07/08/2020
Why is my eczema not healing??
A frequent question by many. There are many reasons but I am going to suggest a few here:
Low Vitamin D Levels
Although Vitamin D comes from the sun – just living in a sunny city may not give you enough Vitamin D you need. For instance, in Sunny Singapore, 42% of Singaporeans are Vitamin D deficient. In fact, Scientists have found that vitamin D is crucial to activating our immune system and healing eczema.
Without sufficient vitamin D, the killer cells of the immune system (T cells) won’t be able to react and fight off infections in the body. A fault in the immune memory can cause eczema/dermatitis and psoriasis
Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin – so keep in mind that it’s best absorbed when taken with fats, such as oils!
Hormones
Hormones are substances produced by the body that can cause a wide variety of symptoms. When the levels of certain hormones in your body increase or decrease, some people with eczema (especially women) may experience flare ups.
Heavy Metal Toxicity
Yes…heavy metals can also affect your eczema healing! These are examples of heavy metals I’m referring to:
Lead (found in lipstick or even water pipes that are still made of lead)
Mercury (found in fish or even mercury fillings)
Iron
Arsenic
Cadmium
Nickel
Bismuth
Heavy metal poisoning can affect any organ in your body. The most serious affects are seen in the blood and central nervous system. Heavy metals can also seriously harm detoxification organs (the liver, kidneys and lungs), which can create eczema, since heavy metal poisoning involves skin irritation and damage to skin cells.
Eczema can also show up as a form of contact allergy and it will appear as eczema wounds. So the question is – how do you know if you have heavy metals? Almost everyone has some form of heavy metal in their body these days. It’s not really a question of whether you have it, but it is more a question of how much you have in your cells.
You can check to see if you have heavy metal toxicity by doing a hair mineral analysis or a urine test
This is why detoxification is so important for your skin – the more you can detox toxins and heavy metals out of your body, the less chance it can irritate your skin and immune system and the more you’ll see signs eczema is healing.
Harsh Skincare Products
Do you pay close attention to what goes into the moisturizers and personal care products that you are using?
Because eczema skin is very sensitive, anything that is harsh or irritating can worsen it,” Dr. Vickers says. “Products that are gentle and bland are recommended.” For this reason, I have to pass on most trendy skincare products — vitamin C serums and retinol oils are just too rough.
The United Nations Environmental Programme estimates that approximately 70,000 chemicals are in common use across the world, with 1,000 new chemicals being introduced every year. Of all the chemicals used in cosmetics, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health reported that nearly 900 are toxic, and that estimate might be low.
Some common eczema irritants found in skincare:
• Synthetic Fragrances
• Neomycin and bacitracin
• Formaldehyde,
• Isothiazolinones
• Cocamidopropyl betaine
• Paraphenylene-diamine,
• Petrochemicals (or by-products of Petroleum)
• Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) and Glycols (Propylene, Butylene, Etc.)
So do check for ingredients before purchasing.
Topical Steriod Addiction/ Withdrawal
Topical Steroids Withdrawal appears to be a clinical adverse effect that can occur when topical corticosteroids are inappropriately used or overused, then stopped. It can result from prolonged, frequent, and inappropriate use of moderate to high potency topical corticosteroids
Common symptoms include: weeping, burning and intense flare ups when steroid cream is discontinued. Many times, overusing steroid creams can lead to a cycle of addiction, where doctors begin prescribing more potent steroids to treat the worsening skin condition.
The majority of doctors and dermatologists will tell you that Topical Steroid Addiction is not “real”. Many people have had difficulties finding support from the medical community. Many parents who have stopped steroid creams on their children have been chastised by their paediatricians for doing so.
In essence, it comes down to each individual determining that steroid creams no longer help – they keep using more and more without any relief – suffering more and more throughout months or years.
Too Much Stress
We often overlook stress and we don’t even realize the extent that it affects us. Some people’s eczema symptoms get worse when they’re feeling “stressed.” Others may become stressed, just knowing they have eczema, and this can make their skin flare up.
We had a customer that just had trouble healing the last 5-10% of her skin. Even after working out with a very clean diet and removing a lot of triggers. It was until she quit her stressful job that the eczema natural healing started and the flare ups naturally disappeared. She was also able to go to bed early by 11pm.
Deficiency in Omega 3′s
Your skin is made up of fatty acids, and unfortunately, our diet in modern society is made up of too much Omega 6 and not enough Omega 3’s (which leads to inflammation). If your ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 is imbalanced (and studies show that most people nowadays have a ratio of 25:1 Omega 6 to Omega 3), you’ll most likely be more prone to having inflammation.
Since omega-3’s also help the body product important anti-inflammatory hormones, falling short of it can contribute to conditions, such as eczema, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and heart disease. A severe deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids can also result in dry skin, hair loss and an impaired immune system.
At the end of it, do not rush your healing, it does not come overnight. Since it’s taken years for bad habits of toxins to accumulate in your body, natural eczema healing will also take some time for your body to reverse the damage. 😉
