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Home » What Is Real Food? » Healthy Eating

How One Mom Healed Her Son's Eczema (Naturally!)

This is a guest post from Jennifer Roberge who is the founder of the award-winning Its An Itchy Little World blog and The Eczema Company. Propelled to find a solution for her son’s struggles with eczema, allergies, and asthma, Jennifer has established herself as the go-to resource on integrative and holistic methods, and the best natural products for healing both inside and out.


My son was just three months old when he started to develop red, dry, itchy patches of skin. I watched as his tiny, little body became covered head-to-toe in eczema so terrible, it resembled severe burns. In vain, I pleaded with him to stop scratching himself raw. I took him to numerous doctors and dermatologists. And, I applied a variety of different medications on him, including the prescribed topical steroids. 

Jennifer Roberg's son with eczema

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But still, he scratched. And tossed and turned all night. He wasn’t getting any better.

It was heartbreaking. As a mother, watching him suffer—and not being able to take away his pain—was my worst nightmare come true.

Today, I am grateful and relieved that my son’s eczema is 98% healed. It was a long, dark, and painful journey, but we got there in the end, and I’m proud to say that we got there on the natural path. I focused on healing through the foods he consumed and using natural eczema treatments instead of topical steroids. 

In the hopes that my experience will help you and your loved ones suffering from eczema, I’m sharing my story with you today. 

Foods That Trigger Eczema 

I think we can all agree that there is a connection between a healthy diet and our overall well-being. What many of us don’t realize, however, is that what we eat also drastically affects our skin. In fact, for those with eczema, what we eat can be the difference between an irritating flare-up and clear skin.

The relationship between eczema and diet became apparent to my family when we conducted a food elimination diet, which I explain in more detail below. This diet helped us more clearly identify that gluten, dairy, soy, corn, tomatoes, almonds, and a few others were all triggering my son’s eczema to flare.

After some rigorous research, I learned that, while everybody is unique, certain foods are more prone to trigger eczema than others. I also learned that there are plenty of anti-inflammatory foods that are known to reduce eczema symptoms.

Eczema trigger foods include...

  • Gluten
  • Eggs
  • Soy
  • Dairy
  • Citrus fruits (such as lemons, grapefruit, and limes)
  • Nuts

Many of these foods are problematic because they are hard to avoid as they are found in most breads, pastas, cakes, cookies, and cereals. If any of these foods are causing problems (as they were with my son) an adverse reaction will likely occur within 6-24 hours of consuming the food but can occur up to 48 hours later.

Showing extreme eczema breakout on little boy

Eczema Elimination Diet

Finding the offending foods is the tricky part and, as I mentioned earlier, an elimination diet can help. Essentially, this means removing certain foods from your or your child's diet (such as the top 8 allergens; milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soybeans) for 1-2 weeks for younger children (much longer for adults) and then slowly reintroducing them to your diet.

This process really helped us pinpoint the foods which were causing a reaction in my son. I highly recommend giving it a try before undergoing any other dietary changes. Some diets may encourage eating more substantial quantities of certain foods, and if they are triggers for you, you’ll see your eczema get much worse, not better. This happened to us, and it’s quite discouraging.

I recommend working with a dietician, nutritionist, or physician when undergoing an elimination diet to make sure you or your child is still getting a well-balanced diet full of all essential nutrients.

If you’re wondering how to start an elimination diet and identify your food triggers, make sure to read this blog post I wrote as it gives a thorough how-to on undergoing this diet successfully: How to Start an Elimination Diet for Eczema.

Helpful Foods

Fortunately, some foods are known to reduce eczema symptoms for some. For example...

  • Salmon and herring contain high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, making them extremely beneficial for those with eczema because they are anti-inflammatory.
  • Foods that are high in probiotics, such as kefir, kombucha, sourdough bread, miso soup, tempeh, and naturally fermented pickles, can also be helpful. These help to encourage good bacteria growth in your gut. A healthy microbiome is key to good skin and overall health, as studies are now beginning to prove.
  • Blueberries, kale, and broccoli are high in quercetin, which is a powerful antioxidant and antihistamine. So throw the first two in a smoothie, along with some kefir (if you can tolerate dairy), and blend up a probiotic and antioxidant-rich beverage.

Try a Plant-Based Diet

Animal protein is hard to digest, leaving less time for your body to heal. On the other hand, plant-based foods including vegetables, fruits, and whole grains are much easier to digest and are naturally anti-inflammatory. Since eczema is an anti-inflammatory disease, this makes a plant-based diet perfect for finding relief from eczema.

Since everyone’s skin is different, just as everyone's body is different, plant-based may not be right for you. Some people do better on a plant-based diet, while others may find a more carnivorous diet is right for them, like the Paleo diet.

The Paleo Diet 

Healing diets like the Paleo diet also reduce the severity of eczema by eliminating inflammatory foods. Personally, we eliminated eggs, dairy, grains, and more and instead focused on more nutrient-dense foods, and we saw a real improvement in my son’s skin. These foods help heal the gut wall and reduce chronic inflammation associated with auto-immune diseases. 

For more information on helpful diets you can try—such as The Alkaline Diet, Gluten-Free Diet, and The Eczema Cure Diet—check out our post Eczema 103: Naturally Healing Eczema from Within.
100 Days of Real Food is also a great resource for learning how to eliminate processed foods from your family’s diet. Sometimes all you need is to clean up the diet and move to eating whole, nonprocessed foods to start seeing the skin healing. In fact, that’s the best first step you can take.

Four Natural Eczema Treatments 

When my son’s itching was at its worst, all I wanted to do was stop his relentless scratching.

  1. These ScratchMeNot Mitten Sleeves were a lifesaver. They have flaps that we would keep open during the day, so he was still able to play, and fold over his hands at night, so the whole house would slept soundly knowing he was protected. They also work great for adults. 
  2. For soothing relief, we moisturized with Organic Manuka Skin Soothing Cream. My son loved the soft, buttery texture, and I loved how gentle it was on his sensitive skin—no stinging or burning! Plus, it contains only six ingredients making it the all-natural solution of our dreams—especially because most drugstore brands we tried contained some variety of alcohol which burned his skin!
  3. Manuka honey on eczema is a wonderful treatment, as it provides both anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.
  4. Wet and dry wrap therapy ... see details below!
Organic Manuka Skin Soothing Cream
YORO Naturals, Remedy Wear

Wet and Dry Wrap Therapy

Finally, to treat more advanced flare-ups, we tried wet wrap therap. This process involved applying a natural emollient to my son's body and then wrapping him in a wet piece of clothing covered by a dry layer. We usually did this after giving him a warm bath. Once we removed the clothing (usually after about 2 hours), we re-applied the moisture to his body.

Dry wrapping is also a great therapy for eczema that requires less time and less mess. This therapy simply consists of sealing the skin with a natural emollient and covering with a dry cloth or piece of clothing. Dry wrapping can be done overnight (without making things wet) so as to let the cream further penetrate the skin and provide long-lasting relief.

For full body or specific body area dry wraps, check out our Remedywear, eczema clothing<. These garments offer soothing comfort and protection with their TENCEL and anti-inflammatory zinc fibers.  [caption id="attachment_177053" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] YORO Naturals, Remedy Wear[/caption]

Additionally, in a clinical study [1], TENCEL and Smartcel™ Sensitive was proven to reduce the severity of atopic dermatitis, reduce itchiness and improve quality of sleep when worn overnight for three consecutive nights.

Healing my son was not an easy journey. It took a lot of time, research, and trial-and-error, but we’ve come so far and I am happy to share what I've learned to help others. Today, his food allergies and sensitivities are mostly gone, and his skin is gloriously clear. I am so grateful we were able to heal him from within, and I hope you can experience the same results as we did!

Jennifer and her son from The Eczema Company

References

[1] Wiegand, 2013, Skin-protective effects of a zinc oxide-functionalized textile and its relevance for atopic dermatitis. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol; 6: 115–121. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3656624/

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About Jennifer Roberge

Jennifer Roberge who is the founder of the award-winning Its An Itchy Little World blog and The Eczema Company. Propelled to find a solution for her son’s struggles with eczema, allergies, and asthma, Jennifer has established herself as the go-to resource on integrative and holistic methods, and the best natural products for healing both inside and out.

Comments

  1. Lisa says

    January 12, 2020 at 5:12 am

    My little guy had the worst case of baby acne/ heat rash/ cradle cap/ potential eczema - his skin got progressively worse until they all showed up at once. I tried calendula cream and aquaphor first; they kept the symptoms under control, but didn’t get rid of them. 2-3 days with Foderma eczema serum everything cleared up...thank goodness! I know doctors say his skin will eventually heal itself, but those bumps look really scary!

    Reply
  2. Laura says

    January 03, 2020 at 12:45 am

    My daughters eczema was so bad, almost the length of her whole arm on both arms, the only options offered to me by the GP were steroid creams, bleach baths and antibiotics, none of which we used. We had her allergy tested by a Homeopath, removed gluten and within two months her eczema was gone, it was crazy!

    Reply
  3. Mike Benjamin says

    December 13, 2019 at 1:39 am

    Eczema is a very old disease. It is very difficult to remove this disease from the root. Infected area gradually larger day by day. And the infected person feel very harassed from mentally as well as physical pain also. I have personal felling for this disease, I have suffered this disease earlier. At least 10 plus it covered me with infection. Thanks a lot to the writer Jennifer Roberge who shared this all who are unfortunately have infected through this disease. I have shared this article with my courageous. Hope this will provide a light to remove this disease.

    Reply
  4. Miriam says

    November 29, 2019 at 6:18 am

    I believe I have eczema, although there are no visible signs I have itchiness in various parts of my body. Foderma eczema serum relieves the itchy discomfort. I used to use a prescription topical ointment called Desowen, but foderma does the same effective job.

    Reply
  5. Laureen says

    November 25, 2019 at 1:18 pm

    I have eczema and it's worse on my legs. I looked long and hard for something to treat it and Foderma Eczema Serum is hands down the best moisturizer ever. I will never use anything else ever again. I buy multiple tubs at a time so I never run out. I can't stress enough how amazing this stuff i

    Reply
  6. Allison says

    November 25, 2019 at 12:57 pm

    I have pretty bad eczema and had been treating it with steroids for basically my whole life until I came upon Eczema Serum of Foderma. My eczema has all but gone away after using it after every shower. If I skip it or use a different moisturizer, my eczema comes back so I know this is what's doing it. I know eczema treatment products can vary wildly in effectiveness from person to person, but for me, foderma has worked wonders.

    Reply
  7. jameela says

    November 20, 2019 at 5:35 am

    Hi Jennifer,
    It's a great thing for having such a post from a mother like you. I never realize the natural way of Eczema treatment. Your post helped me to share this topic with my family. Thanks a lot for the great information and also for being such a protective mother. write more. As one of your viewer I am looking forward to seeing your post...

    Reply
  8. Mo says

    November 15, 2019 at 10:06 am

    What a great article - I shared the link with one of my colleagues who was desperately seeking a natural solution for her eczema, which she's had since childhood. She's started to make little changes and is already seeing some improvement. It's a long journey but she is very happy x

    Reply
  9. krissh says

    November 01, 2019 at 8:30 am

    Jen,
    Thanks for sharing your experience. really appreciate it.

    Reply
  10. Pratishtha says

    November 01, 2019 at 7:45 am

    The feeling of curing your son of your own must be amazing Jennifer. I love the way you did it. Specially plant based diet and natural cures you tried. Keep up the green lifestyle. More power to you!

    Reply
  11. Jonathan Wang says

    October 30, 2019 at 4:48 am

    People living with eczema, often spent a lot on medications but it comes back. I'm so glad that you have found some natural treatment for eczema. Thanks for sharing your experience Jennifer, it may help others who are suffering from Eczema for so long.

    Reply
  12. Piel says

    October 26, 2019 at 11:23 am

    Jen,
    Its amazing that you healed your son by yourself. Indeed such an effort and efforts never wasted. Thanks for sharing your experience.

    Reply
  13. Kathy says

    October 17, 2019 at 3:48 pm

    Jennifer,
    So glad you found a solution for your son! We had a similar, yet not so severe issue with one of our sons. It hurts so much to see your child suffer! So glad we found a healthy solution for our son. Great article and wonderful resources!

    Reply

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