Eczema Home Remedies - Aarogya Samhita

What is Eczema Called in Different Languages?

Eczema is also known as Atopic dermatitis / Contact dermatitis / Seborrheic dermatitis / Nummular dermatitis / Stasis dermatitis / Dermatitis herpetiformis (Scientific Binomial Name), Baby eczema (Common English), (Unani), khujalee / khujli / Chajan (Hindi / Urdu), Eksima / Ciranku (Tamil), Isaba / Gajkarn (Marathi), (Sanskrit), Carmarogabisesa (Bengali), Tamara / Tamaravyadhi (Telugu), Esjima / Karapani (Kannada), vannal (Malayalam), Shizhen (Mandarin / Traditional Chinese / Simplified Chinese), Esterilidad (Spanish), (Portuguese), Ekzema (Russian), Ekzema (Greek), al’akzima (Arabic), Shisshin(Japanese), eczema (Latin), Eczeem (Dutch), eczema (Italian), ekzema (Ukrainian), Cabala (Punjabi), Ekzem / Hautausschlag (German), Eczema (Javanese), Eksim (Malay / Indonesian), eczema (Vietnamese), seubjin (Korean), Eczema (French), egzama (Turkish), Kharajavum (Gujarati), Ekjima (Nepali).

What Exactly is Eczema?

Eczema is a general term representing a range of irritated, rash, inflamed skin problems. It also goes by the name contact dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, irritant dermatitis, and allergic dermatitis. By any name, approximately 10% to 20% of the world population is affected by this chronic, relapsing, and very itchy rash at some point during childhood and into adulthood, although it tends to get better as you get older. Like so many skin problems, eczema can itch worse than a bad conscience. The term ‘eczema’ is derived from a Greek word meaning ‘to boil.’ It refers to an inflammation of the skin which results in the formation of vesicles or pustules. It is the most common and most troublesome of all skin diseases.

What Do Eczema Look Like?

Eczema is essentially a constitutional disease, resulting from a toxic condition of the system. The disease covers a wide variety of forms, the majority of them being of a chronic variety. In its acute form, eczema causes inflamed red, dry, and itchy skin. Some patches may blister and weep, and, eventually, these areas may crust over. If the eczema is a chronic problem, the skin will continue to itch but may thicken and take on a leathery consistency. Usually, dry scales develop, and the skin’s color may change. Eczema can appear in infancy or early childhood and most often develops on the face and the head or in the folds of the elbows, the knees, or the groin. In some cases, it will disappear as childhood progresses and either stay away for good or recur in adolescence or adulthood.

Types of Eczema

There are several types of eczema. Atopic eczema, the most common, usually occurs in people with a family history of allergies or asthma. Symptoms include red, itchy skin, generally begin before the age of five, then reappear periodically during adulthood. During acute flare ups, the skin may be marked with small, fluid filled blisters. Over time, excessive scratching causes patches of skin to look thick and scaly. Skin damaged by eczema and scratching is prone to bacterial infections. Another type of eczema, called contact dermatitis, stems from contact with an irritating substance such as detergent, soap, and cosmetics.

Symptoms of Atopic Dermatitis

The skin itches at all stages. In the wet stage, it may become infected with bacteria. The healing of the condition is affected by scratching in response to the irritation. Scratching not only spreads infection but also lengthens the stage of dryness and scaling. Eczema in its acute form is indicated by redness and swelling of the skin, the formation of minute vesicles and severe heat. If the vesicles rupture, a raw, moist surface is formed. From this, a colorless discharge oozes, which forms skin crusts when it accumulates. The disease is usually worst at night when the heat of the body is retained by the bed clothes. Eczema is a troublesome but common skin disorder that affects up to 15 percent of the population.

Food That Cause Eczema

Many experts feel that food allergies play a significant role in eczema, particularly in children under the age of two. In kids, the problems most often come from eggs, dairy, peanuts, soy, wheat, and tree nuts. In adults, the troublesome foods are usually dairy, wheat, eggs, yeast, and citrus products. Eliminate all these foods from the diet for about a month. Then bring back one at a time for three days to see if the skin reacts. In children, this food elimination diet may produce a visible change in a short time. Dramatic change is rarer in adults, but still, you might note some improvement.

Causes of Eczema

Allergies play an important part in causing eczema. The real cause of eczema however is the failure of the human system to excrete the poisons from the various orifices of the body. Waste matter is excreted from the rectum through stools, from the bladder through urine, from the lungs through breath and from the pores of the skin through sweat. Sometime the pores of the skin are overworked as waste matter is not properly eliminated from the other orifices. If the pores are not given the chance to perform their normal function, the sweat will be full of morbid matter. This gives rise to skin diseases like eczema, acne, boils and other eruptions. Other causes include faulty metabolism, constipation, nutritional deficiencies and stress. Stress may be because of nagging spouses, jealousy, frustration and other emotions.

Chronic Eczema Causes

Chronic eczema is a complex condition that usually involves a family history of eczema, asthma, or hay fever; difficulty handling stress; or food sensitivity. It has also been linked to abnormalities of the immune system, as well as to candidiasis and low levels of essential fatty acids and deficiencies of other nutrients that help keep down inflammation. Poor digestion and detoxification can also be at the root of eczema. Suppressive drug treatment of the formal disease is also a most potent subsidiary causative factor in many cases. No matter what is the cause of your eczema our best 14 eczema itch relief home remedies will surely help you to get quick effect.

Eczema Home Treatment with Natural Herbs

Skin applications to cure eczema may give temporary relief. If the exudation is suppressed, some other more serious disease may develop. The best way to deal with eczema is to cleanse the blood stream and the body. Like most complicated ailments that involve the whole body and lifestyle, holistic treatment is the best approach for both relief and resolution. Conventional therapy for chronic cases is usually quite frustrating for the patient, as it generally just suppresses the skin problem and causes further spreading or intensifies the symptoms. Treating the root causes with natural therapies is a superior way to help resolve this aggravating condition. Here few home remedies to treat eczema at home naturally.

Eczema Home Remedies to Get Itch Relief

Without question eczema is a difficult, uncomfortable, often painful skin disorder. When you have it, you generally know it by the cracked, abraded, blistered, crusted, weepy, reddened, patchy, dry skin surface, accompanied by persistent, almost unbearable itching and the tendency for everything you touch to make matters worse. A simple act like washing your hands, applying eye makeup, or wearing scratchy material can instigate a flare-up that feels interminable. Here are 14 best eczema home remedies to get instant relief from itching. These are very easy to use eczema home remedies and can be prepared with easily available kitchen ingredients.

An Unbeatable Remedy for Eczema: Birch is practically unexcelled in the tree bark home remedies for success fully treating psoriasis, eczema, herpes, acne and similar chronic skin diseases. Try making a tea by boiling the bark. This is useful on the skin either as a poultice or ash to treat burns, wounds, bruises, eczema and sores. Make similar tea by bringing 1 quart of water to a boil. Reduce the heat, add 3 tbsp. dried bark, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and steep for an additional hour. Clean muslin cloth soaked in the strained solution, lightly wrung out and then laid on the afflicted skin makes a good poultice.
Soothe Itchy Skin: Add colloidal oatmeal to your bath. This ground oatmeal floats suspended in the water and is soothing to itchy skin. A well-known brand is Aveeno.
Treat irritation with Evening Primrose Oil: Evening primrose oil is rich in a compound called gamma linolenic acid (GLA), which is approved in Great Britain for treating eczema. Research suggests that this herbal oil is also helpful in treating other forms of skin irritation that is dermatitis. Although the easiest way to use this herb is that get capsules from health food store. Take the capsules orally, following the package directions. You can also take oils of borage, currant and hops, which are also well-endowed with GLA. As with evening primrose, you can get these other oils in capsule form; follow the package directions when you take them.
Soothes Skin Ailments: An old and effective cure for eczema and dermatitis consisted of an infusion of watercress. A large painful should be thoroughly washed and put into a stainless steel saucepan that has just enough cold water added to cover the cress with. Bring this to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer slowly until quite tender. Strain through muslin cloth or several layers of gauze material and refrigerate. Bathe afflicted part with this infusion often. It’s better to use a piece of soft linen for this purpose. This infusion is excellent for roughness of the skin due to frequent exposure to the wind, sun and cold weather.
Oolong Tea Solution: An interesting study on eczema, reported research in Japan that demonstrated that 2/3 of the patients with eczema improved after a month of drinking a liter of oolong tea daily. The therapeutic efficacy of oolong tea may well be the result of the anti-allergic properties of tea polyphenols. While the study didn’t look at the effect of tea drinking if the topical treatments were stopped, the patients did receive some benefit. So by combining topical treatments with some oolong tea, perhaps the positive effects of both will add up, and those with eczema can breathe a sigh of relief.
Unsurpassed Blood Purifier: Burdock root is perhaps one of the most widely useful blood purifiers, among the best the herbal kingdom. It is the most important herb for treating chronic skin problems. It’s one of the few that can effectively treat eczema. To make an effective tea, bring 1 quart of water to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, adding 4 tsp. cut, dried root. Cover and let simmer for 7 minutes, then remove from heat and let steep for 2 hours longer. Drink a minimum of 2 cups per day on an empty stomach more if chronic skin problems persist. Make a larger quantity and use to wash the skin with often.
Avocado as Skin Softener: There’s more to avocado than guacamole. Its oil is actually useful as a treatment for some forms of dermatitis. Long term treatment with avocado oil can help to relieve eczema. As avocado oil is rich in vitamins A, D and E, all of which help maintain healthy skin. Apply it directly to any itchy, red or irritated areas. It might also be helpful to ingest the oil and use it in salad dressings.
Try Omega 3 Rich Food: Eat more foods rich in essential fatty acids like omega 3, which help reduce inflammation and allergic reactions. You’ll find these in rich amounts in walnuts, avocados, salmon, mackerel, and tuna. Another good source of omega 3 is flaxseed oil. Take up to one tablespoon each day; it won’t hold up in high cooking temperatures, so drizzle it on salad, mix with yogurt, or hide it in other foods.
Potato Plaster Cure for Skin: To make this plaster peel and grate potatoes and mix half of them with an equal amount of green vegetable leaves such as cabbage, radish or spinach which had been coarsely pureed in a food blender beforehand. Add about 10% white flour to this wet mass. Mix everything then thoroughly in a large pan by hand. Slowly add ice cold water to give the paste a wet, somewhat even and thick consistency without being runny or lumpy. Apply this plaster directly to skin. On top of it place a clean cloth and secure it in place with a lengthy swath of linen bandage fashioned from strips of old bed sheets. Keep it on for at least 3 and 1/2 hours. Rub little olive oil on the affected area. This prevent or reduce any chronic itching which might take place while the plaster was on the skin.
Eczema Problems Vanish: For chronic eczema, add 3 tbsps. of dried chamomile flowers to the pod tea and remove from the stove. Cover and let it steep until the tea becomes cool, then strain and bottle. Wash the skin every 3 hrs. if possible with the tea. Drink a cup each day as well.
Gotu Kola Herb: The herb gotu kola, used externally, can help ease itchy skin conditions. Look for a commercial cream or extract. If you use the extract, dilute it first (5 parts water to 1 part extract). Alternatively, you can make a cup of the tea, soak a cloth in it, and use the cloth as a compress. To make the tea, steep 1 teaspoon of the dried herb in 1 cup of hot water. Steep for 10 minutes, then strain. As an alternative to gotu kola, look for a cream containing chamomile, licorice, or witch hazel. All of them reduce skin inflammation.
Ideal Remedy for Eczema: A remarkable remedy can be mase for eczema using slippery elm and chaparral. Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil, adding approximately 4 heaping tbsp. cut, dried chaparral. Reduce heat to low and simmer an hour and a half. Reduce the liquid to just 1 quart or so. Strain liquid into a clean jar and store unused amount in refrigerator until needed. Pour a cup of the warm liquid into a small saucepan. In a cup, combine enough cold water and powdered slippery elm until thoroughly mixed. Turn this into the hot chaparral liquid on the stove and heat up. Stir constantly to form a thick paste. You need to do a little experimenting perhaps in order to achieve the right consistency. Spread this mixture on several strips of clean surgical gauze with a wooden ladle. Add a tbsp. of olive oil to the mixture in the pan before spreading. This will keep it from drying out so fast. Apply this to any rash, eczema, or dermatitis. Leave for several hours at a time. Repeat process a couple of times each day. Healing should be imminent before you realize it. Using jimsonweed in place of chaparral is more effective but as jimsonweed is a poisonous herb, better avoid it.
Wild pansy: This is a traditional herbal treatment for acne, eczema, impetigo, itching and other skin problems. And modern research supports using this herb as a treatment for skin problems. Germany’s Commission E, the expert panel that judges the safety and effectiveness of herbal medicines, approves of using pansy tea as a skin treatment. You can make a tea with about one teaspoon of dried herb per cup of boiling water, steep it for ten minutes.
Walnut for Skin Inflammations: Using walnut leaves for treating mild superficial skin inflammations is very effective. Steep two teaspoons of crushed leaves in a cup of boiling water, then apply the tea when cool. Some herbalists suggest adding a handful of crushed walnut leaves to baths for treating eczema.

Tips to Get Instant Rash and Itch Relief

To cool your itch, soak a washcloth in ice-cold milk and lay the cloth onto the itchy area. Repeat several times daily as needed.
An infusion of grated Horseradish root in milk is good to relieve the itching of eczema.
For an oozing rash, apply calamine lotion. It can help with the itching and also dry out the rash.
Intense Itching Disappears: Steep a handful of cut, fresh sage leaves. Lightly crushed first and then add in 1 pint of boiling water for about an hour. Strain the liquid and use to bathe the affected parts. Generously sprinkle whole wheat flour, while the skin is still wet with this solution. Use whole wheat flour and not white flour. Leave to dry. Relief came within 10 minutes as a rule.
To soothe inflammation and itching and to relieve tension, add chamomile, geranium, or lavender to your bath or to a cream. Use these oils separately or together.
After you bathe, use a heavy cream-based moisturizer to guard the skin against irritants. Even petroleum jelly or solid vegetable shortening, such as Crisco, works well. Avoid water based lotions, as well as lotions that contain fragrance.
During winter months, use a humidifier in your bedroom to help keep your skin moist.

Preventive Tips to Avoid Eczema

Here are few tips to avoid eczema. But even after following tips, if you still got eczema try our above mentioned eczema home remedies to get permanent itch relief.

Keep out of the water that means no dish washing, frequent hand washing, or long showers as much as possible. Keep your baths and showers under 10 minutes. In fact, don’t bathe every day if you don’t have to. Eczema tends to get worse when skin is dry, and excessive bathing washes away the protective oils that keep your skin moist.
Eat pumpkin or sunflower seeds daily. They are excellent sources of zinc, a mineral that encourages the proper metabolism of essential fatty acids.
Stay away from eczema aggravators, such as harsh soaps and anything you discover you’re sensitive to.
Drink a glass of clean water every two waking hours to flush out toxins and to encourage skin health.
Hard as it may be, avoid scratching. If the itchy spot is somewhere way too accessible, such as your wrist or the back of your hand, cover it with a small bandage to remind yourself not to scratch. Some people scratch in their sleep. If you’re waking up with scratched skin, wear thin cotton gloves or a pair of socks over your hands at night. Keep your fingernails cut short to minimize skin damage if you do scratch.
During winter months, use a humidifier in your bedroom to help keep your skin moist.
Guard your skin with a thick, heavy duty cream not a watery lotion.
If you’re constipated, your body will have to find another way to get rid of wastes and that usually means that toxins are expelled through the skin. Eat plenty of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. They’re full of fiber and will keep your digestive tract clean.
To minimize sweating in the summer, which can aggravate eczema, run the air conditioner.
Rely on your dishwasher as much as possible to avoid contact with detergents and water. When you do wash dishes, wear a pair of lined rubber gloves or wear rubber gloves over a pair of thin cotton gloves. Avoid direct contact with latex, since it can cause allergic reactions and make eczema worse in some people.
Consider whether something you’ve touched has caused a breakout, and steer clear of these substances in the future. Nickel earrings and other jewelry can cause contact dermatitis. Latex, cosmetics, perfumes, and cleaning agents are also reasons for dermatitis.
Candidiasis is a possible cause of eczema, so eat cultured or sour products every day to stimulate the growth of “good bacteria.”
A little morning sunlight on your skin promotes healing, so take walks early in the day. If you live in a warm climate, be careful. Don’t let your skin burn.

Caution: If your eczema is widespread or keeps recurring despite your self-care treatments, contact your doctor. And you’ll need a doctor’s attention as soon as possible if an itchy patch of skin begins to show signs of infection. These include crusting sores, pus, red streaks on the skin, excessive pain, swelling, or fever.