Thursday, August 11, 2011

Natural Ways to Treat Eczema Without Harsh Drugs

By Elissa Turner


Eczema is an acute inflammation of the skin. Symptoms include skin that is itchy, reddish in color and can break out with oozing lesions that turn crusty and scaly. Common areas for the outbreaks are the scalp, hands, face and wrists. A common cause of eczema is food allergies. Removing them from your diet, using topical applications, consuming foods rich with flavonoids and taking supplements are all natural ways to treat eczema.

The primary treatment of eczema is to identify and eliminate food allergies. The most common food allergens that promote eczema are milk, eggs and peanuts. Studies have found that these three foods accounted for 81% of all cases of childhood eczema.

If you suffer from eczema, start by eliminating these foods from your diet. Consult with your physician to determine if there may be other foods contributing to your condition. Finding the foods responsible will be a process of elimination.

Licorice extracts added to some external creams is a superb topical application for eczema. It contains soothing agents that work very effectively on the itching. Using the cream three to four times in a day will reduce inflammation and help restore healthy skin.

Plants naturally provide antioxidants in the food we eat such as fruits and vegetables. These antioxidants are flavonoids; they help the body produce disease fighting enzymes. Consuming flavonoid rich foods are one of the natural ways to treat eczema.

Some berries, red beans, some teas and red wine are excellent sources of flavonoids. Other foods include red and yellow vegetables and fruits.

The healing and restoration of our skin improves when taking zinc supplements. This mineral strengthens the performance of the immune system and effectively assists in the healing process of skin.

As the levels of zinc increase in the body, the copper levels decrease. To restore the copper levels a copper supplement can be taken. However, it would only be necessary if you take the zinc supplement for more than a month.

Several natural ways to treat eczema are available without having to buy prescription drugs. Determining food allergies would be the first step to treating this condition. Next, you can take supplements or apply topical applications to relieve some of the symptoms. A combination of these suggestions may eventually stabilize your eczema.




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