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Writer's pictureNCIFM
Sep 4

Eczema - getting to the root cause of this irritating skin condition


Eczema is a chronic inflammatory condition of the skin which affects both adults and children, with atopic eczema being the most common

Eczema is a chronic inflammatory condition of the skin which affects both adults and children, with atopic eczema being the most common.  In mild cases, the skin is dry, scaly, red and itchy while in more severe cases eczema can be more widespread and there may be weeping, crusting and bleeding and constant scratching which can lead to bleeding and skin infections. This is often particularly bad at night and can keep the sufferer awake. 

In healthy skin, the skin cells are tightly knitted together, and fats and oils help to keep the skin cells hydrated and keep harmful substances from entering through the skin. In eczema, the protective barrier is reduced, and the skin does not produce as many protective fats and oils and the skin cells don’t fit together as tightly. This causes moisture to be lost from the skin and the skin cells to be less plump. Tiny gaps develop between the cells allowing bacteria or irritants to gain entry. The causes the skin to become dry, inflamed and itchy.


The great news is, that there is much that you can do in functional and herbal medicine to support eczema, and our team are experienced and successful in helping this condition.  Our practitioners focus on identifying the root cause of the Eczema, which is unique to each person they see. They may look to support.

  • Fatty acid metabolism

  • Nutrient deficiencies

  • Gut health and the skin barrier

  • Immune health, and identifying environmental/food triggers


Our team may use Functional Diagnostic Testing to understand these imablances, where possible.

  • Gut Microbiome Testing: A comprehensive stool test measures biomarkers to evaluate for intestinal dysbiotic patterns, intestinal inflammation, and intestinal permeability that may influence gut and skin barrier function. 

  • IgE Food Allergy and IgG Food Intolerance Testing: About 80% of patients with eczema will have an elevated total and/or allergen-specific serum IgE level, making it the most consistent associated laboratory finding of eczema. Panels screen for allergic responses against environmental and dietary allergens. nutrients required to combat inflammation and support the skin barrier.


We would always start by working on these foundation changes which can be helpful for addressing eczema at all ages:

 

Try increasing: 

Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s) - found in oily fish, nuts and seeds

Foods that enrich the gut microbiome - taking a rainbow diet, 30 plant foods a week and fermented foods

Zinc rich foods -oysters, beef, chicken, chickpeas, almonds, cashews

Optimising Vitamin D

 

Try decreasing 

Sugar

Hydrogenated fats -margarine, heated oils, confectionary and sweets/processed foods

Stress

Consider a dairy free trial (ideally with practitioner support)

Chemicals used on the skin - synthetic detergents, skin creams, deodorants. Aim to use only natural products

 

Functional medicine is a model that can assess genetic, biochemical, and lifestyle factors to identify the triggers and mediators contributing to the problem.   Follow this link (https://www.ncifm-uk.com/functional-medicine) to find out more about our services and to begin your journey with a FM practitioner.  

 

We also have products in our award wining Dr Sally's Botanicals range which are ideal for helping in eczema and have been formulated by Dr Sally to help heal and reduce inflammation in the skin.




Just follow the links to find out more: 



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