What Doctors Don't Tell YouA 22-year-old woman suffers from this condition, symptoms of which include troublesome itching, redness, dryness, and sometimes cracking, weeping and scabbing. Can anyone offer her advice on treatment? This can be tackled with help from sunshine and dietary changes. Raw foods (and acidophilus/yoghurt) are especially good, and adding Omega-3 oils to the diet is essential. Avoid yeast and candida-producing foods. Change your eating habits to include foods rich in whole grains and spring water, eliminating soda and hydrogenated oil. The skin can be treated with a bentonite clay/kelp/water mixture, and colloidal oatmeal as well. Castor oil, lavender, calendula, coconut butter lotion, and shea butter are also very soothing and healing. In general, you want to alkalinise your body by eating a lot of green foods (wheatgrass is ideal). According to a naturopath, the best thing for it (yet the hardest to do) is to stop itching, as that is what causes the weeping. She recommends you keep the skin moist, but ensure that all products used are paraben-free (these preservatives are found in a slew of products and can seriously aggravate your skin). Investigate potential allergens (both food and inhaled) to discover what exacerbates the itching. Paraffins, alcohol, and fragrances in products should be avoided as well. One woman says her homeopath worked wonders for her, as her personally tailored remedy completely cleared her condition within just three months. Another swears by porridge oats: put a couple of handfuls of ordinary porridge oats into a sock and run it under the tap as you fill the sink. It creates a creamy/cloudy bath in which to soak your face, and you can then take what is left of the oats and apply directly to the skin. After just four nights, her eczema has almost cleared up. Also try potter eczema ointment or Themba ointment, made from an African plant and marketed by The Little Themba Company (UK).
Daniel Redwood DC
Tom Ferguson MD
