Tips on How to Get Eczema Under Control
Since I have suffered from Neurodermatitis — a form of eczema — for most of my life, I would like to help people get this awfully uncomfortable disease under control.
I know there are many people fighting the battle, but think positive as it will get better. I have been virtually symptom-free for about 14 years. It is possible and there are ways to accomplish this with a change in life-style and some discipline. I can assure you that eczema is just a temporary state and there are great ways to get rid of it! These are really simple changes as well, one just has to adapt an optimistic attitude, be patient and start with the following suggestions that have helped me to live a normal life again:
STEP 1 Allergy Test
Eczema or Atopic Dermatitis can be triggered by allergens, so the first thing to do is to visit a dermatologist that does allergy testing. Have them test foods, chemicals and pollen. I tested positive for dust mites, cobalt and certain foods. Then just try to avoid these triggers as best as you can or commit to a immunotherapy which yielded great results for me. A certain combination of pollen allergens were injected once a week for 6 weeks over the period of 3 years and I can only recommend it. Year by year my reaction to pollen season improved and finally didn’t phase me at all.
FOODS To Avoid
Avoid:
• Sugar — there seems to be a connection to sugar intake and eczema and I am sure you will be able to find various sources on the internet. According to this article our ancestors only consumed approximately five pounds of sugar per year in the late 1800s and eczema was virtually non existent. Today we consume nearly 5 pounds/week… Although it is not a given and should be evaluated on an individual basis it’s certainly worth taking into account.
• Processed foods
Processed foods include way to many additives such as sugars, spices, flavor enhancers (Monosodium glutamate), colorings, preservatives and have hardly any nutritious value. If you feel like snacking, go to the health food store and store up on rice crackers, whole wheat pretzels etc. — depending on what food you are allergic to of course. Most of these processed foods contain ingredients that are natural and are simple to identify.
• Spices
To be precise all hot and spicy snacks, such as barbecue chips, pizza pockets, cured meats (i.e Salami, Pepperoni), Indian and Thai cooking (or ask for mild), steak sauce, all sauces for that matter that aren’t freshly prepared and contain lots of ingredients that might aggravate the skin.
• Chocolate, coffee, black and green teas and anything else containing caffeine
• Common triggers of eczema are dairy/citrus products, alcohol, caffeine, wheat, yeast, milk —> have a food allergy test done
FOODS/supplements that are good for you:
• Essential & non-essential fatty acids such as borage oil, fish oil, primrose oil, flaxseed oil capsules — Essential fatty acids help provide the body with prostaglandin which has an anti-inflammatory effect.
• Anything fresh and organic of course
CLOTHING
• Use 100% cotton clothes/sheets/towels
DAILY LIFE/ENVIRONMENT
• Get rid of carpet in your home as it’s a breeding ground for
allergens (dust mites, fungus etc.)
• Clean your place periodically with ecological cleaning products
that are natural and not such a hazzard as regular cleaning
products. I like the products from Seventh Generation. They
have a perfume and dye free laundry detergent as well as several nice dish soaps with a very pleasant smell such as Mint and
Lavender. For cleaning I usually buy all purpose soap from Whole Foods (store brand). Organic lemon is wonderful as it feels like aroma therapy and has a very subtle natural scent. (Make sure to wear gloves to protect your skin).
• In the winter make sure you don’t turn on the heat all the way, as it will dry out the skin. Have an air humidifier or a wet towel placed above the heater. Also it’s beneficial to keep a window open, as cool fresh air helps keep you comfortable. Heat usually triggers the itch/scratch cycle.
• Opt for showering more than taking baths. However baths in natural sea salt (salt from the dead sea preferably, as it’s high in minerals) work like a miracle. It might sting at first- especially when you gave in to a thorough scratch beforehand – but it will definitely help in the long run. Just try to make it a habit. Also try to get sea salt in bulk rather than buying it from a healthfood store (can be very expensive!).
Make sure to get the pure form (no essential oils etc added). Use 1kilo if possible for every bath, sit in warm (not hot!) water for about 15min and then towel dry while leaving the skin still damp and then immediately rub yourself with Eucerin creme ( I use Eucerin Daily Replenishing Lotion as I prefer the light feel and that it absorbs quickly, but you got to see what works best for you). Another great one I just recently discovered is “The Healthy Body Butter” from La Vanilla Laboratories. It is free of petrochemicals, phtalates, propylene glycol, mineral oils, silicone, synthetic dyes, sulfates, and parabenes. It’s vanilla smell might be a bit overpowering at first, but it makes for healthy and smooth skin. I had a bad outbreak on my hip area recently and applied this every night and thankfully it just went away.
If you have some areas with active eczema you might want to treat them with a cortisone cream* to get these areas under control. Only use a thin layer, only on the areas that need treatment and stop using the creams once they are healed. Make sure you apply these medicines first, before applying moisturizer -preferably without mineral oil – liberally. Then wrap yourself in some loose fitting cotton (100%) pjs and relax.
*Definitely see a dermatologist as the over the counter cortisone creams are not very effective most of the time or ask your doctor about Elidel/Protopic (immune suppressant creams) which also have side affects as any drugs but can be used safely in the face. As long as you keep the use to a minimum just to clear one area, it might be an alternative to a cortisone treatment.
• Dont’ scratch!! That is one of the most important rules and the hardest one to obey. In any case scratching makes the itch worse and also might damage the skin barrier, making it prone for infection. If you can’t bare the itch lightly slap your skin or pinch it. This way the pain will numb the itch and no skin will be damaged.
Take anti-histamines such as Claritin or Allegra at night, when the itch seems to be the worst.
• Blankets: should be able to “breath”. Some people are allergic to down, so it would be helpful to swap the down covers for an alternative hypo-allergenic cotton blanket, sheet,...Down gets also very hot as it stores the heat.
The Itching-Cycle - Eczema Hell - Part 1
I can speak with authority on this as I had suffered under Atopic Dermatitis since I was a baby. I will never forget the psychological stress this caused me especially in my teenage years, when you start becoming aware of yourself and your appearance.
The symptoms – red itchy bumps that would crust when scratched and form a red, dry patch of sensitive skin – were at their worst when I was a toddler and became gradually better with the years. My parents were at their wits’ end as it made them tear up seeing their child scratching its entire body, leaving open, bloody sores that would crust just until the next vicious cycle would hit it again full force. While other children were playing freely with nothing to worry about, the itching would be my constant hellish companion from a very early age on. To this day I remember the awful diapers and the rash I had all over the body and the urge to just run around naked as anything seemed to irritate my skin. My parents pounded the streets for any dermatologist that promised hope, including alternative practitioners. All with very little success. Along the way we learned that I am allergic to almost any fruits that have a seed. Cherries, plums, apricots, mangoes, grapes with seeds, apples, pears etc. as well as some types of tomatoes. Spices and any processed food containing flavor enhancers such as monosodium glutamate were worsening the symptoms almost instantly as well. On birthday parties I would indulge in barbecue spiced potato chips or chocolate covered apples and would suffer the consequences the same night and several days to follow. My hands, the crook of the arm and legs as well as lips and my buttocks were mostly affected. My mother would wrap my hands at night with some cotton dressing and give me one piece pyjamas so I wouldn’t be able to scratch. There were times in the summer, when I would completely undress and just lie there crying on the living room table, because I was caught in a devilish cycle of itching and scratching and healing with no end in sight. My skin scratched open, the crust broken with fluids oozing out, I didn’t know what to do. I felt so overwhelmingly dirty in my own skin. I also experienced this complete separation between my soul and my physical being and ultimately this sense of complete helplessness. I was the only one amongst my friends who was suffering to that extend and I couldn’t understand why it was me who had to go through this and not them.
My days were completely and utterly controlled by either the intolerable itchiness or the wound healing. It’s hard to describe but your skin becomes your prison. Your body turned against you. Your thoughts are driven by this urgent itching cycle and everything else is just of minor matter. This became tough to handle in more stressful situations as not only were you dealing with something that affects your mind but also with the unnerving symptoms your body was throwing at you.
Being extremely pale and skinny with dark circles under my eyes, friends of my parents would constantly inquire about my health. “Oh, why is she so pale?”“Is everything alright with her?” I couldn’t hear it anymore. When my class mates would return from their summer vacations, all golden brown, pink cheeks glowing, I only had a moderate color, mimicking a normal skin tone. A vacation at the sea would always clear my symptoms completely as the Atlantic sea is rich in minerals that help strengthen the natural barrier of the skin and are great for the healing process. The combination of sun and sea was the only cure (to this day) that I found to be effective. The chlorine in public pools was my enemy. While my friends had the time of their lives I again enjoyed but with dire repercussion. The skin of people with eczema is unable to retain water and it’s natural skin barrier is much weaker so it becomes easily dry and itchy, especially when exposed to chlorine in water. Needless to say, my fun at the pool was somewhat overshadowed by what was yet to come.