Understanding Eczema to Treat It

New York Times ^ | July 29, 2013 | By Jane Brody

[Brad from Tennessee]

Summer is both a blessing and curse for millions of people afflicted with a common chronic skin condition called eczema. The dry, red and usually intolerably itchy patches often recede when the air is warm and damp and skin is exposed more often to sunlight.

Yet, for many of the 15 million Americans with eczema, shedding the clothes may be embarrassing and, in the case of children, may result in teasing and exclusion. Even for those who are comfortable in a bathing suit, swimming in a pool can be problematic if sensitivity to chlorine worsens the condition.

In industrialized countries, eczema has become two or three times more common in recent decades. Only part of this rise can be attributed to better diagnosis. Now between 15 and 30 percent of children and 2 percent to 10 percent of adults have eczema, which nearly always begins in the first five years of life. Fortunately, in more than two-thirds of children with eczema, the condition resolves on its own before adolescence.

The medical name for eczema is atopic dermatitis, which reflects the immunological nature of the condition. It is more common among children living in cities than those in rural areas. According to the so-called hygiene hypothesis, exposure to infectious agents early in life offers protection against allergic diseases. The more hygienic a child’s environment, the greater the risk. . .

[Brad from Tennessee]

Long article but probably worth reading if you have eczema.

[ScoochDude]

The best remedy: go to your local health food store, pickup a bottle of grapefruit seed extract. Squeeze 20 drops into a small spray bottle, fill with water.

Spray on infected area(s). Within days it is gone.

[PennsylvaniaMom]

Bookmarking (and thank you! For posting this!)

[BO Stinkss]

Best cure for dry cracked hands. $30 at Amazon

[Brad from Tennessee]

Thanks for the advice. I will try both.

[spankalib]

Thank you for posting this!

[goodwithagun]

Both of my kids had terrible eczema even though they never had formula, I made all their baby food, and we followed the food introduction protocol. We took them to what my in-laws call our witch doctor and he determined, minus needles and scratch tests, that the kids have an egg intolerance. After two weeks without eggs they barely had any marks on them, and my son’s eczema was so bad that when it would improve from sun exposure in the summer it looked like somebody had put cigarettes out on him.

[Irishguy]

i will try that...tried everything else. currently on an antibiotic steroid cream... only thing that works (sort of) at the moment.

hope it works...thanks for the suggestion!!!

[Irishguy]

sorry just thought of another question...the bottle size..?? length of a finger size or size of a hand size...sorry just want to get the measurements right...

[B4Ranch]

http://earthclinic.com/CURES/natural-cure-for-eczema.html

[Rusty0604]

Thanks for posting, I have eczema on the palm of one hand.

[ScoochDude]

I use a travel size spray bottle. About 2-3 inches tall.

I'm telling you it works. My mom is 1/2 hippie, and she turned me on to it. She had eczema on her hands her whole adult life. She started washing all of her produce in grapefruit seed extract solution to super clean bacteria and pollutants off of it, (advice from the hippie co-op store). Within days her eczema disapeared and never returned.

In my case, I had it bad on my arms. I'm also a chef that works in unreal hot conditions. I keep it at work and every couple months I have to spray down for maintenance.

Tell me if it works for y'all.

[Irishguy]

thanks...really appreciate it. i will see can i get it at the weekend...and hopefully give the good news!!!

[Irishguy]

okay i tried this i am on day 2 of the grapefruit seed extract mixture. it doesnt appear to be working for me.

just thought i would update this. sorry about the delay took an age to get the drops for some reason...

if there is any change (positive or negative) i will update here.

[Daffynition]

My aunt, who was a pediatrician, had a young boy as a patient w/ severe eczema. With the mom’s help of keeping a diary, she determined that the child had a allergy to milk; once the milk was eliminated the kiddo cleared up ...she held to her belief that many kid allergies are milk-related.

The mom was eternally grateful, as she followed the child around the house with a dust-pan and brush he *shed* so much.

[Daffynition]

Old-time docs liked a coal tar remedy.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/drug-information/DR601911