Young child with Eczema on cheeks.

OK, before I jump into this, the standard disclaimer applies: I am not a medical doctor and nothing presented here should be used as a substitute for professional medical care. You must decide what works for you and your family.

Now to the post….

I have to admit: I’ve been wrong for years! Deep breath; hang my head in shame!

Over the last fourteen years in this business, we’ve seen an increasing number of customers who are plagued by Eczema, and what is really concerning, is that more and more have been young children!

So why have I been wrong? I have fallen into the modern trap of trying to create products to treat the symptoms, rather than addressing the cause!  THAT is what modern medicine is about, so that we never really get better, we just cover up the symptoms.  That is also why I don’t promote any ‘magical products’ that purport to get rid of wrinkles, acne, or other skin ailments.

So lets look at Eczema from an inclusive health-based viewpoint…

The skin is a reflection of our overall health, so chronic skin problems are a warning that something more serious is going on inside.

I have said for years, that 90% of our chronic ailments are environmental, meaning that they occur because of something we are doing: generally our diet, but also our water consumption, stress, sleep issues and lack of exercise.  Since our food supply has been taken over by more and more processed ‘food substitutes,’ causing more allergic problems, it makes sense that Eczema has a similar genesis.

Eczema is a chronic skin condition characterized by rashes, dryness, and painful weeping or crusting and flaking skin. Eczema is caused by chronic inflammation affecting skin cells and causing scarring, but these signs are really indicative of far more dangerous conditions going on within the body.

A number of common modern day items appear to contribute to eczema flair-ups: food allergies (notably pasteurized cow’s milk, eggs, gluten, soy, peanuts, fish, beef, corn, citrus, tomatoes, starches, artificial flavors and preservatives), stress, genetics, antibiotics, heavy metals… detergents and fabric softeners and environmental allergens such as dust and pollen. Phew! That sounds like just about everything in our modern world, doesn’t it?

That conforms with my preaching that we need to get rid of processed foods in our diets, as they almost always contain dairy, gluten, soy or corn which are known inflammatory triggers.

The journal, Thorax, supports this warning, stating  that “kids who eat fast food three or more times a week are likely to have more severe allergic asthma, hay fever and eczema.”

The common medical solution?  Steroidal creams and bleach baths!

All of the triggers I mentioned are avoidable… so why not go with a simple, natural solution first, before opting for steroids?  The first step is to eliminate food culprits and synthetic cleaners in your home. Then keep your home clean and free from dust, as much as possible. That sounds like a home I would want to live in regardless of specific health issues!

Many chronic inflammatory disorders such as Eczema are also characterized by a hyper-responsive immune system.  In addition to avoiding inflammatory triggers, like those mentioned above, increasing the consumption of anti-inflammatory compounds,  rebuilding the intestinal wall and increasing vitamin D3 levels all help combat abnormal immune control.

According to Natural News, “Individuals with eczema have an overpopulation of pathogenic organisms in the gut that are damaging the intestinal wall and allowing food particles to pass into the bloodstream… When the immune system encounters these food particles in the bloodstream, it unleashes a massive inflammatory assault that causes a systemic allergenic response.”

Rebuilding the gut is essential to naturally warding off eczema and chronic inflammatory disease. High quality fermented foods are powerful weapons that help rebuild the natural gut flora. This means sauerkraut, kim-chi, fermented fruit and vegetables, apple cider vinegar, kombucha, and raw dairy or coconut kefir and yoghurt. You can take probiotics, but I believe it is always better to work on getting your nutrients directly from your food.. and fermented  foods provide a natural source of probiotics, enzymes and amino acids and you can make all of them at home with just a little planning.

Intermittent fasting, which involves limiting eating to an 8 hour daily window, also helps the body store enzymes, which may help speed repair of the gut.  Foods high in anti-oxidants such as brightly colored fruit and vegetables is always good, as is consuming healthy fats such as avocado, coconut oil, olive oil, raw dairy, wild salmon, and organic eggs and grass-fed beef. In other words, eat natural minimally processed foods! Many herbs, such as cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, thyme, rosemary, basil and ginger are known to help with general healing and should be used to naturally make foods more exciting.

How do you get Vitamin D naturally?  Why, from the sun!  Our skin naturally makes vitamin D3, so consider a half an hour dose of sunshine before mid-morning or after mid-afternoon (when the sun is slightly lower in the sky.)  Commercial Vitamin D pills are often laced with sugars, maltodextrin and soy, so read labels carefully.

While you are detoxing, colloidal oatmeal baths will help aide the discomfort of Eczema outbreaks:  simply grind up oatmeal in a coffee grinder until it becomes a fine meal, and add a cup of that to warm bathwater.  Simple Virgin Coconut oil will also help soothe the skin… I wrote about that here: What is my favorite oil?

If you want more information, Natural News has an extensive list of articles about Eczema and other health issues. Also, there is a new ebook on Natural Eczema treatment, which sums up the information here and scattered over the web: The Eczema Cure. 

Start with the simple healthy changes that I’ve been suggesting for a while. Then add fermented food and sunshine to your daily rituals, and eczema flair-ups should be vastly reduced or even eliminated. Please let me know your experiences… what have you tried and what has worked!