Whole Living Daily

Eczema is a fairly serious skin irritation—if you’ve had it, you know it can be a frustrating, itchy experience. The most common form is called atopic eczema (or atopic dermatitis), and it affects between 9 percent and 30 percent of the population.

How can you treat it naturally?

To start, atopic eczema is often associated with other atopic conditions, such as hay fever and asthma (in fact, the three together are often called the “allergic triad”). An individual with a hypersensitive immune system with one of these three conditions is likely to develop one or both of the others in their lifetime. There is also a strong hereditary or family component to instances of eczema.

There are two different stages of atopic eczema: acute and chronic, the causes of which can be any number of triggers. Causes of acute eczema include food allergies and contact with irritants (i.e., dyes, perfumes, medications, plants, metals, soaps, wool, and pollutants). Root causes of chronic eczema include unidentified or untreated food sensitivities, an imbalanced immune system, candida, suppressive treatments of acute eczema (i.e,. long-term topical steroids use), stress, heredity, inability to process essential fatty acids, low stomach acid and poor digestion, or inadequate detoxification.

Symptoms and treatment
An eczema rash most commonly occurs on the face, knees, hands, or feet, but can show up nearly anywhere on the body. In acute cases, eczema manifests as red, dry, swollen, itchy skin (causing an overwhelming desire to scratch), blisters, oozing, and crusting over. In chronic cases, these symptoms are continually recurring, and can ultimately lead to thick, dry skin with scaling patches, continued itching, and color changes of the skin.

Typical conventional treatments include topical anti-inflammatory ointments (hydrocortisone, triamcinolone, betamethasone) or anti-histamines to decrease itching (diphenhydramine, loratadine). But these conventional therapies often are focused only on relieving and preventing the symptoms and ignore the underlying cause of eczema.

Here are a few holistic ways to try treating your eczema symptoms. They can be used alone or in combination with each other, depending on your needs.

1) Avoid allergens and irritants. Eliminating the foods and chemicals that are triggering the immune response is the most important first step. Some of the most common food offenders include dairy, wheat, gluten, citrus fruits, tomatoes, soy, shellfish, and eggs. Laundry detergents, paints, perfumes, chemicals, and irritants of any nature can also trigger eczema.

2) Reduce stress. An overwhelmed nervous system and drained adrenals can put the immune system into a state of high alert. Maintain balance through exercise, healthy sleeping and eating habits, acupuncture, yoga, hypnosis, or meditation.

3) Try a detox. Skin issues are usually indicative of toxicity in the body. Try getting more greens into your system (barley, spirulina, chlorella, blue-green algae), as these help to alkalinize the body and reduce toxicity. You can also try an herbal or homeopathic cleanse (I like Enzymatic Therapy’s Whole Body Cleanse or Heel’s Homeopathic Detox Kit), or make small changes in your lifestyle that can reduce your body’s toxic burden (e.g., decrease consumption of alcohol or processed foods and avoid harsh chemicals and pollutants).

4) Get your essential fatty acids (EFAs). To reduce inflammation and dryness, try a blend of omega 3-6-9 (I like Nordic Naturals, New Chapter, and Pharmax). Research has also indicated that some people afflicted with either type of eczema may not be able to process fatty acids leading to a deficiency in gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). You can replenish GLA by supplementing with evening primrose oil (Natural Factors, Pharmaca), black currant seed, or borage oils.

5) Supplement for skin health. As always, probiotics (try New Chapter, Pharmax, Metagenics) play a key role in proper digestion, detoxification, and immune functions. Add some vitamin C with bioflavonoids (Natural Factors) to help reduce inflammation and promote skin healing. Burdock root (Herb Pharm) has a great healing effect on the skin, as does vitamin E (Thorne Research, Pharmaca) (which can also help prevent oxidation of EFAs).

6) Try homeopathics. There are several remedies that can help resolve or reduce the severity of eczema, depending on the symptoms. A few to try: Arsenicum Album, Calcarea Carbonica, Graphites, Medorrhinum, Psorinum, Rhus Toxicodendron, Sulphur. Work with a homeopath to determine which one best fits your case.

Ultimately, treating eczema is more about avoiding the troubling irritant than anything else. Take an in-depth look at your diet (start with the top offenders listed above), and try an elimination diet to identify which are causing eczema symptoms. Get regular exercise to help minimize stress and promote detoxification, and get a small amount of morning sun exposure to help to heal skin.

For more information on dry skin conditions, look here.

Kate Brainard, is a naturopathic doctor based in San Diego, California. A graduate of Bastyr University’s doctorate program in Naturopathic Medicine, she works for Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy, a holistic pharmacy staffed with expert practitioners. She currently manages the Pharmaca in La Jolla and spends time educating customers on supplements, health, and lifestyle choices.