Eczema is a form of dermatitis (or irritation of the skin). Many cases of eczema are related to allergies and/or asthma. The condition can arise from-or be made worse by-physical stress (injury, repetitive use of the area), chemical sensitivity (anything from perfumes to solvents), or emotionally induced stress. Eczema can alter natural pigmentation, making the affected area either lighter or darker. It occurs most frequently on the face, wrists, elbows, and knees.

Common Symptoms

• Dry, itchy, thickened, and scaly skin
• Skin lesions and patches of redness

What You Need to Know

Certain environmental allergens (substances that the body recognizes as “foreign” and thus tries to destroy) can cause your eczema. If you know anything that does cause a flare-up, the best treatment is to avoid it. Because dust mites may be a factor, use bedding covers. Contact with animals, detergents, or underlying vaccinations do not seem to affect eczema symptoms, so don’t worry about avoiding them.

General Recommendations

Diet: Increase the amount of fatty fish (such as mackerel, tuna, trout, halibut, cod, sardines, or salmon) you eat; the omega-3 fatty acids they contain can decrease your symptoms. Sometimes food allergies (especially to milk, eggs, and, in children, peanuts) cause eczema.

Your Balanced Healing Action Plan for Eczema

Step 1: Apply Topical Steroids for Temporary Relief of Mild Eczema

Topical steroids are the most effective and quickest treatment for reducing mild skin lesions. An over-the-counter cortisone cream (such as Cortaid) works well for some people. If it isn’t effective for you, your doctor can prescribe a more potent cream. Which one? That depends on where your eczema is because some creams might cause harmful effects if used on certain areas of the skin, such as the face. The cream should be used for two to four weeks, and then discontinued until lesions reoccur. In addition to the steroid cream, I recommend an emollient (a moisturizing cream), which can further reduce your symptoms.

Step 2: Take Zinc and Omega-3 Fatty Acids to Correct Underlying Deficiencies

People who have eczema often have zinc and fatty acid deficiencies. If you’re deficient in these nutrients, zinc supplementation will help because zinc is essential to the proper metabolism of fatty acids. Get a blood test to measure your zinc level, and, if it’s low, take a supplement. Use up to 45mg to 60mg per day, and then decrease to 30mg a day when your skin clears. It may take one to two months to notice an effect.

Omega-3 fatty acid supplements are helpful to correct underlying fatty acid deficiencies, especially if you don’t eat fish (see diet recommendations above). In this case, there’s no blood test; you can find out if you’re deficient only by seeing whether the supplements decrease your symptoms. I prefer flaxseed oil (1 tablespoon daily). A second alternative is fish oil (540mg EPA and 360mg DHA daily). If you don’t respond in three months to either of these supplements, continue with the next step.

Step 3: Receive Acupuncture for Long- Term Relief

If any underlying nutritional deficiencies have been corrected and you still have symptoms of eczema, I recommend acupuncture as the next step. Principal points usually are found on the neck, arms, and wrists. Always seek evaluation and treatment from a practitioner certified in acupuncture. You should see improvement within six treatments, although you might need additional sessions to get the maximum benefits.

Step 4: Take Digestive Enzymes and Probiotics

If your digestive tract does not work well, your food will be incompletely broken down. Incomplete dissolved proteins can cause an allergic response, so improving your digestion may help. Start with digestive enzymes to help break down your food more thoroughly. There are many products that contain digestive enzymes, and they should contain some or all of the following: protease, papain, amylase, lipase, bromelain, cellulase, and lactase.

I also recommend taking probiotics with the enzymes. Probiotics are live cultures of organisms (the “good” bacteria) that help digest food properly. Of the beneficial microorganisms in probiotics, L. acidophilus and bifidobacteria are the best. Other beneficial bacteria include L. salivarius, L. rhamnosus, L. plantarum, streptococcus thermophilus, L. bulgaricus, L. casei, and L. sporogenes. You should notice improvement in three to six weeks.

Many people believe that yogurt contains beneficial microorganisms that can take the place of probiotics. Yogurt products do contain beneficial microorganisms, but they are not the most important or potent. Also, many yogurt products are pasteurized to increase shelf life, but this process kills most of the good bacteria, thus destroying all the benefits. Don’t rely on yogurt to recolonize your GI tract.

Step 5: Try the Nambudripad Allergy Elimination Treatment

If you suspect food allergies could be contributing to your eczema and Step 4 hasn’t helped, I recommend the Nambudripad Allergy Elimination Treatment. This method uses a combination of kinesiology, chiropractic, acupuncture, herbs, and nutrition to resolve allergies to food. However, it may take several months to get results-it all depends on how many foods are causing you problems.

Step 6: Use the Prescription Ointment Protopic or Elidel

If the above steps are not beneficial, your doctor may prescribe Protopic, a topical ointment, which can help clear eczema in people who don’t get relief from other treatments. It won’t cure your eczema, but it can give you temporary relief. Another new nonsteroidal cream is Elidel, which can be used for mild to moderate eczema on a short-term or intermittent long-term basis. But don’t use these products if you have skin infections; they can make them worse.

Step 7: Take Licorice, Grapeseed Extract, Quercetin, and/or Glutathione

If all else fails, try licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) which can help control eczema symptoms because it has antiinflammatory and antiallergic effects. However, it may take a long time (several months to a year) to be effective, so try the previous steps first. Use the deglycyrrhizinated (DGL) form, one or two 380mg chewable tablets before meals. You can also apply a licorice salve to the eczema lesions (your pharmacist must concoct the salve). Other supplements that may have beneficial effects include the following:

• Grapeseed Extract (50mg to 100mg of 95 percent procyanidolic oligomers content)
• Quercetin (400mg to 500mg three times daily)
• Glutathione (250mg daily)

As with licorice, it may take months to observe benefits. The supplements can be taken together.

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