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5 Tips To Keep Eczema Away Naturally

November 06, 2014 4 min read

We are delighted to share this terrific guest blog post by Jennifer Roberge, Owner & Founder of The Eczema Company.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My son has battled eczema for the past six years of his life. And it has never been easy. On the bad days, my husband and I slept with him to give him comfort from his itchy little body and to hold his hands so he wouldn’t scratch. On the good days I found myself stressing about when the next flare up would occur and then planning how to ensure this flare would be less severe than the last. Eczema is difficult. Luckily, my son is 95% better now, but getting there took a lot of work.


Here are the top things I learned along our eczema journey:

1. Heal from within
Listen to your or your child’s body – what is it telling you? Intuition will usually indicate something is off. With eczema, foods are often a trigger, so pay attention to what seems to be causing the skin to worsen. Keep a food diary to help with this task. Supplements like probiotics and fish oil are great additions to anyone’s diet, but especially for those with eczema. Just try to find good quality brands from a local health food store that are free of dairy, soy, gluten and genetically modified ingredients. Fish oil should be certified low in mercury. Both fish oil and probiotics are generally safe for nursing mothers and infants in the right quantity, but its best to speak with your physician before starting any supplement.
 
2. Look around you
What things in your environment could be contributing to your eczema? Dust mites are a big eczema trigger. Do you have carpets in your home? Do you have curtains and blinds that collect dust? Are there a lot of stuffed animals on your child’s bed? Consider removing these items or clean them very regularly. Do you have pets? Not only can their hair and dander be a trigger, but if they go outdoors for long periods of time, they can bring outdoor allergens into the home. Do an occasional visual inspection for mold in damp places like the bathroom, kitchen, basement, and in the washing machine.
 
3. Stay hydrated
Drinking plenty of water will certainly help not only your skin, but your general health as well. But it’s also very important to keep your skin moisturized on the outside to prevent eczema from occurring in the first place or to discourage it from worsening. It’s a good idea to make moisturizing part of your daily routine so it becomes a habit. Twice daily is a good general recommendation. In addition, always moisturize after washing your hands or body with soap or even after just a water rinse. Adding a moisturizer or balm to damp skin will lock the moisture in longer and will enhance the effects of the product you’re using.

 

4. Try a gentle soap

Soaps can be so drying because they are not pH balanced or because they have added chemicals like fragrance. We saw big improvements in my son’s skin when we moved to a fatty soap with only three ingredients – an oil, lye (essential for soap making), and water. In fact, it worked so well for us, that my son took this soap to school and only washed his hands with it, avoiding the schools scary pink generic soap completely. The change was unbelievable. Bye, bye crocodile hands.

 

5. Good riddance to commercial laundry products
Detergents are so harsh on the skin – they build up over time and create this layer of chemicals that lay directly on the skin. Detergents are also very alkaline, which is very irritating to anyone’s skin, but especially to those with eczema or sensitive skin. Free and Clear brands are better in that they have no added dyes or fragrances and natural detergents are better because they contain more natural ingredients, BUT both still create a film on your laundry and are too alkaline. Think about moving to vinegar and baking soda washes or try a mineral laundry ball or soap nuts instead. These are all much safer alternatives to detergents. Please skip the fabric softener and dryer sheets completely, opting instead for dryer balls or nothing at all.

 

Bio: Jennifer blog’s about her family’s journey with eczema, allergies, and asthma at It’s Itchy Little World (link to: www.itchylittleworld.com). She is also founder of The Eczema Company (link to: www.eczemacompany.com), an online store which provides natural skin care, protective clothing, and laundry alternatives for children and adults suffering from eczema. Jennifer can usually be found in the kitchen where she prepares all meals from scratch and without genetically engineered ingredients. She enjoys playing board games with her two children and husband.

 

22 Responses

Amanda Temple
Amanda Temple

November 10, 2014

My little guy had pretty bad eczema, but we are doing good right now! We love the manuka honey and hazelwood necklaces from Eczema Company. I use gentle natural soap and make sure the detergent is rinsed off his clothes!

Elizabeth Nicholson
Elizabeth Nicholson

November 10, 2014

I just seem to have very dry skin.

Jennifer Nutter
Jennifer Nutter

November 10, 2014

My child and i both have very sensitive skin. I deal with it by not eating processed foods, by cloth diapering, using no dyes, lo scents lotions/ laundry detergent. these would be awesome as we do try to stay away from fabric sheets.

Asha
Asha

November 08, 2014

Neither of my children nor myself suffer from Eczema.

Ashley Caddell
Ashley Caddell

November 08, 2014

My son has very very sensitive skin. I have to often give him oatmeal baths. Thank you fro the chance to sample your products!

Nelly B
Nelly B

November 08, 2014

My youngest boy suffers from it! And it’s horrible!! With a restricted diet and gentle soap we have managed

robyn donnelly
robyn donnelly

November 08, 2014

My skin gets really dry and it actually hurts a little. Hard to moisturize at times.

Danielle
Danielle

November 07, 2014

My hubby has severe eczema. He now takes probiotics, fish oil, calcium, vitamin D, evening primrose oil, multivitamin, MSM, zinc, turmeric, buckthorn oil and is taking a liver detox that has milk thistle in it. For some reason his skin does not like coconut oil as a moisturizer but he started using organic hempseed oil and it has been amazing! His skin is actually retaining moisture, the itching is getting better, and so is the flaking. We eat a whole foods diet, shop only the perimeter of the store, non-gmo and only drinks water. We also use essential oils on his skin as well. He also drinks 2 tablespoons of Bragg’s Apple cider vinegar in his water everyday. It has been terrible for the past few months where he has missed weeks of work and I think we finally found something that works!

Edwina Donovan
Edwina Donovan

November 07, 2014

I keep well hydrated and moisturize every day :)

Megan
Megan

November 07, 2014

My son sadly has inherited my skin. We get heat rashes from baths, soaps, laundry detergent, even certain fabrics cause us to break out. Dairy is out of our diets, beside the stomach aches it too causes our skin to hate us. I have found that coconut oil is our best friend. I use it for make up remover (for when I wear make up the few times a year), I use it for lotion when our skin gets dry, because you guessed it our hard well water breaks us out. I also have found that if I take a few tbs of it a day my skin feels better, along with the rest of my body. I make sure to put some on toast for my 20 month old, or into smoothies. I always try to sneak it into some part of his diet throughout the day. As we speak I wore gloves yesterday to wash off unwanted um, I will just say it, poop off our chicken eggs that we had gotten. The gloves irritated my hands and they are now red and itchy, I have them covered in coconut oil as we speak. Tomorrow they shall feel better.!

Dee Schwark
Dee Schwark

November 07, 2014

My son suffers from eczema and other skin conditions. We have tried many things over the years. You’ve covered most of them here on the blog. I’ve also learned a thing or two as well. :)

Chrissie
Chrissie

November 07, 2014

My son and daughter both have sensitive skin. I would love to try these

Crystal
Crystal

November 07, 2014

My middle daughter has it & now that she is getting older its not as bad as it was when she was an infant!

Angela Kim
Angela Kim

November 07, 2014

My son and younger daughter both suffer from eczema, though my son by far is the worst. He has to take allergy pills 2x a day just to keep it under control while we are trying to figure out what is causing it. He still has terrible eczema on the backs of his legs even though he takes the pills. They do keep him from scratching though.

Amanda Alvarado
Amanda Alvarado

November 07, 2014

My dd and I both suffer from eczema. We already follow most of these tips. We have to keep away from the dairy and I only use natural laundry detergent. Soaps/shampoos, etc are also all natural. I know for me, I need to drink more water but for dd, that’s pretty much all she does drink!

Michelle
Michelle

November 06, 2014

My daughter also suffers from eczema but she also has ichthyosis which makes her skin issues a constant battle! I completely understand sleeping with your child as that’s what we have done for years…if we don’t she will wake up with her skin just torn apart. So thank you for the tips!

Laura B
Laura B

November 06, 2014

I had my first break out at 19. 12 years later I still suffer from eczema all inside my palms. They tend to get the bumps and itch like crazy! I was told since my late mother had asthma, that’s it’s all in the same gene family. So I’m anticipated at least 1 of my kiddos will get it as well. If I use dry soap, holy wow…it gets horrendous. I have to be very careful what type of soap and lotion I use. I have to constantly hydrate my hands and moisturize them all day. It’s hard!!

Nicole Foley
Nicole Foley

November 06, 2014

My oldest son who is now 14 yrs old has suffered from Eczema since he was born, we use a Topical Antibiotic daily and he has a medicated prescription body wash he has been using for the past year. I also have to use non fragrant laundry detergents!

Sheetal
Sheetal

November 06, 2014

I have a little one and fortunately I was able to get rid of the eczema that had just started. 99% of the times give him home cooked meal (cooked from scratch). Use home made lotions and creams. Use a gentle organic soap. If I buy any skin care products, I make sure that I completely understand the ingredients list and there is no ingredient that I want to avoid.

Holly E
Holly E

November 06, 2014

My nephew has eczema and we try to manage it the best we can.

Amber Ludwig
Amber Ludwig

November 06, 2014

My son and I both have super sensitive skin and eczema! These are great tips! We do all of these and also take vitamin d! It’s seems to help as well!

Jamye Stark
Jamye Stark

November 06, 2014

Both of my sons deal with this my older sons is pretty bad. occasionally his bleeds we scrub and use cream.. i feel helpless.

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