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Eczema Can Be Cured With Diet
Take a Dangerous Pill or Find and Remove a Toxin..
I have to admit the pharmaceutical company does a great job marketing their products today. There is a pill for darn near anything and we as a society are lining up for them in droves. They are portrayed in such a way that we even don't mind the strong side effects warning slipped into the middle of every one. "Product may cause frequent urination, seizures, loss of vision, loss of movement, cancer or death. please consult..." I for one say enough already. We have forgotten how to look for the root cause of our medical problems and rely on pills and creams to remove our symptoms. The problem is that these never really heal us. They mask the continued existence of a problem for a period of time, and hook us on a lifetime of dependence as repeat buyers. Eczema is one of those conditions, that with a little detective work you can eliminate from your life and never have to depend of drugs to manage.
Eczema on the Face
What is Eczema
Eczema is one thing that my family has personal experience with. My son developed severe eczema on his face and arms and body as a baby. Our initial treatment plan was to go down the topical hydrcortisone route. Continually upping the concentration % as the effectiveness of the last strength started to become reduced. Sure this would help for a while, but it always came back, and we could only treat the spots once they were visible. Our next option was to start oral steroids, for a one year old this seemed like a bad idea. Multiple doctors gave us a similar explanations as to why he had such bad eczema; that sometimes people just have sensitive skin and it required a lifetime of management and that if we were lucky it would just clear up as he got older. Since this seemed like an unacceptable answer we started researching alternate theories in search of relief for our little guy.
Our skin is the largest organ in our body. Among it's many functions one of its jobs is to provide a conduit for removing toxins from our bodies. Most often these are tied to some type of food allergy or intolerance. This made sense for us, as he was also had a anaphylactic egg allergy and we suspected other food issues might be lurking around the corner. After some more research we found that the two most common reactive foods appeared to be wheat and milk (dairy). We started him on a 2 week elimination diet where both of these foods were completely removed from his diet. Turns our we are on to something as within days the majority of his eczema spots improved significantly. By the end of the 2 weeks you would have never know he had a problem with eczema at all. We slowly introduced the foods back in. First the dairy as it had a higher probability or reaction. After a few days he remained clean. Next we tried the wheat. Within 24 hours of introduction the eczema started to return. We had found our connection. Today he remains free of major problems and we can always tell when has been exposed by the re-appearance of the rash. By remaining strict we can usually get it to clear within a few days.
This is one of the bodies ways of dealing with an auto-immune reaction. The eczema rash usually persists because the offending catalysts has not been removed from the body or continues to be re-introduced. Often repeating on established pathways for elimination and starting new ones if the auto-immune reaction grown more severe.
Common Food Trigger for Eczema
- Cows' milk
- Eggs
- Soya (Soy)
- Wheat
- Corn
- Fish
- Tree Nuts
Less Common Eczema Food Triggers
The Nightshade Family
- Potatoes
- Tomatoes
- Sweet and hot peppers
- Eggplant
- Tomatillos
- Tamarios
- Pepinos
- Pimentos
- Paprika
Nightshades Family
How to Tackle Eczema with Diet
A hidden dietary auto-immune condition is very likely at the root of your eczema problems. Sure that are other possibilities but these usually cause more contact dermitus like rashes over long lasting eczema rashes. You will have to become very serious about figuring out what foods could be your trigger and be patient about eliminating a variety of foods until you can figure it out.
I would plan on allowing 2-4 weeks where you eat a simplified diet that completely and 100% remove the following high potential foods. Dairy (cow milk), Eggs, Soy, Wheat, Corn, Fish and Tree Nuts. In order to do this you will need to become a fanatical reader of labels and cautious about eating out. I hope you see this a temporary nuisance required to enjoy a freedom from medication for the rest of your life.
During this time it is helpful to keep a food diary as well as tracking changes in eczema spots for the duration. It is also very helpful to review you food log and research products for hidden cross contamination of unlabeled derivatives. Food manufactures play label games to avoid having to list common allergens.
Hopefully by the end of the elimination period you have seen improvement in your eczema spots. If not the next category of foods to eliminate is the nightshade family. Nightshades are foods that contain certain alkaloids that can possibly cause auto-immune reactions in people. Common nightshades are Potatoes, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, tamarios, pepinos, pimentos & paprika. Again follow the same tracking protocol as above.
Once you have a successful elimination phase, it is time to start re-introducing foods back in. You need to do this systematically and slowly to allow time for your body to react. I would re-introduce no more than one food a week. If after that week you remain rash free then move onto the next food until the offender in identified. Keep in mind that some people have more than one offending food so if you find one remove it and continue moving on to the next until your list has been completed.
Summary
As I mentioned above; with a little bit of detective work and patience you can be free of the cost and potentially dangerous side effects of prescription eczema treatments. The freedom that comes from knowing what is causing the rashes to appear is life changing. One resource i can recommend for more information diet and and adverse reactions in our body is The Paloe Solution by Robb Wolf. This book takes a deep look at how the food we eat today may not be the food we were meant to eat and dives into the studies that support it. I has given me a deeper understanding on why my body does the strange things it does with certain foods. I wish you good luck in your search and wishing you happy healing.
Frequency of Eczema Attacks
How often does you eczema appear
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