Eczema and dermatitis are successfully treated at this Perth clinic. As with other conditions, naturopathic dietary factors are combined with constitutional homeopathy to help resolve this irritating complaint. Homeopathic natural medicine treats eczema holistically, unlike conventional treatment that only alleviates and suppresses symptoms with external creams.
The terms eczema and dermatitis are often used interchangeably. Dermatitis simply means inflammation of the skin. Eczema is a specific form of dermatitis, and one of the allergic atopic diseases that also include hay fever and asthma. Although both have their basis in inherited weakness, I prefer to use the term dermatitis to describe skin rashes triggered by external factors such as soaps, detergents, cosmetics and contact with jewellery.
Eczema is best understood as caused by internal factors including food allergies. See the separate page on the treatment of allergies for further discussion.
Whereas allergies may be the trigger, they are not the real “cause”. As always in homeopathy, or any holistic understanding, it is not that simple. Indeed, if an allergy is identified and the food avoided, the symptoms may abate; but the allergic predisposition is still there and the body can just as easily become allergic to something else in the diet. In other words, the problem is not fixed. In homeopathic understanding, the true cause lies in the dynamic balance of a multitude of factors that affects and disturbs the body’s self regulating forces at the deepest level. It is from this level that all problems stem, and the cause must be sought for and treated at this level.
In homeopathy we call the body’s intelligence the Vital Force, or life energy if you like. In homeopathic understanding, everything is connected: the body (including all the organ systems), the mind, the emotions, the inheritance, and the result of suppression by drugs that weaken the body’s attempts to heal itself: all contribute to the final outcome.
All these elements are connected; and the health of the body, or the appearance of symptoms or disease if the body is unable to maintain true health, is simply a reflection of that dynamic balance. These outward symptoms of disease, in this case eczema, are a sum total of reflection of the disturbance to the Vital Force caused by a disturbance on one or more of these levels at the same time: body, mind and emotions. Please visit the page Homeopathy Explained if you wish to understand this further.
Eczema and dermatitis (like acne and psoriasis) are not just complaints of the skin. In fact, the skin is the body’s safety valve or “the canary in the coal mine” if you like. It is the first avenue the body uses to “throw out symptoms” when there is a disturbance that affects the body as a whole. It is better to express symptoms there than in more vital organs, such as the kidneys, lungs or heart, for example. The Vital Force protects more important organs first. And the most important organ of all is the mind.
Outbreaks of eczema are often linked to emotional disturbance. In this circumstance, the eczema is an outward expression of the emotional state. The physical symptoms help to relieve pressure and prevent more serious emotional breakdown. In itself, this is a healthy response. Suppression with cortisone cream puts the lid back on the pressure cooker (or as above, tries to plug the volcano. Excuse the mixed metaphor!)
Homeopathic treatment, on the other hand, attempts to take into account the emotional level and all other areas of imbalance. As prescribed by this clinic, the appropriate homeopathic remedy helps the body cope appropriately with the stress, grief or trauma; and symptoms are relieved because true balance is restored on all levels of the organism.
Homeopathy treats all other factors contributing to eczema. Inherited tendencies to atopic or allergic conditions are addressed with “miasmic” medicines that are individually prescribed to the patient’s past medical and family history. While the “constitutional remedy” that covers all aspects of the patient normalises an overactive immune response, other problems related to digestion and assimilation, such as “leaky gut syndrome”, are improved by remedies that work directly on the gastro-intestinal tract. Where necessary, we find the protocols developed early last century by Drs Bach and Paterson very useful here. In some cases, especially in children we find that vaccinations like MMR are a trigger to eczema, and remedies may help to antidote the negative effects. It is the skilful application of a series of remedies prescribed to the individual case that allows successful resolution of most cases of eczema seen in this Perth clinic.
We do not ignore the importance of diet. No case will completely resolve if the diet is poor. Most people with eczema have a problem with the metabolism of fatty acids (dietary oils). While the homeopathic treatment works to remedy this, the patient needs to reduce or eliminate vegetable oils (sunflower, safflower, etc.) and replace with virgin olive oil, flaxseed, avocado and lecithin. Omega 3 sources like fish and seafood need to be eaten at least every other day. Simple carbohydrates need to be reduced. Bread and dairy is best avoided except for natural yoghurt and sourdough loaves made from sprouted whole grains. Otherwise the diet that assists the naturopathic treatment of eczema is no different to that needed for optimum health, vitality and longevity.
In this 2007 study into skin issues including eczema and dermatitis a total of 88.3% of patients reported more than 50% improvement in symptoms, including lesions and itching. Out of 60 people, 6 reported a complete recovery, 23 had a 75% improvement, 24 found a 50% improvement and 7 experienced a a 25% improvement.