Tips for Eczema Relief

February 22, 2016

My eczema cream can be purchased here.

My 16 month old daughter has been dealing with eczema since she was just a few months old. She was born in mid-October and as the winter months rolled around, her skin became dry, red, and irritated. I basically tried every natural remedy I could think of to no avail. I reached out to one of my crunchy comrades and she shared an ebook (The Eczema Cure) that really helped me get to the root cause of my daughter’s eczema. This winter has been much better as far as her eczema is concerned, so I wanted to share a few things that we did to help give her some relief. One really important thing I learned from this whole experience is that while eczema presents itself as an external problem (dry, red, itchy skin), it is actually caused by an internal imbalance (often caused by digestive issues).

If you or someone you know deals with eczema, I highly recommend buying and reading The Eczema Cure. Below are a few things that we did that worked for us. The book goes into this in way more detail and is definitely worth reading.

1. Look at possible food allergies as a culprit. While allergy testing can most definitely be done, I opted for doing an elimination diet with my daughter. We mostly eat a Paleo-type diet, so I didn’t have to take out too many things from her diet. We started with removing the few grains she was consuming and then removed the few dairy products I gave her. Eliminating the organic grass-fed cow’s milk that we were using made a big difference. I highly recommend trying a Paleo elimination diet, like the Whole 30, if eczema is a constant issue.
2. Could antibiotics be the cause?: Not only does my daughter have eczema, but she also has cradle cap. While her eczema hasn’t been a huge issue this year, the cradle cap still flares up from time to time. She has had this since she was born and I think that it was partially caused by all the antibiotics I had to be on during my pregnancy for a chronic UTI infection. Using too many antibiotics kills the good bacteria in your body and causes yeast overgrowth. Yeast overgrowth can cause digestive issues and also things like cradle cap. My daughter has managed to not have to take any antibiotics since she was born, but it seems that she started off a little unbalanced because of my antibiotic intake. We are using probiotics, bone broth, and grass-milk yogurt to hopefully balance all of this out.
3. Cut back baths: Taking too many baths (especially warm ones) can make eczema worse. I usually just give my daughter one to two baths per week as long as she isn’t super dirty.
4. Changing soaps and laundry detergents: Using a soap with harsh ingredients can really cause eczema to flare up. Using laundry detergents with lots of chemicals can also cause issues. For my daughter, I use plan Dr. Bronner’s Unscented Castile Soap or the Shea Moisture Shampoo/Body Wash (both of these can also be purchased at Target). As for laundry detergent, I switched to the Seventh Generation unscented powder detergent. I add lavender essential oil or my essential oil cleansing blend to it before each load.
5. Keep skin moisturized: After I researched eczema more, I quickly got rid of all petroleum based creams and lotions. I decided to create a cream for my daughter instead so that I would know exactly what was in it. I tried a number of different combos on her skin but ended up sticking with one that contains the ingredients listed below.  I sell this eczema cream in my Etsy store and it can be purchased here. When people see this product, they often ask me if it actually works. My response is always, yes, but it just treats the external condition and will not keep eczema from reoccurring if the internal problem isn’t addressed. This cream is a little sticky from the honey and thus works best if applied directly after a bath or shower. If additional applications between bathing are needed, just cover the skin with clothing to allow time for it to be absorbed.
   • Shea butter: extremely moisturizing and helps reduce inflammation
   • Coconut oil: naturally anti-bacterial and moisturizing
   • Raw Honey: naturally anti-bacterial
   • Lavender essential oil: helps to reduce inflammation and irritation
   • Melaleuca (tea tree) essential oil: naturally anti-bacterial
6. Use a humidifier: This is a big one, especially in the winter. I rinse out and fill my daughter’s tank each night before she goes to bed. Also, be sure to do a deep cleaning with vinegar once a week. We have this humidifier.

Disclaimer: Please remember that I am not a doctor. These are just some suggestions that have worked for my family. 

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