Eczema

Eczema is a skin complaint characterized by patches of red, irritated, inflamed skin with small, itching blisters or scabs. It is likely that the illness is linked to some allergen. Although it can affect all ages, babies and small children are the most prone to eczema. It generally appears at about seven or eight months, and is usually cured by the age of three, but may occasionally persist into adulthood, remaining a chronic condition that flares up periodically. Eczema, like other skin problems, is difficult to live with on a day-to-day basis, both for the patient and for those close to him or her.

General advice

• It is important to try to identify any food allergy that may be triggering the condition, especially in children
• Use moisturizing skin bars so as not to dry out the skin
• Take warm baths, avoiding water that is too hot or cold
• Take care not to let the skin dry out, by using moisturizing lotions and humidifiers
• Avoid wearing jewellery containing nickel, as this can often provoke contact dermatitis
• Wear cotton, not synthetic, underwear

Some tips on diet

• Avoid sweetened foods as much as possible
• Do not eat too much bread or starchy foods (such as pizza or quiche), fats (dishes with sauces, cream, mayonnaise), or chocolate
• Limit your intake of dairy products, especially of whole, unskimmed milk
• Stay away from smoked or cured meats, ready meals, and hamburgers
• Tinned foods should be avoided if possible
• Eat plenty of fruit, vegetables, and cereals +++
• Take one tablespoonful of olive oil or borage (starflower) oil per day
• Keep cigarettes and alcohol to a minimum, and treat any constipation through simple, natural nutritional means

The natural food for the skin

Brewer's yeast

Origin: A living substance specially prepared as a supplement, from a minute fungus that serves as a ferment in the preparation of beer. It is not the same as baker's yeast, and is better tolerated by the digestive system.

Composition and Properties: Yeast is packed with B vitamins, minerals (such as chromium, phosphorus, potassium, and selenium) and essential amino acids. It reinforces the immune system, helps fight infections, and restores the balance of intestinal flora. It boosts the health of the skin, nails, and hair.

Method of Use: It is obtainable from health food shops and pharmacies in the form of tablets, capsules, and flakes for sprinkling on food.

Homeopathy

Graphites and Petroleum

- Four 5c tablets of one or both of these remedies to be sucked slowly, twice a day for several weeks

Graphites

- Mineral origin: black lead or graphite
- The homeopathic remedy for skin complaints with oozing, irritant discharge
- Two specific indications: the condition is improved by cool temperatures, and made worse by heat

Petroleum

- Mineral origin: unrefined oil
- The homeopathic remedy for skin irritations with blisters, cracked, or broken skin
- Two specific indications: the condition is improved by heat, and made worse by cool temperatures

• You could also try Graphites-Homaccord@ (Heel), which includes Graphites and Calcium carbonicum in various potencies:
  - Available in drop bottles containing 30 and 100ml
  - In general, 10 drops 3 times daily. Long term administration (several months) should be supervised by a therapist
• It is also important that you combine these treatments with a constitutional remedy, to be chosen after consultation with a professional homeopath. Some likely choices are Calcarea carbonica, Lycopodium, or Sulfur

Calcarea carbonica

- Animal and mineral origin: calcium carbonate from the oyster shell
- One of the constitutional remedies for eczema of the scalp (or cradle cap)

Oligotherapy

Copper, selenium, and zinc

Trace elements are usually found in the diet, which should be varied and of high quality. In cases of deficiency, these minerals can be given as medicinal supplements.

Dietary sources of copper

This element is found in small quantities in almost all foods, except in milk which contains almost none. The highest concentrations of copper come from (calf and sheep's) liver ++, seaweed, shellfish such as scallops and oysters, lobster, fish roe, almonds and walnuts, some vegetables (such as avocados and mushrooms), cereals (whole wheat and whole-grain rice), cocoa, dried fruits, green vegetables, plums, and tea.

Dietary sources of selenium

Selenium comes principally from animal products, meat (liver, kidney), salt water fish (herring and tuna), shellfish (such as oysters), and eggs. It is also present in whole-grain cereals, wheat­germ, brewer's yeast, brazil nuts, and certain vegetables (garlic, broccoli, carrots, and mushrooms).

Dietary sources of zinc

Zinc is most plentiful in seafood, oysters ++, fish, and shellfish, but it is also found in meat, egg yolks, cereals, wholemeal bread, brewer's yeast, walnuts, and some vegetables (broccoli, mushrooms, spinach, and beans).

• Copper and zinc treatments: these are available in various brands and forms, such as: Organic Minerals (Colloidals) which contains 70+ trace minerals:
  - Available in 946ml bottles
  - Take 1-3 caps just before breakfast and/or evening meal
  - Children 1 teaspoon daily for each 20lbs of body weight

Or Maximol (Ionized colloidals):

- Available in 500ml bottles
- Take 1/2 capful once or twice daily on an empty stomach

• You could also try Lamberts@ ZindCopper, which contains a blend of zinc (15mg per tablet), and copper (1 mg per tablet):
  - Sold in containers of 90 tablets
  - Take 1 tablet daily on an empty stomach
• For a topical solution, you could also try Weleda Copper ointment:
  - Available in tubes of 25 g
  - To be applied twice daily with a thin layer
• Selenium treatment. You could try Lamberts@ Selenium 200 micro gram plus A+C+E, which contains selenium plus vitamins A, C, and E:
  - Available in containers of 100 tablets
  - One tablet to be taken daily

Vitamins

Primarily A, B, C, and E

- Vitamin A preserves the skin's elasticity, promotes healing, and helps the skin resist infections
- the B vitamins play an important role in the health of the skin, helping to combat seborrhoea and blackheads
- Vitamin C contains anti-infective properties
- Vitamin E speeds up the healing process and helps prevent skin ageing

• You could also try Megavit@ (Lamberts), which combines vitamins A, B, C, and E, and zinc, selenium and the bioflavonoids:
  - Sold in containers of 60 and 180 tablets
  - 1 to 2 tablets daily

Herbal remedies

• Ask your herbalist to make up a 60ml bottle of burdock in a whole fresh-plant suspension (this formulation's cold stabilization process restores the full natural therapeutic effect of the plant). Take half a teaspoonful in a glass of water twice a day. This is not to be taken by children under 15 years of age

Burdock, heartsease, and calendula

Burdock, long used in poultices, is very effective against skin infections; heartsease (or wild pansy) also has a long history as a herbal remedy for skin troubles; and calendula (or marigold), much used for healing wounds, is the rincipal ingredient in many soothing skin creams.

• You could also try Herba Naturelle heartsease:
  -Available in bottles of 50ml and 100ml
  - 20 drops 3 times daily in a little water

Borage

The seeds of the plant are used for the extraction of cold-pressed oil for therapeutic purposes. It is available most commonly in the form of capsules obtainable from your herbalist.

Oral Treatment: One capsule to be taken twice a day for several days, for skin and infectious ailments.

Topical Application: One capsule, opened up and applied to the skin, may reinforce the oral treatment.

Borage

Borage, a pretty, herbaceous plant originally from southern Spain and Morocco, is primarily grown for the oil extracted from its seeds. Its effectiveness in treating skin complaints is greater than that of oil of evening primrose. Both of these plants have been increasingly used in medicine, ever since researchers discovered a particular substance in their composition, one of the 'good' essential polyunsaturated fatty acids, essential for overall good health, and especially for the skin.

Lavender water is beneficial for morning cleansing of oily skin, whilst sage is more appropriate for dry skin.

Lavender

This fragrant plant has been cultivated for centuries and is known for multiple benefits: it perfumes, soothes, cleanses, disinfects, stimulates, and regulates. Its essential oil has powerful antiseptic and antibacterial properties, as well as soothing pain and calming the nerves.

• You can make your own, home-made soothing skin lotion, by placing two teaspoons of rose petals in a cup of cold water and leaving them to steep overnight

The rose bush

This shrub with the thorny stems comes originally from Iran. It has been grown since ancient times not only for the beauty of its flowers, but also for its medicinal properties. Rose water was first brought to Europe from Damascus by the Crusaders. It was long considered a cure-all and Avicenna believed it to be the specific cure for consumption. Nowadays, however, it is used only for cosmetic purposes, for its tonic effect on the skin, and for its perfume.