hello!
i have eczema and i'm having a major flareup
I was wondering if anyone has any natural recipes or remedies for this? i'm particularly looking for topical ointment, salves, balms, creams, etc......
thanx!

Guess it's too much to ask if you live near the ocean, huh? Something about the salt water and maybe the sun always cured it in my family, at least through the summer.

Beth

Lush has this AMAZING soap that's made from calamine powder that a friend of mine reccomended--it's called Fresh Farmacy. They have totally cool all-natural freshly made stuff (a good chunck is vegan too), but since they're a Canadian and UK company, I always end up blowing considerable cash on their websites. Great great stuff.

www.lushcanada.com and www.lush.uk.co

I don't know if you live near a Thai grocery store, but there is this amazing powder called "St. Lukes Prickly Heat"...it works wonders. It is a menthalated talc and feels really nice on irritated skin.

Hi everyone--

I also suffer from eczema and have found a homeopathic remedy that works very well for me.

It's called Florasone Cream, made by Boericke & Tafel. I buy it from a local pharmacy that carries natural products, and I've also seen it on the Web.

The active ingredient is cardiospermum, which has been used in Africa and Asia for centuries for inflammation, itching etc. You just rub it on as much as is necessary--up to 3 times a day.

Good luck!

Well my poor husband suffers from this condition on his feet. I have found a DIY that has worked wonders for him. I make him clean his feet and dry them. Afterwards we use a sterilized pin to pop the bubbles and use tissue to absorb all the moisture. I them use cotton balls to rub virgin olive oil over his feet and make sure I get the areas most effected with extra oil. He then leaves his feet open to the air for at least one hour. This has helped him tremendously and I haven't had to go out and buy anything...just reached into my kitchen cupboard. Good luck!
Ginberry

hi there. i used to live in Suriname, where people would encourage me to add the leaves of a plant called "neem" to my bath water. i know that you can buy Neem toothpaste from some health food stores, so you might be able to find one that would stock an oil or a skin cream from that plant.

other home remedies (habits) that work for me - cold compresses which reduce the itch almost immediately, extra sleep helps a lot, tepid oatmeal baths, no soap, and not showering every day, though I find that in major flare-ups, you need serious help or it spirals out of control - but in between these things keep it at bay. btw, you might accidentally be making it worse if you're using a cream containing lanolin. nivea cream is pretty rich but lanolin-free and you can usually pick it up for pretty cheap.

(some people swear by flax seed oil and evening primrose oil. You might check with a health food store on vitamins to take. I tried that route, but it didn't work for me.) Good luck. i wouldn't wish this on anyone!

to everyone: thanx!
to psyche: i ordered that creme.
I have found that vitamin e is extremely beneficial for ma eczema...i open liquid capsules of it and rub it directly on the affected area... vitamin e soap helps retain moisture, so i don't feel like the sahara as i step from the shower. essential fatty acids are very important for skin elasticity and health...you can take a supplement like Flax Seed Oil or Evening Primrose oil to make up for the fatty acids you aren't getting in your diet. Apparently foods like red meats and dairy products contain arachidonic acid which promotes inflammation. the two oils i mentioned above inhibit and prevent the storage of AA.
Lavender promotes healing and fights inflammation. Other beneficial herbs are burdock root, yellow dock, sarsaparilla, chaprral, dandelion, ginger, goldenseal, and milk thistle. Drinking lots and lots of water and detoxing are also very beneficial because they flush toxins from your body. I find that going to concerts, raves, and clubs exceberates ma eczema, probably because of all the moisture lost due to sweating and dehydration (a small price to pay for the elation of dancing ma ass off!) NOTE: this is just a theory of mine but, if you indulge in the use of ecstacy and have a dry skin problem drink lots and lots and LOTS of water becoz ecstacy (especially combined with dancing and hot nasty clubs) can lead to severe dehydration...which will not only fuck up yer skin, but also can cause you to pass out and even, possibly, die.
**you may be thinking, damn! how did she get so knowlegable? well, the day i posted ma original plea for help, i also consulted all the books at the health store i work at and this is what i learned!**

Have I died and gone to heaven? Forgive me, I'm swooning over this website...everything from hairstyles to eczema! I feel like I've found my long lost sisters. I too, suffer from eczema, but not the blistery kind. I get intense itching on my lower legs, and I fear I've passed it on to my little baby. After clearing it up initially with some much needed (short-term) cortisone cream, I've continued to keep it at bay with a couple of diy's. 1) Add a cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle of the wash 2) Aquafor, an over-the-counter product, but one that is really effective. I like it better than Eucerine because it absorbs beatifully and you don't feel like an old lady wearing white gloves and socks during the night.