Effective Natural Eczema Treatments for Soothing Relief

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I have developed an acute onset itchy, inflamed rash on my arms and legs. It started as small patches on my left wrist and I thought it was nickle allergy related to a new watch I was wearing. I also have been sick most of the winter with one respiratory infection after the other and all that started with a mild sore throat right before Christmas. I kept a sinus infection from Dec-Feb and finally went to the doctor about it because I was losing sleep from coughing. The doctor said it was virus and gave me a Kenalog shot which helped for about 5 days and then I caught another cold. That was about the same time the rash started on my wrist.

I quit wearing the watch and over the course of three days the rash spread up my left arm, then patches of it started breaking out on my right wrist and both shins and ankles. The itch was so severe at night I couldn't sleep. It looked like Chicken pox. So back to the doctor I went again. I was concerned it was scabies since it is going around the elementary school where I work and I also thought maybe I had the shingles. The doctor said no to those conditions, said it was not contagious whatever it was, he also said it was not RMSF or Lyme. He gave a Rx for triamcinolone cream which did nothing.

So I finally found some tea tree oil soap and tea tree oil and started showering with the soap and massaging the oil in the patches. After the oil is absorbed, I've been covering the areas with a thick ointment called Calmaseptine, which contains 20% zinc, calamine and menthol. This seems to stop the itching and in the mornings when I wake up the rash looks better and almost disappears, but later in the day after I get out in the hot sun or when I just get out of the hot shower, the rash comes back with a vengence. I don't know why heat is bringing it out and making it worse. I have an appointment with the skin doctor next week. I'm sure whatever he prescribes my insurance won't cover and a small tube of anything can cost $80-$300+ I finally understand how King Hezekiah, Job or the Egyptians felt during the plagues.

Hi Everyone!

First I would like to say that Earth Clinic is literally a godsend for anyone who is looking for natural healing for a variety of ailments. I have found so much fantastic information here for a variety of bodily issues. Currently I am spending the summer in Connecticut, and whenever I am here or in the northern states I get absolutely unbearable eczema (really can not figure out why only here). I currently have been suffering from outbreaks on every sensitive skin area of my body such as eyes, lips, breasts and "other" places (ugh). This week I decided to give a go at some of the natural remedies researched from a variety of sources and am so excited to say that today was an absolute break through in fighting off this awful skin issue. Almost all areas are 3/4 of the way healed and I would like to share what I did to reach that point.

First I have cut out ALL sugar and cut back on caffeine (i love coffee but limited it to one cup every few days), especially do not eat any chocolate or drink alcohol. I ate a tiny bit of chocolate after dinner the other night and had the WORST outbreak afterwards. Also it would seem like "nightshade" foods such as tomatos, eggplant, peppers etc make it worsen, as well as wheat based foods and possibly even rice. So I decided to just cut all of those things. The magic of the actual healing seems to be coming from a combination of ACV (both topically and ingested), drinking lots of water, getting lots of sunlight, AND doing oatmeal baths. Parts of my body were so inflamed this morning I was miserable. Both eyes were so puffy it looked like I was punched. Now, 10 hours later everything is almost completely healed!!

I mixed some mango juice with honey and ACV and drank this 3 times today. I did about 45 minutes in the sun with virgin coconut oil slathered all over me. I then took a bath with an oatmeal sachet in it, squeezing the cloth to saturate all effected areas and let it soak in. Also while in the bath I wet a washcloth and poured some ACV on it to dab on the effected areas in between oatmeal milk pours. It admittedly burns like hell, but the oatmeal after helps to sooth this. I literally felt and watched as all my red swollen areas started to go down and heal before my eyes. I have also found that tea tree oil lip balm is awesome for lips that have swelling and dry itchiness. I keep one in my bed with me and apply it throughout the night so I can sleep without the skin cracking. I hope this helps all my eczema sufferers!!!

To add to this, although I am not sure it is helping, I have also started eating lots of salmon (vitamin D and omegas), taking flax seed oil, probiotics and eating food with raw coconut oil and organic olive oil. Pretty much cut out all citrus fruits and opting for a mostly raw vegetable diet. :)))

I have had great luck controlling my eczema with digestive enzymes. I eat them with any foods that I know I am sensitive to such as pasteurized dairy and wheat and it allows me to tolerate them without breaking it out in a rash.

Hello,

Just a note to say that I've been suffering from eczema (on the forehead) for many years. I've tried just about everything, always with some success, but never quite curing it. It seldom flairs up , but still, it does sometimes. Anyway, this is the one thing I can say has had a REAL impact on my condition : beer yeast. I eat it on toast in the morning, and on salads and in soups. When I eat some everyday, my condition gets better, systematically. It is not a cure, but it alleviates every single symptom. It makes my life better.

Thought I would share this.

Hello Sabrina,

Here's a guess for you based on just a few hints you gave... eczema since birth... and it is over 80 percent of your body...

That's not an external problem. That's internally produced. Liver...endocrine....lymph system. Might even be genetic, but even if genetic that does not mean you can't compensate. If not enough of some amino acid for instance, you can compensate with oral consumption of amino acids.

That the direction I'd go if faced with this. A good internist ... no a great internist .... needs to nail down the cause. He/she may not have the solution but diagnosis is essential or all is guess work. And you can try to deal with the problem by process of elimination but such a shotgun approach will likely lead to frustration in determining the cause.

A few questions: Do you have any relatives with anything like this? (genetic)

Did your mother have this condition at any time? (pathogenic natal carry forward)

What OTHER symptoms do you suffer with? (might give a hint to the underlying cause)

You are dealing with symptoms in taking various baths etc...that's fine...I would be too, but you've got to get to the cause.

Here's a guess....an issue on the cellular level; the cellular pores not allowing essential oils et al to come in and not allowing toxic debris from leaving. Soooooo....want a broad based shotgun approach? Order AEP, membrane integrity factor (amino ethyl phosphoric acid).... "Calcium AEP".... take five a day....for two weeks.

I have eczema ever since I can remember. I always have it on my eye lids and sometimes on my elbow, arms, chest. Steroid creams worked but I believe this past Fall the huge outbreak was due to the accumulation of those creams. My eyelids were all swollen, red, and my neck was covered with red, painful and itchy patches. They even spread to my face and chest. It was miserable. I tried many methods, apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, honey, eventually, what worked for me was hemp seed oil! I took one table spoon in the morning, one at night, and rubbed the oil on my skin as well. The relief came quite quickly, in a couple of days and I was clear of eczema in a month!

Seems like if you are improving, that is a positive sign! You might try a baking soda bath for the inflammation. 1 cup of baking soda in a tub of warm water.

~Mama to Many~

Hello! I have been a chronic sufferer of eczema... From mild to severe. It starts on the thin skin of my eyelids and neck and spreads from there. One time it was so bad, my entire face was nearly covered in a red, seeping, blotchy mess. I have tried many MANY things.. Including seeing a dermatologist [who insisted I had contact dermatitis and was reacting to nailpolish and/or makeup... Not true]. Long story short, it flares primarily when I am under a lot of stress and also runs in my family. The cure when I was younger was to simply break up with a boyfriend to end a stressful relationship, and it would immediately go away. OR, I would water fast for 5 days... On day 3, it would be gone.. And then it would immediately come back once I began eating [I broke my fast with oranges]. One could conclude from the above that that the problem is therefore stress induced, and harbored as a 'gutteral' reaction. Somehow, my gut is connected to the proper functioning of my skin, especially the 'soft/sensitive' areas, and when I am upset, so is my stomach, and so are my eyes. I could get really deep here and say I feel 'blinded and chocked' and my body is warning me to DO something about it... but let's stick to remedies and 'science' for today.

Well, now I am married... I have not had a problem with it for the past 3 years, and I have found that it has been flaring up and down all year. It is currently going full bore with no end in sight and I fear it will only get worse if I don't figure out how to nip it in the bud without getting a full blown divorce! I think it's time I figure it out so that I don't end up alone with my clear complexion. Afterall, the one thing all the men of my past have in common is me and my eczema! I dont' think they need be taking the blame.

Anyway, I wanted to report something that is working [that does not include divorce]... It may be the combination of all the things I am doing, but I actually believe that _____ [a supplement that generates collagen and contains silicon and choline] is contributing the most for some reason. Anyhow, here is my remedy:

About a week ago I started on 5 drops B___ 2x per day with juice. about 3 days ago, started drinking Raw unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar, 2TBSP 2-3 times daily with water/juice. Make a water/lemon/vinegar mixture that I spray on my face and neck in the morning and at night. Cotton swab with water/vinegar all over my face as a toner, follow with Squalane Oil before it dries. Take an expensive probiotic once a day. Eat a LOT of dried figs [i don't know why I think they help? maybe]. Drink a raw unpasturized local Kombucha drink once or twice per day.

About 3 days ago my eyes were red, weeping and watering constantly. I looked like I had severe allergies or was crying all day when I had not been. My eyes were swollen upon weaking, and reddish and blotchy. This went on for the next two days... However, I have noticed that upon waking in the morning, the skin on my forehead and around my eyes is looking less and less wrinkly and more smooth and supple. Especially today and this afternoon. The skin around my eyes went from being very taught and dry and irritated to being smooth[ish] and flexible. Maybe it is just a good day, but I don't think so. I really think this B___ is making the skin less wrinkly and smoother. It may also be the ACV and Kombucha helping out, but I cannot believe that it would have such a quick effect. Either way... Try it out! Even if you do not have eczema, taking [the silicon supplement] and ACV and using a lemon/vinegar/water spritz on the skin followed with squalane oil really makes it soft at supple without being greasy or heavy. I have NOT stopped wearing make up either. I use a light foundation powder and blush over the parts of my face that are not affected by eczema, then I dab on the powder with some squa oil on my eyelids to help cover and redness so I don't look and feel so horrid. I then carefully put on any old mascara. I take make up off with the squa oil and a cloth and some water as well. It is very gentle. I know some people us coconut oil and say that works for them, but it never did anything for my eczema. I put only coconut oil on my skin for half a year and just watched my skin get worse day by day. Anyway, if it clears more and more, I will let you know!

How old is the child? For an infant, I'd do maybe a tablespoon. Adjust for the child's size--a 10 year old could probably do half a cup. In my experience, the child will want it once they realize it's helping and then they can drink as much of it as they want. Just start with a small amount and observe. If you are lucky, the child will like it and self-administer. I just whiz some jam into mine for sweetness, but we don't even really sweeten it at all anymore. A second ferment will make it less sour (some like the sour; I don't.) You can also watch it for thickness--some people like it thinner and stop fermenting earlier. Others like it thick, like a cream cheese, and use it as topping for crackers. I use it thick like sour cream(love it on my hot oatmeal) and thinner to take when I carry it to work. It's a valuable addition to your diet if you tolerate it well.

About a year ago I had my first ever outbreak of Dyshidrotic eczema on my hands. At first glance I didn't pay much mind to it until about a week after and my hands had developed full on blisters and after a week would dry up and leave discolored dead skin which was socially awkward and frustrating. I was baffled at first as to what had caused it until I did a bit of research on it. Apparently others were suffering from the same thing as me but I wanted to narrow down the variables a bit more. After more research I came to the conclusion that my case of athlete's foot was the culprit (root cause of the fungal infection) and when my feet were at its worse the dyshidrosis would begin. I have been battling athlete's foot for years and it was just getting worse.

Long story short, I stopped my athlete's foot with a half and half mixture of white vinegar and water and soaked my feet for 30 minutes, once a day, every day for a week and a half. I started doing this after I noticed an outbreak on my hands occurring and after just a few days the treatment stopped the dyshidrotic eczema dead in its tracks and a week after the small but not developed outbreak was dried up and gone. Even though my feet are still a bit red and tender from years of having athletes foot it has drastically improved and the eczema on my hands have never returned.

In the end, I have associated my breakouts of dyshidrosis to the initial fungal infection from the athlete's foot. I am not a skin specialist, just going by what worked for me. If you are suffering from this condition my best advice would be to find a root cause to the break outs. I've heard that leaky-gut syndrome can be a cause but there is so much speculation out there which is what makes dealing with any kind of eczema so frustrating!! I hope this helps....

My teenage daughter has suffered from eczema since she was just a wee thing, and like you, we have tried every remedy imaginable over the years.When her flare-ups were really severe, she would resort to using her prescription streroid cream. But of course, that's just 'a bandaid' - it doesn't eliminate what's causing the eczema, and that was our ultimate goal.

What finally worked, was having her include at least two (but the more, the better) small vanilla yogurts each day, without fail - one in the morning, and one in the evening.

This, along with two fish oil capsules at bedtime has significantly improved (dare I say, perhaps even 'cured') her eczema. The difference is truly astounding.

I started getting severe eczema all over my body and scalp after using a combination of bleach and dish soap to clean some cement blocks. I cleaned them because our previous landlord next door to us had rabbits running all over our yard and on the cement blocks, and I was worried about getting an infection of some kind. I walked on the cement blocks while I was mopping it down with the cleaning solution. I threw away the old mop. I did not think that after using a solution as strong as the one I had used that the chemical would cause a allergic reaction when I touched my shoes to take them off. I was broke out in 8-12 minutes I broke out all over my body and scalp after my exposure. I did try the apple cider vinegar and it did cause the pus filled eczema to scab over. But then my skin felt so dry from the vinegar, I started itching. I found another remedy, which seems to work much better, and is not expensive to make. You put oatmeal lotion in a bowl {I use the kind from Dollar General stores, as it's thick and has no added fragrance, at $3 a bottle, quite a bargain. } After putting the whole bottle in a mixing bowl add some honey to the lotion in the bowl. The ratio should be 2/3 lotion to 1/3 honey. Add about 1/3-1/2 cup of boiled spring water to the mixture after it has cooled to a warm tempature not to burn you when you put it on. Add a vitamin e capsule to help preserve the mixture. Mix thoroughly and amazing the you will notice how the honey mixed in with the mixture along with the vitamin e makes a big difference in how long it takes to heal up the eczema. I have had this condition for 2 yrs, and been to numerous doctors and had shots, but nothing else seemed to work. Then I read something on a website about how honey can heal skin eruptions of almost any kind. The water added to the mixture makes the honey portion of the mixture less sticky, so it won't stick to your clothes. You may have to test out the amount of honey in the mixture that works for you. My mom told me that soldiers in the war had to use honey to heal their wounds, as they no access to any wound creams. Unbeleivably, according to one of the sites I was on honey can lower blood sugar in diabetics, cure obesity, and possibly help with skin rashes. Just look up using honey to make body lotion. Don't look it up as all one word or as a dot.com or you you won't find what you are looking for. Looking it up as a sentence for a general search will bring up alot of websites about using honey in ways you may not know of.

I hope this can be of help to any of you who have suffered a long battle with this problem as I have.

I am sorry for your son, mine is not diagnosed I just call it that, I can keep it at bay w Steroid cream, I drink V water daily not sure if anything works for me. But I always read Excema is caused from Yeast, which Sugar is really bad for causing Yeast. I gave up Sugar pretty much 3 mo ago and see no change tho.

I was in Ireland this summer, and went to waterford and heard about a herd of goats that were very rare, so I decided to go to the santurary. When talking about the goats to the lady she said that the milk was amazing for curing eczema. She told me about a little boy who had awful eczema, all over his body, his skin would flake all over the covers when he woke up. He had been to the docs and taken steriods, but they didn't work, but as soon as he started to drink the milk it improved drasticly, within 2 weeks his eczema was almost all gone, with hardly any scars! Am not sure if your able to buy the milk or where, but is worth checking it out if you have severe eczema! Hope this helps! Sorry if my spelling is bad, am not quite perfect at english!

I've had eczema all my life, always using hydrocortisone cream to suppress it and relief itching. But a few years ago I started doing the raw food diet (eating majority raw organic food) and found that my eczema COMPLETELY WENT AWAY. It was good for the next few years, when I was still eating at least 50% raw foods. But when I went into university and stopped eating raw, plus consuming a lot of other bad junk foods e. G. Bread, sugar, deserts, my eczema came back afterwards, and now its worst than ever! :( I'm hoping to slowly ease back into eating more raw foods and hopefully it will improve and leave me for good!

I had severe eczema all over my body, you take high doses of Vitamin c to alleviate itching and for healing. Acidophilus at night for stomach inbalances, you will notice that your stomach can get very acidy, thats when you take an extra acidophilus. So one a night and one when needed. And have oatmeal baths (in handkerchief with rubber band around it, squeeze out white stuff, is healing and takes away itch) and eat as much as you can also. Put nutraplus as a healing cream, nothing else, as it will heat it up, and dove soap. Hope this helps someone out there. Kiri

I have suffered with dishydrotic eczema on my pinky fingers and ankle for about 4 months. I tried everything from emu oil to steroid creams to kamani oil and more. Then I found this site and started using the apple cider vinegar approach and the vesicles started to dry up which was great, but the skin still wouldn't heal and eventually more vesicles popped up. What finally worked was a remedy a friend told me about that she learned from someone in her Korean natural farming group--egg yolk oil. Applied 2-3 times a day, it has taken my eczema from unbearable to 95% better in 10 days, I am totally amazed. It's worth a try for anyone who's been suffering for a while, it might just be a miracle like it was for me!

I don't know of anywhere that sells it, so you'll probably have to make it yourself like I did.

Here's the method I used:

Take a dozen eggs (i used eggs from a friends chickens, very good quality with dark orange yolks) and separate the yolks from the whites, put the yolks in a shallow pan (frying pan) and whisk them with a fork to mix to a even consistency. I suggest doing the next part outside on a camping stove or gas grill burner, as there is quite a bit of smoke and it smells pretty horrible. Making sure the yolk liquid is not too deep (only about and inch or less deep in the pan), cook over med-high heat until the yolks turn black and bubbly. It should look like tar bubbling, then it's done. This should take about 15 minutes depending on how deep the yolks are in the pan. Remove the pan from heat and quickly pour the oil that is on top of the "tar" into a jar. The tar will stay in the pan, it's basically just burnt black egg stuck to the pan. You can filter it with a mesh filter to make sure no crumbs get in the jar. The oil should be black or dark brown and smells like burnt eggs of course.

A dozen eggs produces about 1 oz of oil, so if you're using it over a large area of your body you may want to make a bigger batch.

My routine which worked very well is this: soak the eczema in 50% ACV for 15 minutes once a day, apply the egg yolk oil in the morning and at night (in between I used a myrrh and frankinsence salve if it got dry), take 1 tablespoon of fish oil per day, and use gloves when washing dishes or cleaning. That's all I did, and my finger and ankle are amazingly better in 10 days. The worst part is the smell--you won't want to be in public when you have it on, but the results are so worth it. Try it and let me know if it works for you!

Thanks for reading, Lydia

Like a lot of other readers I've been suffering with eczema for a good part of my life, at least 20 years. I've tried everything under the sun... Both western medicine and alternative. I stopped using the steroid creams after reading about the side effects and tried the holistic approaches including acupuncture, diet changes, etc.

A combination of ACV and diet changes seems to have done the trick! My eczema has gone down significantly (been about 2 weeks now) and the flare ups only occur when I get stressed out.

I followed the instructions of what many other readers have suggested but added a few of my own changes:

- 2 tbls ACV in 8oz of water (twice a day - morning and evening)

- Application of virgin coconut oil on eczema areas (twice a day - after morning shower and before going to bed)

- Cut out *ALL* dairy, fried foods, soda, refined sugar (I now use honey instead), beef, pork, and wheat (gluten). I still eat chicken and fish...

- Increased the amount of fruits and vegetables I consume considerably

- Drink at least 4 8oz glasses of water per day

- Try to have a positive attitude as much as I can (we always have a choice on how we react to life events... Took me a long time to realize this but it's true. If you're interested, check out Heal Your Life by Louise Hay).

I'm hope this helps if you're at your wits end on how to deal with eczema. Good luck!

And last but not least, thank you Earth Clinic for hosting this thread and for sharing all this incredible information!!! Knowledge is power, it truly is.

Rob.

I have had Eczema all my life been to many doctors and have used all kinds of medicine. Nothing ever really helped. I had one ultra violet treatment and it lasted for years. I had that done in AZ. That was about 26 yrs. ago and low and behold about 6 yrs. ago it came back! I was so sad... At first it was just a little on one finger. It came on this spring with a vengeance and I still have it. I get little bumps that itch. When they are rubbed they weep, then peel. When it is bad it cracks. The skin is very dry and draws making the cracking worse and a lot of pain.

I went to the garden several days ago and pulled a batch of BEETS. I cooked them yesterday and when they were done I skinned them the juice was all over my hands. IT FELT GOOD! Overnight the swelling is down and almost healed. I CAN"T BELIEVE it? I peeled potatoes for dinner just a bit ago and the potato juice got on me and started to itch and burn. So! I rubbed a plain cooked beet on my finger. Guess what! Instant relief. Have you ever heard of this before? It isn't totally gone but I sure feel better. The little sores are died a pretty red, but that's okay by me. What is in a beet that has this effect? Would love to know.

Eczema remedy: 1/2 cup of organic pure aloe vera juice when you wake up and the same before going to bed. You should start seeing a difference within 3-4 weeks.

Just to clarify are you drinking this or apply it on your eczema?