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.

Sunlight

4 User Reviews
5 star (2) 
  50%
4 star (1) 
  25%
1 star (1) 
  25%

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.


Sunlight
Posted by Anna (Elk Grove, California, USA) on 04/28/2008
★★★★☆

i have red blotches of eczema on my arms. It gets really bad in winter and spring. In summer, when I'm out in the pool and sunlight it heals, almost totally goes away. Then comes back again with a vegence in the fall/winter. Does sunlight or chlorine help in healing it?

Replied by Nick
(Grayslake, Illinois)
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.


Supplements

2 User Reviews
5 star (2) 
  100%

Posted by Danijel (Minneapolis, Mn) on 10/15/2009
★★★★★

I had problem with my skin excema for years. I started taking vitamin B5 and superoxidants and and my skin started clearing after two weeks. Now I do not have any facial and back skin excema! It is worth a try! Good luck!

EC: B5 is also known as Pantothenic Acid.

Replied by L.b.
(Mansfield, Oh)
04/13/2011
★★★★★

Thank you so much for recommending the B5! I started getting the dermatis on my face a couple years ago. I tried everything and the only thing that would help keep it at bay was, I would wash my face in honey only no other products and put sweet almond oil on afterwards. I tried the acv, didn't work. When I read about you taking B5 I went to the Health Food store and bought a good brand of B complex. I took one in morning and one in evening and within a week my skin has improved so dramaticly. I was almost in tears at finally finding something that really works. You all who have it know what it means. Thanks again so much. I can't wait to see what another week will bring. My hair even feels softer. Make sure you get a good brand of the Bcomplex. Your health care person can help you decide. Thanks to all who post here and to Earth Clinic!


Table Salt

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Celene (West Springfield, MA) on 11/18/2006
★★★★★

I tried using a teaspoon of table salt, mixed with a little warm water to form a paste. I applied it to the side of my nose (where the crease is) because i have a very itchy patch of skin there that I can't seem to stop scratching! Putting salt on itchy skin works! It breaks the scratch/itch cycle, but eating garlic everyday will help also!


Tea Tree Oil

4 User Reviews
5 star (3) 
  75%
3 star (1) 
  25%

Posted by Joanne (Chicago ) on 02/17/2020
★★★★★

I had a mysterious rash on my fingers that included swelling, redness, unbearable itching and finally, tiny bleeding blisters. It was like a horror movie. I don't know what caused it. I suspected exposure via a costume jewelry ring, but I had worn this ring before without issue. Anyhow in desperation I tried the tea tree oil. It worked like magic! Within about two hours, the red itchy blisters had turned into a kind of a crust—-then they just cracked off and there was smooth perfect skin underneath.


Tea Tree Oil
Posted by Abdullah (Oslo) on 06/02/2016
★★★★★

Tea tree essential oil for eczema and/or dandruff is amazing!!! People must know this is an incredible potent absolute cure!!! It stings when applied and the day after you may experience it falling off as dry flakes. MUST TRY!


Tea Tree Oil
Posted by Mcneillmama (Nc) on 03/18/2016
★★★☆☆

WORKED TEMPORARILY

I have developed an acute onset itchy, inflamed rash on my arms and legs. It started as small patches on my left wrist and I thought it was nickle allergy related to a new watch I was wearing. I also have been sick most of the winter with one respiratory infection after the other and all that started with a mild sore throat right before Christmas. I kept a sinus infection from Dec-Feb and finally went to the doctor about it because I was losing sleep from coughing. The doctor said it was virus and gave me a Kenalog shot which helped for about 5 days and then I caught another cold. That was about the same time the rash started on my wrist.

I quit wearing the watch and over the course of three days the rash spread up my left arm, then patches of it started breaking out on my right wrist and both shins and ankles. The itch was so severe at night I couldn't sleep. It looked like Chicken pox. So back to the doctor I went again. I was concerned it was scabies since it is going around the elementary school where I work and I also thought maybe I had the shingles. The doctor said no to those conditions, said it was not contagious whatever it was, he also said it was not RMSF or Lyme. He gave a Rx for triamcinolone cream which did nothing.

So I finally found some tea tree oil soap and tea tree oil and started showering with the soap and massaging the oil in the patches. After the oil is absorbed, I've been covering the areas with a thick ointment called Calmaseptine, which contains 20% zinc, calamine and menthol. This seems to stop the itching and in the mornings when I wake up the rash looks better and almost disappears, but later in the day after I get out in the hot sun or when I just get out of the hot shower, the rash comes back with a vengence. I don't know why heat is bringing it out and making it worse. I have an appointment with the skin doctor next week. I'm sure whatever he prescribes my insurance won't cover and a small tube of anything can cost $80-$300+ I finally understand how King Hezekiah, Job or the Egyptians felt during the plagues.


Tea Tree Oil
Posted by Sp (Nashville, Tn) on 01/02/2010
★★★★★

Tea tree oil is the only thing that worked for my eczema. I have eczema on the back of my neck, chest and on my legs. I have tried using virgin coconut oil, honey, apple cider vinegar, cleaning it with borax, .... no of these methods worked for me. I even have a prescription cream that worked only when I used it every day. When I don't use the cream the eczema comes back.

The only thing that truly worked for me is the TEA TREE OIL.

I mix a a couple of drops with almond oil or olive oil in the palm of my hand and rub it on the spots every night. My condition cleared up within one week of this treatment. The irritation, itchiness, redness is gone. It has been one month now and I am eczema free. I still do use the treatment weekly to keep eczema at bay.


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

Replied by Neal
(Easton, Pa)
04/07/2010

Thank for Ted, finally an intelligent response amidst the inter-nets :P The solution you suggest should come in handy while going out to sea with the U.S. navy.

As a side note for those interested:

-18 years of age
-Diet for the past 14 years composed of high amounts artificial foods, composed mainly of sugar, extremely little greens consumed. 20:1 ratio for sugar to greens servings consumed.
-Lead to minor bouts of eczema located on face, hands, forearms, legs, and wrists.
-As daily stress heightened so did the bouts.
-The bouts only added unto the stress, thus producing a never-ending cycle.
-Deep-breathing exercises for a year, used consistently throughout the day stopped all signs of eczema.


Turmeric

5 User Reviews
5 star (5) 
  100%

Posted by Bob (Cleveland) on 12/16/2018
★★★★★

I recommended Silymarin (Milk Thistle extract) in a post a few years ago. The product I used contained Turmeric (700mg per serving). When I switched to a product that did not contain turmeric my eczema came back. I now believe it's the Turmeric (or the combination of Silymarin and Turmeric) that's curing my eczema. Definitely, for me, Turmeric is an essential component of my eczema treatment.


Turmeric
Posted by Ejclarke (Dc) on 11/28/2016
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

TURMERIC! Please try if you have eczema.

I developed a horrible (probably stress related) breakout of eczema all over my body about 2 weeks ago, the skin on my arms literally looked purple and my face was swollen with eczema all over my forehead and under my right eye. This is the first major breakout I have had in a bout 10 years, my brother even asked me if I got punched in the eye because it looked so bad.

I got steroid pills and creams form the doctor and it cleared up my face after a few days (again I haven't used steroids in over ten years, eczema previously disappeared mostly from juicing and striving to maintain a great diet)

Sad part is as soon as I stopped using the steroid cream, my face looked nearly as bad as it did before I used it. I was determined not to keep using steroids on my face so I searched the internet for a solution. I saw turmeric on this site and a few other sites as well as Apple cider vinegar.

I started the following regimen that COMPLETELY cleared my face of eczema

Apple cider vinegar three times a day in warm water (about two teaspoons in 8 ounces)

About 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric and a sprinkle of black pepper in 8 ounces water as soon as I wake up before consuming anything else.

The most integral part of my regimen was turmeric masks which consisted of plain greek yogurt (Chobani) and organic ground turmeric (got from Whole Foods) I put just these two in a bowl and mixed it (not sure of the turmeric measurement but I put enough to make it mustard yellow color) and then I rubbed this all over my face with a double portion on trouble areas. Leave it on for 20 minutes until dried and then washed it with warm water then a light facial cleanser. I did this twice a day for 3 days and on the 3rd day I woke up with 95% of eczema gone on my face. I am going to try this on arms and legs soon but I am almost certain it will clear up anywhere that eczema is evident.

I did a turmeric mask in the morning then I would mix half and half ACV and water and use a cotton ball to wipe my face and let it dry out on my face. I would do this about 2 or three times during the day and then I would do another turmeric mask at night.

Lastly, I totally changed my diet, meaning I stopped eating meat (I was eating all organic meat prior but I think it was causing digestive issues) most of my meal consists of vegetables like broccoli, cabbage and kale, steamed. And I eat brown rice. I eat fish most days and the occasional lentil soup. I also eat a lot of oatmeal with almond milk and the only real fruit I consume is bananas and the occasional apple or mango in green juices. I eat no sugar, dairy, eggs, etc. Taking about 2 probiotic pills a day and one fish oil tablet daily. I have been on this diet for about 2 weeks now.

I also exercise at least 4 times a week, exercise makes things itchy BUT as soon as I got off the treadmill I would go and put apple cider vinegar on my face and let it dry.

Hope this helps someone! Prayer and Turmeric and a little faith gave a great ending to a horrifying experience.

P.S. Even if you have a skin condition other than eczema I would recommend you try turmeric masks and ingesting it(less then a teaspoon a day)! It actually tastes great with a bit of warm almond milk


Turmeric
Posted by Shabana (Uk) on 02/23/2014
★★★★★

A trick that worked wonders for me for eczema was cheap, at home and painless. I took 1/4 tsp of tumeric powder mixed with a little warm water. And drank it followed by a large tumbler of water and it worked wonders overnight. Better than ACV and any other medication. I did ensure that I took it a good few hours after my last meal. At the same time: gluten free, healthy diet, cut out sugar and really reduce dairy products. And pray.


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.

Replied by Dia
(IL)
05/10/2024

Is there a specific name for the Ayurvedic Turmeric Skin Cream?

I have looked carefully at yours and at other posts but I don't see a specific name.

Thank you for your help.


Turmeric
Posted by SuSu (Sacramento, CA) on 02/03/2007
★★★★★

After taking turmeric, 1/4 heaping tsp, and then stopping, I realized that the eczema on my palms had disappeared and then returned when I quit taking the turmeric. I resumed and it's been gone ever since.


Vinegar Soaks

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Kyle (Bangkok, Thailand ) on 08/18/2012
★★★★★

About a year ago I had my first ever outbreak of Dyshidrotic eczema on my hands. At first glance I didn't pay much mind to it until about a week after and my hands had developed full on blisters and after a week would dry up and leave discolored dead skin which was socially awkward and frustrating. I was baffled at first as to what had caused it until I did a bit of research on it. Apparently others were suffering from the same thing as me but I wanted to narrow down the variables a bit more. After more research I came to the conclusion that my case of athlete's foot was the culprit (root cause of the fungal infection) and when my feet were at its worse the dyshidrosis would begin. I have been battling athlete's foot for years and it was just getting worse.

Long story short, I stopped my athlete's foot with a half and half mixture of white vinegar and water and soaked my feet for 30 minutes, once a day, every day for a week and a half. I started doing this after I noticed an outbreak on my hands occurring and after just a few days the treatment stopped the dyshidrotic eczema dead in its tracks and a week after the small but not developed outbreak was dried up and gone. Even though my feet are still a bit red and tender from years of having athletes foot it has drastically improved and the eczema on my hands have never returned.

In the end, I have associated my breakouts of dyshidrosis to the initial fungal infection from the athlete's foot. I am not a skin specialist, just going by what worked for me. If you are suffering from this condition my best advice would be to find a root cause to the break outs. I've heard that leaky-gut syndrome can be a cause but there is so much speculation out there which is what makes dealing with any kind of eczema so frustrating!! I hope this helps....



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