Eczema: The Gold Standard

Today in Dovid's Crazy World of Self-Betterment, I'm going to be writing the Gold Standard for eczema treatment. Enjoy.

Preface: I have eczema. When I was very little, I did not, but then, shortly after being vaccinated, I developed a pretty bad case. No, I'm not of the belief that the two are connected, but I'm sure someone out there does, so I'm including that detail. You're welcome.

Recognizing Eczema: Before going any further, I should point out one thing. In fact I'll put in bold, big letters right in the middle of the screen so you don't miss it.

I am not a medical professional.

I am a person on the internet.

There, I got that off my chest. Now I can go on.

Eczema is known medically as Atopic Dermatitis. It appears as a rash on the skin, can appear anywhere on the body, and can take on different appearances based on the severity of the case. In order of mild to worse, these are:

• Reddened area that is prone to itch.
• Scaly skin that is dry. Also itches.
• Flaking skin that peels away and itches terribly.
• Scabbed or raw skin that again, itches badly.
• Open wounds where skin used to be. Still itchy.

Eczema can get quite severe. On the other hand, there are no known cases of anyone dying from eczema (except by complication. Having an open wound can lead to infection, which could be deadly). Eczema in itself is not life-threatening.

Typically, eczema in babies, which is exceedingly common, lasts a matter of months or a year or two and then fades away. If it lasts longer, or breaks out after about 4 years of age, it's generally chronic and then the real work begins.

Eczema can be mistaken for a number of skin conditions including psoriasis. It is similar, and treatment is similar, but it is not the same, and should not be thought of as the same.

As always, if you think you may have eczema, talk to a doctor to confirm, and then proceed at your own discretion.

Causes of Eczema: Unfortunately, we don't actually know what causes eczema. We do have some correlation that leads us to believe that eczema may be hereditary, but there are no hard facts to lean on to say for sure one way or the other. 

We do know that eczema typically is found in families, so if your family has no history of it, you're children are less likely to break out in it. 

We also know that eczema oftentimes comes with a host of allergies, so if you notice you or your child has eczema, do make sure to look into what allergies might be hiding under the surface. Knowledge is power.

Treatment: In my experience, eczema is incurable but treatable. And treatment boils down to just one thing: 

STRESS REDUCTION

Now, there are 3 kinds of stress that affect eczema: 

• Physical
• Mental
• Emotional

Physical

(The most practical section, and most preventable kind of stress)

• Exercize is key. Get enough or the pent up energy will inflame the rashes.
• Moisturize often. At least 3 times per day during the winter. (Oil based is better than water based moisturizers. Lotions are good too. Gels are no good!)
• Don't live in a dry climate. Use a humidifier if necessary.
• Get enough vitamin E.
• Don't have sugar if at all avoidable.
• Don't have dairy if at all avoidable.
• Drink plenty of water throughout the day.
• Keep your nails short, and dull (cut them every week, file them down if necessary).
• Have enough acid in your diet, but not too much. I like apple cider vinegar. I put it on my salad.
• Don't bathe too often. Once a week is a maximum, and do not wash the affected areas directly, especially not with soap or hot water. The bodily oils take an especially long time to replenish, and this makes the rashes worse. I have found that if I am really careful, and if I exercise often enough, I can (and have done) train my body to produce enough oil so I can take a shower every day. No soap, skipping my face, warm (not hot!) water.
• Don't use steroids. Ever. They will improve your skin temporarily, but at great cost. They should be used only in the most dire of cases (i.e. Life and Death scenario).
• Take advantage of warm weather, especially when humid, to enjoy the sunshine. Very positive effects.
• Eat plenty of green vegetables, stay away from fruit after ~1 PM. (Less time in the day to burn off that extra sugary energy)
• Allergic Reactions. Eczema generally comes with a host of allergies. Once you know what they are, be careful to stay away from them, not only because it'll be dangerous/uncomfortable in itself, but because it will invariably cause a flare-up.
• Think about cutting back on gluten. That helped for me, but it was too big a food group for me to give up. So I'm living with this one.
• Don't live a sedentary life. This puts a huge demand on your body that it can not fill. It seems counterintuitive until you realize that the human body wants to move, and it's the not moving that stresses it out.

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Mental

(Mental stress includes, but is not limited to:)

• School
• School work.
• Scary teachers
• Assignments Due
• Bad grades
• Work
• Scary boss
• Scary/annoying coworker
• Pressure to compete
• Lack of sleep
• Lack of time (rushing a lot)
• Not getting enough vacation time
• Money problems
• Sensory overload (getting lost in a crowd)
• Disorientation

The basic rule of thumb is to reduce mental stress as much as possible, whether you get that release from exercise, meditation, yoga, or a walk in the park. Whatever keeps your mind in check should be a priority for you. I find that a combination of exercise and a breath of fresh air periodically while I work are mostly sufficient but I'm always supplementing with other things found in the "Physical" section above.

****************

Emotional

(Emotional stress is very similar to Mental stress, but it obviously deals with havoc wreaked on your emotional stability. This makes it possibly more potent.)

• Bullying
• Embarrassment (at having eczema for instance)
• Nervousness/Anxiety (school/work/home-related or otherwise)
• Sadness
• Anger (Note: anger can actually alleviate Physical stress so depending on the circumstances, it sometimes comes out in the wash)
• Body Image Issues
• Depression

Emotional stress is possibly the most difficult to alleviate, and it is the kind that must be attacked differently based on each individual case. For instance, where you might treat bullying by confronting the issue head on, you would not do the same for sadness or depression.

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ABOUT HOMEOPATHY

(or other naturopathic medicine)

Homeopathy is a kind of holistic medicine that aims to treat not the symptoms, as in modern medicine, but the patient. In other words, if you come in complaining about insomnia, they may ask you if you are thirsty a lot, your sex drive, if you have stress at work or school, and many other seemingly unrelated questions. Each remedy they prescribe is derived from natural sources. The source is often the very essence of whatever is ailing you. For bee stings, it may be a bee stinger. That item is crushed and diluted over and over and over, until less than a molecule remains in each dose of the final remedy. A higher potency remedy is actually diluted more times than one that is a lower potency. The right remedy at precisely the right potency should theoretically cure you of all your ailments. And you only have to take the remedy once and wait a couple weeks to see if there are effects to find out (at least according to classical homeopathy - there are other kinds).

My mother is a homeopath, and she studies in Belgium with a really talented woman named Henny Heudens-Mast. The woman speaks something like 6 languages, and knows more remedies verbatim than anyone else my mother knows. She used to fly me to Belgium or Florida (if Henny was giving a seminar there) to meet with her. She used to get up in the middle of the night to phone Belgium for a quick consultation. She's intense like that.

I have not found homeopathy to be terribly helpful for me. After many years of being treated in this modality, I can say confidently that it does not work for me. Perhaps you will have a different experience.

CONTROLLING ITCHING

• Drinking lots of water will help with itching, but you have to keep on top of it.
• Sugar makes the itching waaay worse, especially when followed by physical activity.
• During really bad bouts, I'd take Benadryl.
• For allergic reactions, using an antihistamine usually works, but it makes me drowsy (annoying for constant ones like seasonal allergies).
• When all else fails, distraction is actually really effective. For me it was always TV. When occupied, I was always way less prone to scratch, particularly if it was mindless or my hands were not doing anything (doing something with my hands would make me think about my hands, which is where my eczema was during childhood and so began the itching).
• And again, keep the nails short. Even if you're itchy, if your nails are short, it's hard to do much damage.

THINGS I'VE HEARD OF

but never tried.

• Taking a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (orally) daily.
• Soaking my eczema in olive oil.
• Soaking my eczema in tea.
• Rubbing coconut butter on the affected areas.

Conclusion: I hope that I have given you a starting point for your own research on the subject, and that you will find my suggestions on dealing with eczema helpful. If you have any insight or experience you'd like to share, you can comment below this post to let me know. I'm always looking for more information, and if anyone is looking for a little guidance on the subject, I'm happy to help. Don't be a stranger, and good luck.