How To Control Eczema
^^^WARNING this old outdated methods I no longer use a lot of the methods mentioned below to help my eczema. Please read my recent blog post: MY ALL NATURAL ECZEMA HEALING JOURNEY
Eczema is a beast that you can’t always control 100%, but they are ways to tame it.
In this post I am going to be listing out what has helped me control personally my own eczema.
1.Avoid Eating or being near what your Allergic
If you don’t know what your allergic to I highly recommend getting an IgG Allergy test. What I have found to be the most accurate are ones done using your blood sample. The problem with patch testing is that they are not very accurate. Apparently when I got the patch test done I wasn’t allergic to anything which is far from the truth.
I have a lot of common food allergies including Nuts. Ate a cookie that had them and went through the worst flare up in my life. Reason being at that time I didn’t know what I could do to tame this allergic reaction now I do.
Steps to Take if you do encounter something your allergic to
Do all these steps as soon as possible to avoid scratching yourself like crazy if your like me and get really itchy when something upsets your body.
A. Take an Allegra 180mg one in the moment and another exactly after the recommended hours. (Note always carry a few with you when you go out to eat at restaurants since you can’t control what the cooks use and do in the kitchen) Ice the areas that you know will get itchy for me its the neck and arms.
B. Take APIS MELLIFICA 200 CK Make sure you take 5 pellets 3 times a day as recommended on the label.
C. Brush your teeth and tongue and mouthwash to remove any particles of the allergen immediately after eating if you feel the common allergy systems like itchy throat etc.
D. Shower With Dead Sea Salt and Cln Body Wash
Take a cold shower this is highly recommended but if you can’t due to cold climate take a regular shower then for the last few seconds do a cold dip. Whats the point of this? This will stimulate your blood flow. Not only that Hot showers will make you itchy it will only feel good at the beginning but then unfortunately it will dry out your skin. I have found that when I take a cold shower in combination with using dead sea salt in affected areas the itchiness would go away. I’m talking about your possessed and can’t stop scratching type moments were your literally walking to the shower scratching. If your eczema is as severe as mine was at that moment the dead sea salt I’ am not going to lie is going to sting like crazy. After that I would use this body wash that a dermatologist gave to me and actually helped immensely called Cln Body Wash.
E. Drink Lots of Water you need to flush out everything
Consume things that would make your body more alkaline. I recommend Drinking a veggie juice that contains Cucumber, handful of cilantro and parsley. Its gross but you’ll feel so much lighter and it will help clean out your colon. God forbid getting constipated because you consumed something you were allergic to.
CONT. TIPS TO HELP CONTROL ECZEMA…
2. DRINK ALKALIZED WATER! You can find this at Sprouts and Wholefoods in the water aisles. They are a lot of options the one I used was the ph level of 8 Sprouts Brand.
3. Supplements you should be taking : (Note brands are important in supplements so don’t always go for the cheaper one) I do take all of these everyday for maintenance
Standardized Milk Thistle Natures Way Brand : This helps clean out your liver which could be the culprit of your eczema. Its important to get one that says standardized and that has 80% Silymarin.
Super Quercetin Bluebonnet brand
Silver Biotics Immune System Support Dietary Supplement
Nature Made Fish Oil 1200mg 360mg omega-3
Stress B-Complex Caps TWINLAB High potency B-complex vitamins : your emotions can control how your skin will react these help with stress.
Centrum Adult Multivitamin/Multimineral Supplement
Only take for short period of times when detoxing 1-2 weeks
Pure Graviola this fruit is found to even heal cancer and helps clean out your body. When I was going through a severe flare up my Alternative doctor prescribed me this for only 2weeks.
Naturesway Burdock Root helps with cleaning out the liver holistic doctor prescribed me this for only short period of time. I no longer use this herb.
4. DIET *IMPORTANT
Now I have tried it all Paleo, Elimination, Vegan, and what I have found to help me be balanced since my main issue as a vegan was not being able to consume nuts for protein which is hard. So for me I consume strictly only white meats Chicken, Tuna, Sardines, Fish. I basically eat a vegan diet but I still consume white meats if that makes sense. Meaning I eat just as many salads with black beans, and avoid milk and eggs. I consume Veggie Juices in the morning such as beets and carrots juice. In the afternoon I consume a more green juice with cucumbers, ginger, and kale or spinach.
5. MOISTURIZE 3 or more times daily
Things I use to moisturize
COCONUT OIL COLD PRESSED ONLY -all the other types aren’t good quality and wont help your skin as much. Just found out this is cheaper online what even XD.
Cacao and Joboba oil Found at sprouts
Soft Touch Chocolate Body Butter at Dollarama This is super cost efficient and was recommended by my alternative doctor.
99% Aloe VERA Gel Everyday Formula – I use this when I go out and Tan and it helps heal my skin quicker.
BIO OIL – This is something new that I just started to use and will be writing a review over it in the next couple of weeks want to see how my skin reacts to it.
6. Soaps and washes I use
Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser for normal to oil skin
Everyday Coconut and Lime Shampoo
Everyday Coconut and Lime Conditioner
7. Go Out And Tan
One thing all the dermatologist got right was that I needed to expose myself to sunlight in order to heal my skin. What was recommended was 15-20min of sun exposure when the sun was at its strongest. Since I was at el Salvador the sun was pretty strong same goes for Miami. If where your living has barely enough sunlight and its cold I would do phototherapy which helped me immensely when I was in Texas where I currently reside.
*NOTE: If you live near the beach god bless your soul. I know swimming in the ocean may seem crazy for you since it stings and hurts but honestly thats what it takes to heal your wounds. I Would put sunscreen I recommend this one for eczema sufferers: Coppertone Baby Sunscreen. First swim for 30min it’s painful bear through it walk out tan till your dry make sure you tan both sides I use a timer on my phone to switch sides every 5min. and apply aloe vera gel and then right after coconut oil.
The ocean is incredible and its the main reason why I was able to dramatically help myself heal quickly note the picture above. The one on the left was me living in Texas during winter and the one on the right is me after just 4 days of going to the beach and tanning everyday in El Salvador. Of course it involved other things that I had wrong with me(Click Here For More) and with the right medications I was on track to finding my health again.
8. EXERCISE
Never stop doing what you love because of eczema. I love to Longboard and even in my worst flare up ever I would go out and longboard cause I knew it was good for me. Im not going to sugar coat it I couldn’t lift weights since my arms were bleeding. I couldn’t box since my neck would sting and hurt every-time I would move it side to side. So I stopped going to the gym I was embarrassed, but despite this I knew I could longboard so it became my new form of exercise.
Anything to do with jumping is recommended for us since it stimulates our blood flow. Jump roping, boxing, or running whatever you love to do just do it. Remind yourself that when your in a flare up that pain is temporary it may last for a day or a week or even a year but it will subside and what will replace it would be something far greater then you can imagine.
There is always a way find it and stick to it. Keep Fighting I know its hard since many around you will think that your not doing anything for your health. Ignore them they don’t know what it is like. Eczema is my reason. It is the reason why I made this blog, it is the reason why I work hard everyday to eat healthy and workout. It is the reason why I am able to comprehend others people pain. It makes me have empathy for those who suffer. Not only from eczema but from psoriasis, Rosacea, or any skin disorder.
Love each and everyone of you feel free to leave a comment below if you have any questions or want to share your own story.