Eczema

[Pat Robinson]

Many people with leaky gut issues have eczema. Skin is a detox pathway. Healing the gut is necessary to address the underlying cause.

Food can help or harm that process. On Heal Thysef, we discuss gut healing by adding healing foods to improve stomach acid, address nutrient deficiencies, open blocked detox pathways and increase  microbial balance. The gut is 70-80% of the immune system.

But, here are some more natural alternatives to address topical eczema.

Coconut oil, diluted lavender essential oil, calendula tinture are other topical alternatives.

An old timey solution we used was Burow's Solution. It is Aluminum Acetate resulting from the reaction of Calcium acetate and Aluminum Sulfate. It is buffered. I imagine it is the sulfate which
helps, similar to Epsom salts which is magnesium sulfate.

http://allnurses.com/nursing-student-assistance/burrows-solution-18...
http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual_ha/sec3/ch35/ch35f.html
http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec18/ch203/ch203c.html
http://merck-ut.merck.com/mmhe/sec18/ch202/ch202c.html

We'd make a solution with water and the Burow's Solution powder. Then make moist wraps of gauze and wrap the open skin area to keep it moist and to allow the sulfate topical absorption. Sulfate is critical to opening the sulfoxidation process- detox pathway. http://www.detoxpuzzle.com/sulfate.php


Other conventional treatments are Silvadene Cream, which we used for burns and other large areas of open skin. Silvadene is a sulfa derivative.

http://www.healthsquare.com/newrx/sil1404.htm
http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec10/ch110/ch110a.html?qt=silvadene&...

Conventional alternatives include Calamine Lotion and Benedryl topically.

Homeopathic Apis Mellifera in pellets and cream will help with itching.

http://www.herbs2000.com/disorders/shingles.htm
http://www.altmd.com/Articles/Homeopathy-for-Skin-Conditions
http://www.worldwideshoppingmall.co.uk/homeopathy-eczema.asp
http://www.homeopathic.com/store/product=1011

Eczema:

- -support lymph system's ability to detox Lymphomyosot
- -dry, itchy Sulphur 30C
- -topical Calendula ointment 3.5oz
- -topical Calendula ointment 13.5oz
- -itch, burn, swell Arsenicum Album 30C
- -scalp Kali Mur 6X

Udder Balm is another ole timey salve for open skin. "Bag Balm" is another version. Again the active ingredient appears to be sulfate!

Flanders Buttocks Ointment saved my son's butt. No joke. Dairy-caused excoriated skin beyond open and weeping. It was raw, hamburger looking skin in contact with green, mucous stool.

The ingredients are Zinc Oxide and Peruvian Balsam (these are the only ingredients listed on the tube!) It is the balsam which apparently has some healing properties. It would heal in 24 hours, until the next allergen exposure. Zinc Oxide alone didn't have the same effect. Flanders WILL STAIN anything it touches or rubs off on. His cloth diapers were permanently brown, forever and ever. (I assume you are not using any alcohol or antimicrobial based diaper wipes.) I don't think it is safe for baby to ingest this though.

Oatmeal baths help for soothing, unless a severe gluten allergy.

There is a "Miranda Castro 7-cream" which is legendary in Europe. Although, it has coconut oil.

Manuka honey is an amazing healer.
http://www.naturalnews.com/027170_honey_Manuka_honey_bacteria.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15979745

Shea butter is another holistic alternative. Source: http://www.agbangakarite.com/
http://www.pioneerthinking.com/cd_sheabutter.html
Quality grades: http://sheainstitute.com/index.php/testing-a-grading.html

Topical probiotics (dairy-free). Water kefir could help, from my understanding of the microbial benefits.

Other researched alternatives are: licorice gel, chamomile cream, witch hazel extract, evening primrose oil and borage oil. These are diluted applications, it appeared from quick glance.

Additionally, Soaking in kelp and/or bentonite clay infused water helps.
http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/eczema.htm





Pat

[Kristin]

My husband has suffered from eczema all his life. I kept hearing about an herb called "plantain plantago" and decided to find it and try to make a skin salve for him. To my delight and surprise, I found fields and fields on some land I have out in the country. I was lucky to be looking in the mid spring which is when it is most abundant.

It was fantastically affective and my empirically minded naysaying husband was really impressed. He said it cut out the itching and seemed to heal the patches as well. I ended up using my plantago cream for a million things and have now run out! (adult chicken pox, poison ivy, sunburn, mild kitchen burns, yeast infection itchiness, bug bites, viral rashes and more).

This is how I made it. Having never done it before, I don't know if there is a superior way to skin this cat; but I can tell you this certainly yielded a powerful salve. I took a grocery bag full of whole plants, macerated them in a blender with organic almond oil (batch by batch) until I had it all mixed. Then I fermented the oil with just a splash of organic apple vinegar for 8 weeks in my fermenting pantry. Then I strained the plant material away from the oil. I took this green oil and melted (at low heat) it with pharmaceutical grade organic beeswax. I poured them into tubs and let them cool. They were solid at room temperature. I froze most of it and kept pulling out tub after tub as needed for months.

Next spring I'm going to harvest as much as I possibly can. I'll never go without having plenty of this stuff in my medicine cabinet ever again. I've signed up for a class on using local medicinal herbs. What ELSE is growing at my feet that I could use? I'm inspired my first attempts at herbalism :)

[Pat Robinson]

I LOVE THAT YOU SHARED YOUR DISCOVERY! :-D

Have you joined "Learning Herbs"? It is a huge resource for the budding and advanced herbalist. At $10/month, in a couple of months of intensive reading, it is the best value I have found!


Pat