By Sitara Hewitt

Eczema can be an irritating and seemingly endless issue. The best way to tackle it is by going to the cause, and healing the imbalance from within. Then the skin can begin to calm down and heal with a few soothing exterior treatments. I’m not a doctor but my son has suffered with it and I’ve had bouts of eczema myself; these are the solutions that worked really well for us.

Diet

While eczema seems to be an exterior issue it is usually caused in the gut. Whenever my son has had to take anti-biotics – which kill all the good bacteria in the body as well as the bad – his eczema seems to flare up. Similarly, at times like Hallowe’en when he’s getting just a bit more sugar, his rashes will begin to crop up again. We need to facilitate a healthy environment inside the body, by eliminating inflammation causing foods and replenish things like good bacteria.

The best thing I have found is giving him whole fruits (not processed apple sauces, etc.), veggies and quality protein with gluten free grains. He loves all his fruits and has become quite fond of broccoli and beans and squashes when I dose them up with organic butter and seasoning. In fact, getting enough good quality fat is also key in healing the body; from sources like olive oil, coconut oil, raw nuts, unsweetened nut butter and organic butter. I notice that my scalp becomes itchy and red if I consume processed sugar for even a day.

The body being so sensitive can be challenging but it helps to steer us away from inflammation causing foods and onto healthy vibrant ones, which extends our longevity and energy also. Eliminating white flour and white sugar is the first line of defense, and most grains should be limited down. Oats seem to be fine and can even be soothing, and I use coconut flour to make pancakes, which is also a very healing, non–irritating substitute for grain flours.

Soups and stews are very healing for the gut, go to them whenever you’re not sure what to eat. Using a bone broth in recipes or drinking it on its own helps heal the body too, in fact many people say they helped treat their eczema simply by drinking good quality, organic bone broth every day for 3 weeks to a month. It has been used to help support the immune system too!

Fermented foods are beneficial too, look for sauerkraut, coconut kefir and kimchi. I stay away from dairy as I find it’s irritating to my system, but if you can find a coconut based kefir instead of a dairy one, it is delicious and healing.

Supplements

Fermented cod liver oil comes up at the top of most people’s lists for healing the skin. The fermentation adds healthy bacteria back to the gut which gets depleted by sugar, stress, alcohol and antibiotics. The cod liver oil also reduces inflammation in the whole system which begins to heal the skin so that flare ups become less frequent if at all. But, it doesn’t taste great! I get a flavored one and put it in the back of my son’s mouth and he chases it with orange juice, and that seems to work. The other benefit is that it heals tooth decay, and I have noticed an improvement in my son’s teeth in the few months we have been taking it. Personally I notice that it has a softening and youthening effect on my skin – which is a nice bonus!

Probiotics are key. The stomach and intestines greatly need good bacteria and our processed diet doesn’t facilitate that. I recommend taking them year round, and go up to a double dose in the beginning and for flare ups.

Treating the Skin

Calendula salve is very healing and soothing. As is pure, organic coconut oil applied directly. Keeping the skin moisturized, especially in dry winter months is really important. We try to stay away from cortisone creams as they can make the skin weaker and more susceptible to later flare ups. A bath with magnesium flakes or just plain oatmeal helps my son a lot, and I like a natural peppermint oil scalp treatment when my skin is bothering me.

Eczema can seem like a long battle but starting with the diet, reducing stress and adding a couple of supplements can greatly help. As with all natural treatments the body needs time to heal itself, so implement the changes and stick with them for 2 to 3 weeks… and you should experience lasting relief!