Eczema Of The Skin: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis And Treatment

Eczema can improve with a change in our diet. However, it is always important to go to the dermatologist to obtain a specialized diagnosis and some guidelines to alleviate the condition

In this article we are going to treat one of the most frequent skin lesions: eczema, also called eczemic dermatitis.

This skin disease has increased considerably in industrialized areas  due to environmental factors. For example, between 10% and 20% of the population in countries with high levels of pollution suffer from eczema.

We cannot forget that the skin is the largest organ in our body. Being the most exposed layer of the body, it receives contact from all kinds of external agents.
In turn, it is also the organ through which we can discover the warning symptoms of some other disease.

Find out what the causes and symptoms of this disorder are, as well as the most appropriate treatment.

What are eczema?

Eczema are skin inflammations that can appear anywhere on the body. In addition, this skin disorder can appear at any age and without a clear reason.

It is characteristic of this lesion that it occurs in many different ways:

• On the one hand, in most cases they appear accompanied by intense itching in the affected area, redness and even vesicles, blisters or spots.
• In the same way, it can disappear after a while or show great resistance to any treatment. This may be due to difficulty in determining its cause.

Types of eczema

Eczema has a very broad clinical pattern. The area of ​​the body where they can appear is also very diverse. Therefore, the types of eczema are divided depending on:

• Exogenous factors: irritant and allergic contact eczema.
• Endogenous factors: seborrheic dermatitis, atopic dermatitis and nummular eczema.

Causes of eczema

There is a long list of factors that cause or aggravate eczema. Thus, among them we can highlight the following:

• Environmental pollution.
• Contact with toxic substances.
• Unbalanced diet.
• Food intolerances.
• Shaving cosmetics, creams or lotions.
• Industrial or motor vehicle emissions.
• Environmental waste from power plants.
• Tobacco use.
• Genetic factors.
• Shampoos, hair dyes, hair products, etc.

Eczema symptoms

This skin disease has very striking and easily identifiable symptoms, because the signs are perceptible to the naked eye:

• Reddish patches, scabs, or blisters.
• Irritated areas on the patient’s skin, elbows or back of knees.

• Peeling scalp
• Watery ulcers, which can be prone to bacterial infections.

Diagnosis of eczema

To diagnose eczema, the appearance of the lesion is taken into account, however, it can be confused with other skin disorders.

The only diagnostic tests are those that determine if the cause is related to an allergy. It should be noted that due to the modern lifestyle and poor nutritional habits, the susceptibility of people to allergens has increased. 

Eczema treatment

Treatment consists of eliminating the factors that cause eczema, which, as we have seen, can be very varied.

Conventional medications are corticosteroids, antihistamines, or antibiotics. However, these are not always effective due to the difficulty of diagnosis or they may reappear after a while. In addition, they have side effects for health.

Rather, natural medicine relies on diet to determine the proper treatment for eczema.

Specific diet

People who suffer from eczema or, in general, skin problems, tend to abuse the consumption of dairy products, sugars, refined flours, baked goods and fats. In fact, the peeling of the skin denotes excess dryness.
This sign indicates an accumulation of fat under the skin and an overload of the digestive and lymphatic systems. 

Therefore, we must eliminate junk, refined and pre-cooked food from our diet (pizzas, french fries, hamburgers, ice creams, etc.) and increase the consumption of natural, fresh and nutritious foods :

• Fruits and vegetables, raw (salads, smoothies, juices) and cooked.
• Whole grains such as rice, millet, quinoa, or buckwheat.
• Vegetables.
• Nuts and seeds.
• Germinated.
• Fermented foods such as sauerkraut or kefir.
• Mushrooms
• Algae.
• First cold pressing vegetable oils: flax, evening primrose, olive, coconut.

Purifying plants

To combat the overload of toxins in the skin and other organs, we can take a natural remedy made with depurative medicinal plants. For this reason, we recommend some of the most beneficial:

• Nettle.
• Dandelion.
• Burdock.

We can take it as an infusion, extract or tablets for at least three months.