profound results.
Eczema is prevalent and according to the Journal of Investigative Dermatology up to 18% of children have eczema; this research was only conducted on diagnosed children and did not include adults. Eczema is an inflammatory, non-contagious skin condition that creates the skin to be red, scaly, oozy and itchy. There are many types from cradle cap to seborrheic dermatitis; however, atopic (a from of allergy) is the most common.
Main Causes of Eczema
Stress: Stress plays a role in many diseases, including. When we are in stress situations, our bodies will push unwanted things out through the skin. Any type of stress: emotional, physical (kids learning to talk, crawl, taking tests) weather changes or holidays may be a contributing factor to eczema and other result in skin flare – ups.
- What to do:
Becoming more aware of stress in your daily activities. Everything from noise, to your commute, your work environment may play a role of how you are reacting to stress. Once you have discovered triggers, find tools – exercise, yoga, meditation, or simply taking time outs and enjoying yourself – to deal with the stress that you have so that you will react to it better.
Diet: Eating a diet of processed foods, or simple carbohydrates, the body will not be absorbing nutrients it needs. In my practice, I have found that when people remove these foods plus the top allergy foods – gluten, dairy, soy, eggs – from their diet, their skin immediately clears up.
- What to do:
Begin eating a whole colorful diet.
Next, give yourself 2 weeks and begin by removing a particular allergen ( ex: gluten) completely. Using a food-mood diary, note any changes during the this time. After the 2 weeks have a party day by eating gluten all day. Again, note any changes for up to 72 hours; you will be surprised with the results. You can repeat this with dairy or any other suspected food sensitivity.
Chemicals: Creams, laundry detergent, soaps can all be very irritating to the skin and promote the inflammatory eczema. Being a label detective to determine if this could be the cause of skin eruptions; it is the first place to begin when treating eczema.
- What to do:
There are many fabulous companies whose missions are to create products that are hypoallergenic and soothing to everyone’s skin. Remember to look at labels particularly look for: products that are gluten free, cruelty free, natural and USDA certified organic, hypoallergenic and free of synthetic chemicals, preservatives, parabens, lanolin, coal tar, SLS sodium lauryl sulfate, steroids, detergents, mineral oil, petroleum, fragrances, dyes and alcohol.
Important Supplements
Essential Fatty Acids
Why? Your body cannot make them so you need to get them from your food or by taking a supplement. They are important for optimal function of the heart – think blood pressure, strokes – the nervous system and the skin. Cod liver oil, an essential fatty acid, has vitamin a and d which are supportive to the immune system… an added bonus.
Brand: Nordic Naturals is my favorite brand, by far. They conduct a great deal of 3rd party testing and quality control.
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–>Food sources: Olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds but also mix in flax-seed oil, cod liver oil and hemp oil in your diet.
Probiotics
Why? Known as the friendly bacteria in the gut, they aid in keeping the digestive system strong and healthy. Approximately 70% of the immune system is in the digestive system so you are getting lots of support by taking some probiotics.
Brand: Find a refrigerated brand at your local health food store that contains between 1 to 10 billion live organisms – Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium – per dose
Food sources: Yogurt that contains live bacteria culture, kefir, fermented foods – tempeh and miso.
Topically
Wise Women Herbal Salve is a favorite. It is packed with calendula, which is soothing to the skin.
An important side note: Since eczema is itchy, it is important to keep the area clean ( and hands) to prevent any infection.
If you have questions about supplements or would like to purchase, please email me or order high quality supplements here.
Be well,
dr. heather
Photo courtesy of Flickr:
Photo courtesy of Flickr:
Photo courtesy of Flickr:
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