Natural remedies for eczema

1. Probiotics

As a functional medicine practitioner who consults people around the world I’ve seen enough cases to know that more often than not, inflammation is the undercurrent to most health issues in the body. When it comes to skin inflammation, L. rhamnosus (5) is a probiotic colony that is being explored for skin health, as it helps manage gut and immune health. This probiotic as well as L. plantarum help produce more filaggrin, a protective barrier for the skin, lower the chances of extreme allergies, and reduce severity in skin conditions. When using probiotics like these, you can decrease the likelihood of living with extreme eczema. 

2. Natural ointments and oils

With Atopic Dermatitis, it’s important to keep your skin moisturized (6) at all times since people with eczema have a weaker skin barrier and skin microbiome. With this damaged protective barrier, the skin is vulnerable to airborne allergens and irritating chemicals from materials. When this happens, it’s a lot more difficult for the skin to retain moisture, causing the skin to be dryer and more irritated. Products like ointments, moisturizers, and oils are best when it comes to applicable treatments and natural ingredients that will repair the protective barrier.

Borage Oil

Borage Oil is not known to prevent eczema altogether, but it can help those with mild cases and want to take a natural route. High in fatty acids like gamma and linolenic acid, Borage Oil (7) can help increase and maintain flaggarin in the body. 

Coconut Oil

Virgin coconut oil (8) can decrease the inflammation levels in the skin and preserve the protective skin barrier. This kitchen staple was shown to improve mild cases of eczema in just 8 weeks when it was applied daily. Coconut oil moisturizes the skin, working to prevent the issue of dry skin early on. 

Sunflower Oil

Sunflower Oil enhances hydration in your skin, and can even calm down the extreme side effects of eczema. When applied daily, studies have shown that sunflower (9) oil can repair damaged skin and lock in moisture.

Hemp Seed Oil

Hemp seed (10) oil doubles up on my favorite kind of fatty acids, Omega-3 and Omega-6. These are often found in foods like fatty fish, shellfish, and plants. Fatty oils that seal in moisture have shown improvements in itchiness, redness, and dryness in skin.

Aloe Vera

With aloe vera (11) being a natural moisturizer, any cream, oil, or ointment made with Aloe Vera will improve the overall immunity and dryness of your skin, while reducing the likelihood of wrinkles. However, I do recommend choosing quality aloe vera products that avoid any harsh and harmful ingredients that can irritate the skin. 

3. Light Therapy

Low doses of LED light and blue light therapy have been shown (12) to help lower symptom severity. Blue light (13) can help with inflammation, immune response, and infectious skin bacteria in eczema cases. 

4. Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting helps identify where your gut health is really at, and believe it or not it can be beneficial for inflammatory skin conditions. In my book, Intuitive Fasting, I talk about how chronic inflammation is the common issue beneath most major and minor diseases and dysfunctions in the body. A key benefit of intermittent fasting is that inflammation levels lower and the gut microbiome balances significantly, which can help improve eczema as these are both underlying triggers of this condition.

5. Elimination diet

Oftentimes, food allergies and sensitivities are directly linked to extreme cases of eczema or eczema flare ups. Through an elimination diet you can slowly cut out and reintroduce certain foods to see if that is one of the root causes of your irritated skin. In my book, The Inflammation Spectrum, I talk about this at length and walk you through how to uncover what foods trigger inflammation for you and what foods your body loves.

6. Colloidal Oatmeal Baths

Oat in its natural state is known to help improve and soothe dryness, itchiness, rashes and other severe symptoms of eczema. Studies show (14) that colloidal extracts of oat, often a powder form, also have anti-inflammatory properties.

Seeking help from a functional medicine expert

Eczema can be extremely uncomfortable and frustrating but thankfully there are many tools, protocols, and therapies in the functional medicine toolbox that have been clinically shown to help improve and reduce skin flares like eczema. In my telehealth functional medicine clinic, we specialize in identifying the underlying eczema triggers behind your symptoms in order to further personalize these solutions and achieve clear, hydrated skin. If you are currently struggling with eczema or another chronic skin problem, schedule a telehealth consultation today to learn more about how we can help you with functional medicine.

As one of the first functional medicine telehealth clinics in the world, we provide webcam health consultations for people around the globe. 

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