Eczema
Natural Remedies

Effective Natural Eczema Treatments for Soothing Relief

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Eliminate Dairy
Posted by Connie (Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA) on 07/31/2009
★★★★★

I can't speak for everyone, obviously, but the eczema on my arms returns when I drink milk or eat ice cream.


Sea Salt
Posted by Sally (Austin, Texas) on 07/18/2009
★★★★★

Sea Salt baths have almost cured my eczema in a matter of weeks. Get a good one that has minerals and put about 3/4 cup into the tub. I've also started taking iodine tablets.


Eliminate Citric Acid
Posted by Kate (Adelaide, SA, Australia) on 06/28/2009
★★★★★

I would say that Teri from Atlanta is on the right track regarding citrus. I had eczema all of my childhood. My family and I eventually came to the realization that acidic properties were to blame, in particular oranges. Every since that discovery I have stayed well clear of them. I also have to watch my intake of other acidic fruits such as tomatoes, lemons, limes and even grapes. Your little one is so young, but even now you can record what you feed her each day and in another column you can write her reaction to that food, if any. Eventually you will see a pattern form. There may be one or more culprits. As your daughter gets older, the key is to put a topical cream on before she feels the itch. That is if you want to use that on her skin. I used to apply it once I had already starting scratching and by that point it was useless because it would just make me want to scratch even more. When I learned to apply it religiously (about 2-3 times per day) it would be more controllable. Stay away from soap, there are plenty of soap free products today that will be gentler for your baby's sensitive skin. The worst thing one can do is scratch an eczema spot 'vigorously' as that will only spread it. Just digging a nail lightly in or even just pressing against the itchy point is usually enough to relieve the itch. Remember 'Knowledge Is Power' so explore this condition as much as you can and you will help your daughter no end.


Iodine
Posted by Susie (Austin, Texas) on 04/29/2009
★★★★☆

Has anyone tried Iodine as an eczema cure? I've been painting it on the skin in the affected areas and it seems to be helping. Now I'm going to try taking some iodine tablets. Iodine deficiency is apparently becoming a problem and can be one of the causes of eczema.


Soap Nuts
Posted by Faith (Atlanta, GA) on 04/28/2009
★★★★★

Some years ago I saw native people in Indonesia using soap nuts, the dry fruit of the soap berry tree, to wash their clothes. Little did I know that years later I would find them in my local health food store and that they would cure my eczema. I just started looking for a natural laundry soap because I want to clean up my life and get rid of synthetics.. The soap nuts were the only thing in the store that looked really natural. First I noticed the laundry didn't smell like chemicals. It smelled like NOTHING, absolutely nothing. After a few weeks I noticed the eczema on my shoulder blades was almost entirely gone. Getting excited I went back to the store and got soap nut laundry liquid. It contained organic essential oils of lavender, tea tree and lemongrass. It's my new bath soap and a lifetime of eczema is gone. Thanks to Maggie, for sharing the secret.


Salt Rub, Mint Liquid Soap
Posted by Glenys (Wellington, New Zealand) on 04/11/2009

Hey - the comment about gasoline just triggered a memory for me. Many years ago, I got bitten by mosquitoes and/or sandflies a lot when I was staying in Auckland (New Zealand). An old-timer I knew at the time told me to put Kerosine on the bites - he said it would stop the itching and would keep away the mozzies etc. As my bites were bleeding and fairly raw because of my scratiching, I was very loathe to try this, but I finally did it. Blow me if it didn't work a treat! And, didn't sting - took away all the itch, pain, plus stopped me from getting bitten! I did stink of Kerosine tho lol.


Turmeric
Posted by Nadia (Palm Coast, Florida) on 04/04/2009
★★★★★

Turmeric skin cream (Aurvedic medicine) helped with eczema. My two year old son has had an eczema since he was three months. It was bad, involving I'd say 90% of his body. We tried changing diet, different creams,steroids...nothing helped until we found the turmeric skin cream (somebody recommended it on this website). It worked like a miracle for my son, his skin turned soft and eczema free within hours!!! I strongly encourage all to try the cream. You may find it in any Indian store, or online. The eczema still comes back now, but it's just a few spots on his body, and the cream usually takes care of it very fast... we also use this cream for my teen age daughter for her acne- it cleared her face.

Iodine
Posted by Gwen (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) on 02/23/2009
★★★★☆

I have been suffering through a 16month eczema outbreak. Nothing has worked for long. I have tried every natural remedy under the sun. Spent a fortune on creams that don't work. Only relief I had was in France during the summer - very hot, & sunny. I've been gluten free for 3 months (worked last time I had eczema, but no relief this time, so far). I may be sharing this prematurely, and maybe it won't last, but I've been itch free for almost 24hrs! The itch has driven me mad - and I have done lots of damage to my skin because of itching. To be itch free for even a day is heaven. I've been researching iodine & eczema. Bought the 10% povidone iodine at the drug store applied as directed and hardly an itch since. One site said to put vitamin E oil on top of the iodine, which I did after the 3rd application of iodine. It is suggested that you apply it 2X a day. Even put it on my face this morning and the itch stopped. There is a decolourized iodine, which I couldn't find - the iodine will stain clothes when wet, but dries in 10 seconds and then no staining. Can't hurt to try & inexpensive too. Nothing else has relieved the itch as well - with no itch maybe my skin will begin to heal? Good luck.


Coconut Oil, Tea Tree Oil
Posted by LB (Reigate, Surrey, UK) on 02/18/2009
★★★★★

VIRGIN COCONUT OIL/TEA TREE OIL FOR DISCOID/NUMMULAR EXCEMA

I found that mixing VCO with Tea Tree Oil and applying it to the patch of excema several times daily (6 or 7) cleared my discoid eczema within 7-10 days rather that the 8-10 weeks it usually took to clear. Discoid eczema patches are usually roundish in shape. They are very itchy to begin with, and then become very sore as they form several tiny heads which weep. The patch then becomes very hard and thick and normally takes weeks to heal leaving a mark where it had once been.

I have also made a connection with eating citrus and flare ups.


Iodine
Posted by Lisa (Coto de Caza, Ca) on 11/27/2008
★★★★★

Paint on povidone iodine twice daily on eczema patches. Worked on my 3 year and it's cheaper than the prescription drugs. Don't use iodine tincture since it has alcohol and will sting...especially for young child who scratches the eczema until it bleeds. Since the iodine stains clothes, I put large bandaids over the areas on his legs and arms.

Activated Charcoal
Posted by Susan (Dania, FL U.S.) on 11/14/2008
★★★★★

I have a skin allergy,that a dermatologist identified as being eczema, It appears between my knee and ankle on my left leg. over the past 40 years it started about the size of a quarter and for the past 10 or 15 years had grown to cover and area of 4in.by 4 in.....I started taking the charcoal capsules twice a day, each capsule aprox 280 milligrams..the lesion has shrunk to about the size of a quarter..no more itching and burning etc,also whenever i feel an sinus allergy attack i take the charcoal..i reduce the amount that I take when the symptoms reduce.


Ted's Eczema Advice
Posted by Ted (Bangkok, Thailand) on 07/10/2008 392 posts

Editor's Choice

Leslie:

Most eczema, not all, are often a result of a fungus or mycobacterium that exists along the skin or some minute amounts leading to eczema. The condition is often metabolic acidosis which initiates the eczema, but at the same time the ACV have certain properties which may raise the immune system through its malic acid and mineral content found in the ACV. For example the malic acid is converted into malates which is used by the Krebs cycle giving more energy to the cells. If the energy to the cells is increased, the immunity is increased in the long term. The problem about ACV is it's acid content which does kill the fungus and mycobacterium by the actions of malates or organic components that leads to longer term alkalization. But since the body has insufficient bicarbonates to neutralize the acidity, the mycobacterium may cause greater growth when the body is temporarily acid in the short term, and hence the eczema. This eczema is the result of temporary metabolic acidosis.

There is a way to prevent side effects from ACV use by what chemist use to buffer the acidity to make it more alkaline in many consumer products and medicine we used. One of the simplest buffer is the baking soda, which raises the pH of the Apple Cider vinegar to a close 7 or 7.5 pH, which is closer to biologically active pH that doesn't support short term mycobacterium growth. Mycobacterium, fungus, and other usually flourishes in a more acidic pH. Therefore, this remedy was resolved mostly by taking 2 tablespoons of Apple Cider vinegar plus at least 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda in 1/2 or preferably 1 glass of water. Taken usually three times a day. However, if the conditions of eczema is present, usually I will raise the baking soda remedy from 1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda plus 2 tablespoons of ACV in 1 full glass of water taken at least twice a day instead.

However, I am not dealing with the fundamentals here. I have a bad history of eczema myself. In an attempt to understand the basic cause of eczema just for me I decided to take an experiment with a carbicarb remedy. The carbicarb remedy used by me is 1/4 teaspoon of sodium carbonate (washing soda...a precursor of baking soda) plus 1/4 teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) in one full glass of water taken twice or three times a day will stop the eczema within a matter of an hour at most. For me it stopped within a couple of minutes. Mycobacterium, fungs and bacterium won't generally grow whenever the body's pH is raised to an alkaline level. It is this reason why the Ocean's water is so sterile: salinity and alkalinity. The alkalinity of Ocean's water is 8.

As to where ACV comes in is that the malic acid raises the energy level of cells raising the immunity of the cells at the same time - the cells simply have more energy to fend off invading organisms. There may be other elements found in ACV, such as acetate, which has limited antifungal.

The problem about temporary eczema may go away with ACV use, but in some cases eczema may be persistent too. The issue appears that some people may have limited ability to neutralize the acidity from the ACV using the body's available bicarbonates to neutralized them and hence why baking soda was added to put less pressure on the body to come up with the bicarbonate currency to make it biologically compatible with the body's pH of 7.35. So some cases eczema may persists and some may get better, but if baking soda was added immediately before use, eczema wouldn't flare up, generally speaking.

Am I missing any other factors on eczema besides alkalization and immunity issues? One other additional fact is most people's diet, with industrialized farming practices, has caused humans, cats, dogs, cows, chickens, and pigs to have low level of omega 3. Low level of omega 3 didn't happen in humans first. It happened in farm animals. Chickens source of food were originally high in omega 3, if raise in the wild, but with modern methods, the omega 6 to omega 3 has risen lowering greatly omega 3. This happens in cows in U.S. as farming practices changed from grass fed to grain fed to economize. When we do that omega 3 goes precipitously down.

Omega 3 is responsible for immune conditions and anti-inflammatory properties and reduction in eczema. So much of the problems in the benefits of raw food of Pottinger Cats, and the eating of animal fats from Weston A. Price is useless since the animals we eat today (unlike Weaton A. Price's time) is that the omega 3 has droped precipitiously. So what we have now in U.S. is an Omega 6 to Omega 3 of 20: 1 instead of an ideal 4:1 or 1: 1 omega 3 to omega 6 ratios. Currently the country that has the highest known omega 3 is Japan at 4: 1 or Omega 6 to Omega 3. Fish oil is the supplements I would very likely take for my eczema besides just the baking soda be added to the apple cider vinegar.

However in a more severe cases of eczema I used a stronger alkalization method, which is commonly called the carbicarb remedy as mentioned already, which causes the eczema to go away in a matter of hours. As a hint to further reduction the use of dechlorinator of sodium thiosulfate added to drinking water may further help (chlorines and fluorine are pro-inflammatory) while sodium thiosulfate will at least neutralize the chlorine. A simpler way to remove chlorine is to add a couple of drops of 3% H2O2 per glass of water, such as 2-3 drops, which will neutralize the chlorine.

If there is anything i forget about the other cause of eczema, its that certain foods, such as wheat products, cheese tomatoes, aspartame, potatoes, peanuts, sugar, fruit juices (contains fructose), yeast product, peppermint in toothpastes, and other fermented products are some of the common causes of eczema due to the mycotoxin and fungus content found in these products. Interestingly the reason why antibiotics causes eczema is it is acid forming, raises free heavy metals, and has mycotoxins and fungus. Antibiotics is usually made from fungus, and hence it's no surprise that it causes eczema too. Meats now cause eczema because it raises the body's omega 6 as omega 3 is now reducing. So

I greatly doubt if unethical industrialized farming practices using GMO cows, pigs, chickens raised on grains, cannibalism and steroids injection is going to have much positive impact on practitioners of raw food diet, paleolithic diet, Atkins diet, eat right for your blood type diet, or any other similar diets fads if the foods we are now eating are toxic. The issue that pervades any dietary practice is to avoid bad industrialized farming practices (U.S. may be the worse), which is a lot simpler theory I proposed than the other guru diet fads. Much of my eczema comes from bad farming practices by corporate world. Now we have babies, dogs and cats to worry about because they eat from the same source of food which comes from processed foods and using the same bad farming practices. Perhaps this is where some of the eczema is coming from.

Ted

Vitamin E
Posted by Anngra (Glen Cove, New York) on 06/11/2008
★★★★★

I used to get eczema too and i believe it usually is caused by a reaction to certain detergents. try using a more natural one and you will probably see some improvement.


Vitamin E
Posted by Marisa (London, Canada) on 06/09/2008
★★★★★

I tried everything for my eczema on my hands and nothing seemed to work. I then tried applying vitamin e oil and my eczema has greatly improved. My skin is a lot softer and smother.

Fish Oil
Posted by Nick (Grayslake, IL) on 06/02/2008
★★★★★

Fish oil also known as cod oil makes the biggest difference in my skin condition. I take a spoon full daily and it either completely heals my skin or dramatically reduces the amount of eczema as well as the redness, bumps, itchiness, etc... As a side note, Fish oil is also good for your hair and nails as well.


Sunlight
Posted by Nick (Grayslake, Illinois) on 06/02/2008
★☆☆☆☆

re: Eczema: Sunlight seems to make my skin more itchy and red, I believe that my skin better in summer because of the relaxing time of year were I seem to have more fun and not because of the sun.


Epsom Salt
Posted by WT (Spartanburg, SC) on 05/31/2008
★★★★★

I read somewhere that Epsom salt baths would cure eczema. My secretary has a friend who has a kid who suffers with it really bad, to the point he doesn't sleep well because of it. After I mentioned it to her, the friend tried it and she was floored with the results. It began clearing up very quickly and he has been sleeping very well lately. Another friend tried it with great results. People are simply amazed at the results.


Shower Filter
Posted by Trey (Minot, ND) on 05/19/2008
★★★★★

Eczema Remedy: I went to France last summer and my eczema went away in a matter of days. I got back to the US and it came back in a few weeks. I tried to figure out what was different in France that helped my skin. I thought the water might be and that my showers could be making my skin worse. I bought a shower filter which easily attaches right before the head of the shower for $18 at Menards. Within a few days my skin started to clear up and has been better than ever these past few months. My filter recently filled up though and quit doing its job so I had to buy a new one, so make sure you replace them if you notice your skin going bad.


Sunlight
Posted by Trey (Minot, ND) on 05/19/2008
★★★★★

I also notice that summer time usually stops the eczema but comes back in the winter. But chlorine has always made it worse whenever I've gone swimming. I think sunlight might help.



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