Is there a cure for eczema?

Yes!  According to Emily Bartlett, LAc

While it is commonly thought that there is no known cure for eczema, Emily Bartlett, a holistic health practitioner and  acupuncturist practicing in Los Angeles, has created a self-help guide called The Eczema Cure: Heal from the Inside Out with Real Food. She also has a blog called Holistic Squid. I downloaded the guide today, which comes as a .pdf, and so enjoyed the clarity and simplicity of her recommendations! The guide was, believe it or not, a page turner for me!  I found myself quickly enrolled in her no-nonsense approach and her personable writing style. It is clear to me that there is no magic involved in curing eczema, it will require that you make some changes. 

The Eczema Cure is part of the Village Green Network’s Spring E-Book Bundle Promotion – 30 books for 39.00.  1.30 a book!  Offered until April 23, 2013. Click here –> http://bit.ly/11bMeKM

Some highlights about what I read:

Emily explains why dermatologist can’t cure eczema. The common allopathic  treatments for eczema include: steroid creams, non-steroid petroleum based lotions, antihistamines, and anti-itch medicines. These medications work with varying degrees of success, but typically after a variable period of time, the eczema flares again – sometimes while the medications are still being used.

These treatments fail because stopping the rash does not resolve the reason why the rash is happening in the first place. Eczema (and in fact, most skin conditions) is a reflection of a deeper, internal imbalance typically originating from poor digestion. When a dermatologist gives you creams and medicines to make the skin clear, the internal issues are not addressed.

Using cortisone cream to fix eczema is a bit like painting a rickety house thatʼs about to fall down. It makes it look better, and you may feel better for a short period of time – but ultimately the underlying issues must be addressed.

“Leaky Gut” and Eczema

Leaky Gut Syndrome is a condition where the lining of the small intestine is damaged. This allows incompletely digested nutrients, toxins, bacteria, and wastes to “leak” through the intestines and flood the blood stream. The foreign substances entering the blood then cause an autoimmune response in the body, which leads to inflammatory and allergic reactions such as headaches, joint pain, psycho-emotional imbalance, respiratory issues and digestive problems, and skin conditions – like eczema.

Leaky Gut Syndrome usually goes undiagnosed, misdiagnosed, or is ignored by conventional doctors. Perhaps this is because pharmaceutical companies have little to gain by the treatment of this condition. Or, perhaps it is because western medicine tends to see the body as a machine whose individual parts must function on their own rather than a complex being with interdependent components.

Diagnosed or not, Leaky Gut Syndrome is likely the root cause of your eczema.

Plan of Action

Emily asserts that there are no quick fixes that have lasting results. Eczema can be challenging to live with, and it takes hard work to completely cure. But when you commit to the four actions below, you’ll be on the road to living eczema-free.  Thereʼs a saying in Chinese medicine that for every year youʼve had a condition, it takes about one month to treat.

Action 1: Identify and avoid triggers – Emily outlines how to eliminate environmental triggers, how to reduce stress triggers, how to deal with dietary triggers, and how to use elimination diets.  

Action 2: Put out the fire –  In Chinese medicine, nearly all eczema is seen as a manifestation of ʻDamp Heatʼ trapped in the skin. There can be other factors that support or complicate the skin condition, but Damp Heat creates the itch, red, and oozing rash. To treat Damp Heat, you must take measures to clear heat and drain dampness while simultaneously addressing underlying conditions. To do this, it is helpful to add cooling, bitter foods to the diet.

Action 3: Strengthen your defenses – What you need to battle eczema are the beneficial microorganisms in your body (probiotics) and important nutrients like Vitamin D.

Action 4: Heal your eczema with real food – Emily provides information and recipes about bone broth, cultured foods, dairy (and its role in relationship to eczema), and cleansing foods.  I found the recipes to be well organized and  easy to follow.

Emily includes a section about what to do when newborns have eczema, and when even vaginally born and breastfed babies get eczema, as well as answering frequently asked questions.  I would highly, highly recommend this self-help guide.  In fact, having previewed it, I am purchasing it for a friend of mine who has long suffered from eczema!

Again, The Eczema Cure is part of the Village Green Network’s Spring E-Book Bundle Promotion – 30 books for 39.00.  1.30 a book!  Offered until April 23, 2013. Click here –> http://bit.ly/11bMeKM

What has your experience of eczema been?