Expert: Dr. Kristina Conner - 11/1/2006

Question
I am female and 49, born with exzema and suffered for many years despite all the traditional treatments my parents took me for. When I moved to a warm and dry climate, SOuthern, CA, the last 15 years have been almost exzema-free. Until recently....I am a mess! I am all broken out on my hands, NOTHING is working - not cortisone cremes, antihistamines, or fish oil, or chem.free creams. I am very much into alternative medicine and hate to visit the dermatologist for rx cremes, however I am desparate. My eyelids have become affected this time and my opthamologist told me it was conjunctivitis. But it sure feels like exzema or an allergic reaction to something. I am off eye-make-up (I look awful at work!)and I keep a pretty fairly clean diet. I am wondering if you can suggest something for me to try since the fish oil capsules are not working. I have not switched to new detergents or foods or anything I can think of that would cause me to come out of 'exzema remission'as I call it. I am on Bio-identical hormone replacement cremes but have been for a couple years now. I don't think that's the cause.
Thank  you.
Gail  

Answer
Gail,
Thanks for your question.  Eczema is a common condition that can interfere with daily activities and be troubling because it is so visible.  But natural medicine does address eczema well, because we get at the cause of it and have many tools to help.  There are usually multiple reasons why there can be a recurrence of eczema after a period of remission.  New detergents, body care items, medications, weather changes, foods, supplements, chemical exposure, and stress can all contribute to a worsening of symptoms.  However, if you can't pinpoint which factors it may be, it's still possible to decrease symptoms.  
An anti-inflammatory, hypo allergenic diet for a few weeks is the best place to start.  This would include lots of water, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains except wheat; with some fish or poultry and fats like olive, flax, hemp, and grapeseed oils.  Little or no red meat, sugar, alcohol, soy, corn, wheat, and dairy should be in the diet, because these foods are inflammatory or common allergic foods.  It should contain organic foods as much as possible.  
The goal of diet and supplements is to reduce inflammation, heal the GI tract, and improve liver function.  Skin disorders like eczema are a reflection of the inflammation that occurs in the GI tract and liver health.  Improving digestion and healing the gut leads to longer term improvement.   Some supplements that can help with those processes are fish, flax, borage, and evening primrose oils, probiotics, licorice, oregon grape root, yellow dock, red clover, and burdock root.  Digestive enzymes or bitters can also help improve digestive function.  Even though you have been taking fish oil, you may not have taken enough or taken a poor quality product.  This is just as important as choosing the right one, but people are often unaware of this issue.  Your best bet for finding good quality supplements is a reputable health food store, not a drug store, discount store, or mail order source.  If that's not the case, then you might want to add in borage or evening primrose oil also, or try some of the herbs above.  
Another area I'd highly suggest you look into is homeopathy.  Homeopathic remedies are chosen based on your specific symptoms, and often provide longer lasting relief of chronic conditions like ezcema.  To get a constitutional homeopathic remedy, visit a homeopath or naturopathic doctor in your area.  They will take a complete homeopathic intake and prescribe a remedy for you.  To find a naturopathic doctor, visit www.naturopathic.org.  To find a homeopathic doctor, visit homeopathy.org or homeopathic.org.  
Good luck in your search for natural options.  
Dr Conner