Eczema - causes and treatments

Eczema is a term for a group of skin conditions that cause the skin to become inflamed or irritated. But as you are reading this you are possibly only too well aware of what it is.

The most common type of eczema is known as atopic dermatitis, or atopic eczema, which is the outcome of an often inherited tendency towards allergic responses such as asthma and hay fever. And:

• it’s hard to treat

• it comes and goes in mysterious ways

• the exact cause isn’t entirely known

• it’s hard to live with

• and it’s on the increase.

The eczema rash is almost always itchy. Sometimes the itching begins before the rash appears. Most usually, but not always, the rash appears on the face, back of the knees, wrists, hands, or feet.

It's usually very dry, red, thickened, or scaly. Because it’s the result of a tendency, we can drive back one flare-up but another might well arrive in a different place and from a different trigger.

Maybe you are looking for relief, maybe the steroid creams have stopped working, maybe they are causing you unpleasant side effects, or maybe you would like to try something different because any regular treatment can cause the body to get used to it and so reduce its effectiveness.

Or maybe you are doing some research on behalf of someone who does have eczema, who you care for and who it distresses you to see how very uncomfortable they are with this trying condition. That’s how I became involved.

I’ve outlined what eczema is and the symptoms of eczema to establish exactly what this article is about. I’ll do a little more of that to set the scene for how and when a member of my family at last found a cream that brought his intransigent rash to a grinding halt and sent it away.

I’ll very quickly run through some known causes and some inside and outside triggers. I know you may know about these, however a fuller picture will help you to say whether what we found helped John, will help you too.

Eczema causes

People who have eczema tend to have a reduced oily barrier in their skin which can lead to loss of water and therefore a tendency to dry skin. Add to that a possibly inherited tendency for some immune cells under the skin surface to set off inflammation, and you have eczema.

Put simply:

• The outermost layer of skin is different in people with eczema.

• Normally, this layer acts as a barrier, keeping the rest of the skin from drying out and protecting other layers of skin from damage caused by irritants and infections.

• In eczema the skin becomes very dry

• The skin lacks natural fats and oils

• Protective barrier abilities of the skin are lost

• Irritants can enter more easily, causing the skin to itch

• Certain triggers or irritants can set off a flare from the inside.

So, the person has less protection in their skin, and is (probably innately) prone to allergic responses and sensitivities inside and out.

Calm, restore and avoid

First, the inside. While an irritated skin can indicate an environmental trigger, that red itchy rash is also a result of something your immune system is doing. The principle is, if eczema is an action by your immune system, look after your immune system and avoid what upsets it. The typical approach to eczema treatment is 'calm, restore and avoid' and that goes for inside as well as out.

I’m only going to give summaries here and If you want to try any one of these, do read them up in more depth and try one at a time. If you experiment with elimination, try one food group - soy or dairy for example - at a time. Get your GP on board with your dietary change; many more are recommending nutritional approaches now.

Eat an anti-inflammatory diet

Eat real, rather than processed food, organic where you can. Experiment with eliminating potentially inflammatory foods such as gluten, corn, soy, and dairy. Add foods high in antioxidants - vegetables, fruits, fatty fish, nuts, avocados and turmeric for example.

Eat low-histamine foods

Histamine triggers an inflammatory response intending to hustle any invading foreign bodies out of yours. But it can run riot and if you have a tendency for yours to do this, it’s a good idea is to not feed it so to speak.

Leave out foods high in histamine such as avocados, eggplant, spinach, tomatoes, bacon, and dried or citrus fruits.

Note: you can see how avocados are ‘OK’ in the anti-inflammatory diet, and to be eliminated in an anti-histamine diet. This is what makes some people tear their hair and give up. However, just try one approach at a time.

Eat for your gut

Eighty percent of your immune system is housed in your gut. One of the major causes of autoimmune diseases, including eczema, is a poorly functioning intestinal tract. The cells lining the intestinal wall can become damaged, and substances are able to “leak” into the body, where they are attacked by the immune system, which leads to inflammation including the skin.

Leaky gut can also impair the protective function of your skin, which can make any inflammation worse. And with this can go chronic fatigue, brain fog and various sensitivities. Not nice.

Fortunately, leaky gut syndrome can be treated by dietary changes. GPs may or may not recognise it, although many more are becoming aware of the power of diet - I prefer the term nutrition - to make a difference.

The one thing that has to go.....

As you can see, this is an overview but it does remind us that there are internal things going on. The one thing that has to go, we think, in all cases and as soon as possible, is sugar, which is becoming the big baddie in many of the latest research projects.

Now the outside

The good news is that many are manageable. Some suggestions look like common sense, but that doesn’t mean they’re easy for us to do. We can’t always hop off to the country to escape rising city pollution, for example.

It’s a question of detective work to find out which ones are your triggers, and making arrangements where possible. My goodness, is it worth it:

a.Changes in climate: from hot to cold and vice versa, also from dry to humid

b.Manage with airing, warming, humidifying or dehumidifying as appropriate

a.Pollution - more difficult to manage.

b.If it’s city pollution, get to the country whenever possible

a.Allergies to house dust and/or mites or pollens

b.If it's house dust or mites, keep furnishings vacuumed. Wash bedding in high temperatures at least occasionally to rid it of bed mites and skin scales. If the problem is pollens, it’s a little more difficult but avoiding gardens for example at pollenating times of year can help.

a.Certain clothing next to the skin

b.Wearing cotton next to the skin helps in many situations. Avoid man-made textiles that cause the skin to sweat. Note: wool, although natural, can irritate the skin.

a.Biological and scented detergents, scented soaps etc.

b.Choose the non-bio or sensitive skin options.

Everyday body care

• Use good moisturizer - twice a day if your skin is very dry (see what to avoid, below) to keep your skin moist and less susceptible to dryness and irritation. Using baby oil on moist skin (after a bath or shower) can give good results.

• Take short baths or showers in warm water. Hot water can cause your skin to dry out more easily. Moisturise afterwards on moist skin.

• Use mild fragrance-free body wash or soap to avoid excessive chemical exposure and drying out of your skin.

• When drying your skin, use a clean towel smoothly andgradually. Use moisturizer quickly while your skin is still moist.

And, on the very important matter of everyday skin care

What to avoid

Creams containing the following:

1. Petroleum jelly - or paraffin or petrolatum.

Used in many over the counter moisturisers, this gives the appearance and feel of softening and moisturising, but in fact dries the skin over a period of time. For how that works, see my post on this site 'Finding the Best Skin Cream: John's Story'.

People with eczema do not need their skin to be any drier...

2. Parabens preservatives

Questions have been raised about these preservatives. As a skincare manufacturer I would't touch them with a bargepole. The questions are about irritants to the skin.

I'm afraid both of these abound in high street moisturisers - even those saying that they are great moisturisers for eczema. Give your skin a treat and avoid them.

What to look out for

These are my top two:

1. Manuka Honey

The healing power of honey has been known for centuries and is obviously becoming more accepted into the mainstream as it is now in the range of NHS treatments (see John's Story). And this can only be because of its success rates.

Manuka Honey (see its flowers in the picture above) is rated to be especially effective. However, as well as being messy and sticky, it's not always the right thing to apply it directly. It can irritate and if you have diabetes you need to talk to your GP first. But its healing power is potentially first rate, so for a convenient and more easily absorbed way to get it, see John's Story.

2. Aloe Vera

Hydrates the skin: There is good scientific evidence that Aloe Vera gel is an effective moisturiser which can increase the water content in the top layer of the skin. Increasing the water content of the skin can reduce the ‘tight’ feeling of eczema.

Reduces infections – Eczema is often aggravated by infections so minimising them can often make a big difference to a overall eczema symptoms. This is especially true of young children who are prone to getting mucky and scratching and whose immune systems are still developing

Calms the itch - A number of known anti-inflammatory substances have been indentified in Aloe Vera gel which can help calm inflamed eczema and reduce the incessant itching. It also feels really cool when applied to have an immediate calming effect too.

For how we found one treatment that put all these skincare issues together and solved them with great results, see John' Story.

Happy days!

Faith Tait

Faith Tait is a qualified skincare manufacturer, kinesiologist, nutritionist, hypnotherapist and confidence coach and trainer. She loves colour and finds it intensely uplifting, so she is also a colour analyst.

#eczema #eczemacream #atopiceczema #honey