Eczema is an extremely common condition affecting 11% of children in the United States. Many children get eczema and struggle with it into adulthood. The good news is that advances in medical research have given us new insights into the eczema puzzle, and the great news is you can get relief from eczema NATURALLY! Like many medical conditions, eczema is caused by multiple factors.
The following is not an exhaustive list, but general tips based on some of the most common factors with eczema.
Identify & Avoid Eczema Food Triggers
The most common ways to identify food sensitivities are through an elimination/rotation diet or a food sensitivity and/or food allergy testing that looks for antibodies or other inflammatory reactions to a list of 100-200 foods. There are tests available that look at both food sensitivities and food allergies as well.
Food sensitivity testing can be helpful because it can people to identify offending foods in the shortest, most painless way possible. Elimination/rotation diets can require an extraordinary amount of discipline to complete and can be very difficult to for people with busy, fast-paced lifestyles. Often times people discover sensitivities to foods they least expect. There could be some "healthy" foods you're eating that aren't necessarily healthy for you that are triggering your eczema. Learn more about food sensitivities
Assess Digestive Health
More often than not people that have eczema have an imbalance in their microbiome. There could be a deficiency or excess of normal flora or presence of a pathogen in the digestive tract along with intestinal hypermeability (also referred to as leaky gut). It can be difficult to effectively correct these imbalances without identifying them. Advanced stool testing can be used to assess the health of the microbiome and develop individualized plan to correct imbalances that are identified.
You've probably heard that probiotics are good for eczema. That's very much an oversimplification. There are a lot of different probiotic strains on the market. If you take arbitrary probiotics without any knowledge of your microbiome health, you may just spend money and not really get anywhere. Worse case scenario, you could also potential exacerbate any dysbiosis that is present if you are not taking the appropriate probiotic for your needs.
Repair the Skin Barrier
Loss of integrity of the skin barrier plays a big role in eczema. Using natural skin care products that protect and re-build the skin barrier will rebalance the amount of water and lipids in the skin and help prevent excessive water loss through the skin, which is critical for eczema relief.
I can’t stress this enough. Getting to the root cause of eczema requires an individualized approach. You can have two people with eczema that presents similarly that need a different approach. Eczema triggers can also vary from person to person depending on the stage of life they are in and their health history. Long term relief from eczema does not lie in skin care products.
If you’ve been struggling with eczema for a long time, seek the help of a licensed holistic health professional. They can help you develop a plan to identify and correct the underlying imbalances.
Are you seeking to address the root causes of eczema and looking for one-on-one guidance?
If you have done what you can and are ready for professional analysis and guidance in optimizing skin health and full body wellness, we work with clients thru tele-health consulting wherever you live in the world to help you in achieving your health goals. Together we can uncover root causes and develop a health supportive plan. You can click the button below to contact our office and set up a consult.
