The page you are looking for may have moved or no longer exists. We apologize for the inconvenience. To help you find what you are looking for, we suggest you: If you need additional assistance, please call Massachusetts General Hospital’s main phone number at 617-726-2000.Epsom Salt BathEpsom SaltsBath SaltBath EpsonEpsom SóSalts MasonMason JarsHealthy DetoxHealthy SkinForwardHow to draw a detox bath and get the toxins out of your body... Get all the germies out! Thank you for supporting LüSa Organics, my small family business. It makes my writing here possible. I am Rachel Wolf. Lover of wild places, blogger, homesteader-in-training, unschooling mama, & owner of LüSa Organics. At home in the hills of the Driftless. Eczema can be understood as a skin disease where patches of skin get inflamed and rough. These inflamed skin patches are marked by blisters, redness, itching, crusting and bleeding. As eczema progresses on the skin, scaling of skin takes place and it becomes thickened and leathery, often resulting into pigmentation.
Let’s know what eczema in more detail is! Eczema is generally used to refer to any rash resembling skin problem. However, It precisely refers to the type of those skin conditions that are categorized as atopic dermatitis. Atopic means the group of diseases, often inherited, in which the patient develops allergic conditions like dermatitis, asthma and hay fever. Eczema is more common infants as this chronic skin disease mostly develops during infancy and is there all through one’s childhood. Infant eczema is usually cured as a person grows to be an adult but in some cases, eczema continues to be there in adulthood too. Let’s now know about the signs of eczema. Any part of the skin can get eczema. The most intense characteristics of eczema anywhere on the skin include itchiness and rashes. Rashes usually appear on the face, back of the knees, wrists, hands, and feet but are not limited to only these areas. They can be anywhere and are always itchy. Infant eczema manifests itself as dry, scaly patches that are intensely itchy.
In fact the signs of eczema get worsened and better off at different periods of time. Also, the symptoms of eczema differ a little with each age beginning with infancy, childhood and then adulthood. Adults who have been able to outgrow their childhood eczema may still suffer from mild eczema now and then. Their skin mostly remains dry which gets easily irritated. They may also suffer from hand eczema including eczema on fingers and eye problems too. Sometimes atopic dermatitis is not a constant eczema but only an allergic eczema. Allergic eczema occurs due to a reaction with some substance that the person’s immune system takes as a foreign object harming the body. While the exact cause of this skin disease is not known, heredity and certain environmental factors are believed to be the two of the major causes of eczema. Infant eczema is mostly due to heredity where a parent or both the parents have one or the other atopic disease. If both the parents have it, the chances of the infant inheriting eczema get higher.
The immune system of the person suffering from eczema reacts to certain external factors that may be taken as causes of eczema. These can be listed as follows: Let’s now move towards knowing certain remedies for eczema. When you have mild eczema, you can always think of treating it with the help of ingredients available in your kitchen or home. However, if you see these remedies not working to reduce the rashes or itchiness even after a considerable time, you should always consult your doctor because an eczema that gets worsened may give you a variety of skin infections. The anti-fungal, antimicrobial coconut oil loaded with fine antioxidant and antibacterial properties can reduce inflammation caused by eczema to a great extent. The caprylic and lauric acid as well as vitamin E and K help relieve itching and flaking while giving ample of nourishment to your damaged skin. As is known, coconut oil is perhaps one of the best moisturizing agents for the skin and it is a boon to the dry skin which is caused by your eczema.
The medium chain fatty acid of coconut oil helps restore protective layers of your skin and thus your skin recovers fast to get a smooth supple look from the crusted flaky appearance. Tea tree oil has excellent disinfectant and soothing properties for any inflamed skin. This is basically due to the terpenes present in the tea tree oil which makes it a fine anti0bacterial agent. However, tea tree oil is also very strong oil and thus has to be used carefully by those having sensitive skin. Eczema does make your skin sensitive. Because eczema also makes your skin dry, you need to add tea tree oil in some other carrier oil because this essential oil also is drying in nature. Secondly, it should not be used alone on sensitive skin. You may even use tea tree oil in your bathing water to get relief from eczema symptoms. Here’s how to do so. Olive oil is one of the safest oil, like coconut oil, to be used to treat eczema symptoms. It is particularly helpful in soothing flare-ups and also in relieving inflammation.
The two components of olive oil, qualene and oleocanthal, contain anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties that help you get relief from flaky, dry, itchy skin caused by eczema. Additionally, vitamin E in olive oil helps restore the lost moisture of your skin and repairs your damaged skin fast. While you can always simply apply olive oil on your eczema affected skin, here’s a recipe for exfoliant made with olive oil and sugar to help you get rid of eczema faster. If you are afraid of using sugar on your inflamed skin, use something more natural, the cabbage leaves. They too soothe your skin wonderfully. Precaution: Always carry out a patch test to see if you are allergic to olive oil. Do not use the oil for infant eczema. When you buy a bottle of apple cider vinegar with its mother intact and showing up as cloudy strings in the bottom of the bottle, know that you are not only going to relieve the painful symptoms of eczema but may also cure it once and for all! Yes, it is that miracle solution that has benefited lots of people suffering from eczema.
The malic acid in the apple cider vinegar makes it antibacterial, antiviral and anti-fungal agent and it might well be the magic component that is behind soothing and curing the damaged eczema skin. Those who have been suffering from eczema since years are not new to calamine lotion, the pink lotion that gives instant relief to their itching inflamed skin! So, why is this calamine lotion so effective in soothing eczema affected discomforts? It is because of its two components- zinc oxide and iron oxide. Zinc oxide is antiseptic and astringent too. Its astringent property makes it absorb the fluid out of the weeping sores of your severe eczema. Zinc is also an important mineral for body. When taken internally, it boosts immune system. All said, taken or inhaled in larger quantities, zinc oxide can prove to be toxic to your body and thus store bought calamine lotion should be used sparingly if at all its essential to use. So why not make calamine right at home! While you can always use zinc oxide in your home-made calamine lotion, you would actually like to give it a miss due to the presence of so many other natural ingredients that are soothing for your eczema!
Let’s have the recipe. Apart from tea tree oil, there are many more essential oils that are beneficial in relieving the discomforts of eczema. Here is such a list of essential oils for eczema. If your kid’s eczema gets worse in winters, it might be due to the deficiency of vitamin D. Vitamin D has been importantly linked with eczema and other skin conditions by certain studies. These studies have found that eczema in kids as well as eczema in adults have relation with low levels of vitamin D. While it has still not been proven whether taking vitamin D supplement helps cure eczema or not but is said that it will not worsen the condition of skin. However, its dosage should be less than 10,000 IU per day. It is recommended to consult your doctor before you take any supplement including vitamin D supplement. The key to prevent eczema flare ups is to keep your skin moisturized and recognizing the triggers that make your eczema worse. Taking proper care of these will certainly help you get rid of eczema soon!