Are there home remedies for eczema?

I wrote a blog about this subject at http://vitalbynature.net/eczema-help/ hope it helps. Although to warn you I am not a doctor, I've just suffered with this condition and I've tried practically everything :/

The Made from Earth Pure Aloe Skin Treatment is GREAT for dry and/or sensitive skin. I used to get eczema-like rashes on my face during winter time. This cream has solved the problem completely. It is absorbed by the skin very quickly, there's no greasy residue.

If you are prone to acne breakouts this cream will also work for you since the aloe has astringent properties. My sister who is prone to acne used it for her dry skin, and her skin looked AMAZING. Its amazing what a bit of pure aloe can do for your face. I recommend this from the Made from Earth product line.

Hello anon, thanks for writing. Was your little one diagnosed with eczema or was it something else? We have a few articles about eczema that have some interesting information in them.

Home remedies for eczema
https://www.empowher.com/news/herarticle/2009/05/09/natural-skin-care-treatment-eczema

Diluted bleach baths for eczema
https://www.empowher.com/news/2009/04/27/diluted-bleach-baths-ease-kids-eczema

You may also want to take a page from the 1,801 Home Remedies book from the Reader's Digest Association. It may help to work Omega 3s into her diet to help the inflammation. Also, this book has information about other rashes if you're not quite sure of the diagnosis. Hopefully, the pain will subside and any association with water will get easier.

Thanks for writing and will you let us know what works? Thanks again.

my 1 year old daughter has a bad red and dry swollen rash on the backs of her legs. whenever i put her in the bathtub the poor thing just screams. have used over the counter lotions and nothing has worked. i need to find something that is safe for an infant...but im not to crazy bout puttin medications on her because my oldest daughter (who is 3 now) had the same problem and nothin worked for her except lots and lots of lotions....at the same time. i would put 3 different kinds of baby lotions on her plus desitin ointment. that seemed to work...i was just lookin for something different...thanks for all the ideas

i just went to the dr. my rash was an ezeme gone out of control. I got a prescription formometasone furoate cram. the dr. said keep it near your shelf it will come back sooner or later. The med should see results in 10 to 14 days. Prior to the dr. when the itching was out of control I used teatree oil and used a q-tip and applied it , using a clean one for each area of the rash. I know I have not been eatting good for over a week . Too much acid in our diet/system creates quite a few problems with our health. Might want to check web search for a non acid diet list. drinking apple cider vinegar in a glass of water once a day help

Thank you for the plethora of information. My neighbor has eczema pretty bad and it appears to be mostly in the scalp area, down the neck and also other places on the body which tend to appear and disappear.

She certainly does not like the medications (creams) that she uses and was looking for alternatives. I will certainly share all the information. Thank you so much.

Hello miscortes!

I think you have received excellent information above, but I did want to chime in a bit and say that some friends of mine who have eczema swear by flaxseed oil capsules. They are rich in Omega-3 essential fatty acids and apparently can be very helpful for some people with chronic skin conditions. I believe Evening Primrose Oil that Alison mentioned contains Omega-6, another essential fatty acid that our bodies need.

Just to clarify, my friends don't open the capsules and put the oil on their skin or anything, they just take them orally, following whatever it says to take on the label. They said it takes awhile to show a difference, like maybe 3-4 weeks or so, but over time they did notice their eczema wasn't as bad.

I know from reading about it that flaxseed oil is good for a lot of other health things and so it might be worth a shot...in other words, it shouldn't hurt to try it even though it might not work in your case for the eczema. But I hope it does! Please post again to let us know what you found works best. Good luck to you! Best in health, Michelle

As a lifelong sufferer of eczema, I would echo all of the above.

The first key is to deal with the cause - it is most likely a combination of some food allergy and sweaty skin surfaces that can't breath.

Once the eczema gets to a certain point, even OTC hydrocortisone won't help - you'll need to get something from a dermatologist.

Also, if it is on an area where the skin is normally thinner -e.g. face, groin - then don't use hydrocortisone. There are some great prescriptions that won't thin the skin with repeated usage.

I would not give my son any herbal capsules, but for adults, this may be helpful information:

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) says that evening primrose oil has shown some "modest benefits for eczema" (the studies were too small to be generalizable to public), but you can read about this herbal supplement for eczema here.

In my experience, and from the countless medical articles I have read on this subject (my son has eczema), the answer is: it depends.

"Home-remedy" can mean a lot of things...do you mean "natural" or "organic" or how our grandmother's would have define it: "whatever's on the shelf"?

The factors that play a role in treating and preventing eczema are:
- What is the cause of eczema (in other words, the type of eczema you have)
- The location of the eczema on your body
- Symptoms experiencing (ie, currently red & itchy vs. dry patch) will also largely depend on what type of treatment you choose.

When my son's eczema is in the "red, itchy & leathery-feeling" stage, there is no home remedy that I have found to help stop the itch and redness. If I do nothing, or apply a home remedy, it continues to become worse. The only thing I have found to work when the eczema is at this stage is to apply a 0.1% hydrocortisone topical ointment to the area. This medication is not to be used on a consistent & regular basis, as there are minor side effects (bleaches skin, for one!). It does take care of the offending eczema overnight (yeah!)..it's wonderful.

When my son's eczema is no longer itchy, and is more of a "dry patch", I use Aquafor, which is a type of vaseline. There are numerous "natural" products on the market for the extreme-dry skin that you can try.

Home remedies (I define as "what's on the shelf, is not harmful and is one ingredient"), are primarily used to soothe the "dry patch" of skin, and include all products that you would think as "moisturizing": oatmeal baths, use of olive oil or palm oil similar to lotion. I have read that the spice turmeric is a great anti-inflammatory agent, and can be added to the olive oil.

Other home remedies include the avoidance of the allergen, which is why it is important to note the location of the eczema on your body, as well as what type of eczema you have (what are you allergic to?). Is it from hair products, jewelry, clothing? Certain detergents or soaps? The allergens can be from the environment (dust mites, pets), can be from seasonal allergens (pollen, molds, trees), or can also be from foods consumed, or even from excess stress.

For instance, my son's eczema flares up when he's in the grass, so our primary treatment is avoidance of grass: hiking his socks all the way to his knees, he must wear shoes at all times outside (poor guy--I love being barefoot in the grass!). We make sure the grass is mowed the day before we go outside (not the day-of). We can get him to wear little kid gardening gloves sometimes, but his little wrists still get grass on them. Some parks cause flare ups more than others...it's all trial-and-error, unfortunately.

Lastly, beyond avoidance of allergens, application of topical creams (OTC or "home remedy"), watching diet, managing stress, are some daily routines you can change or "techniques": using gentle/mild soaps, patting yourself dry after shower instead of scrubbing with the towel. Apply lotion, cream, oil...whatever...within 1-2 minutes after gentle towel-drying. Keeping a food and activity log to track what you eat, what you were exposed to, and corresponding this with your flare ups can help you track the cause(s) and trigger(s) of eczema. Seems like a lot of work, right?

There are prescription medications that help with extreme flare-ups. My sister-in-law swears by hazelwood necklaces for her two daughters who have extreme eczema. I've seen their eczema symptoms improve, but am not sure if she's changed their diet also (most of their allergies are food-related). If anyone is interested in the hazelwood necklace, you can send me an email and I will tell you the company she used (my intention is not to sell products, and I am skeptical at best).

I'd love to hear other's thoughts and experiences to treat eczema!