My Recent Eczema Flareup

Filed Under Eczema Treatment, Eczema Skin Symptoms, Eczema Pictures, Eczema Diet, Eczema Symptoms, Natural Eczema Treatment | 8 Comments

I seem to be having another round of mild eczema attack, although at a much smaller scale. The affected parts are now pretty much localised to my right and left heel and a spot on my upper right leg, that refused to go away even after 2 months. I had gotten a cut sometime ago on my upper right leg and I started to scratch it. The spot soon became bigger and as it appears today, it is about a circle measuring a radius of about 2 cm of slightly reddened and darkened skin, occassionally itching around the edges.

Here is my latest eczema picture on the heel of my right leg…

I attribute one of the triggers to food. I’ve become less vigiliant over the last 3-5 months as I just could not resist tucking in to a few of my known food triggers. If you need to know, I’ve got a weakness for sambal (chilli fried with dried prawns). It has been difficult for me to resist laksa or sambal chicken while watching my husband eat these delicacies! Not many hours later after some of these meals, I could feel a tingling sensation that soon set off a mild level of itch.

What luck, I thought, here’s my chance to do more investigation so that I can truly erradicate eczema.

So a couple of days ago, I consulted a Naturopathic doctor, who as I found out later, was also an ex-eczema sufferer. Dr Sebastian Liew runs the clinic somewhere near Holland Village, which is not too far from where I live.

I also brought my younger daugther along with me. She had been having a round of itching around the creases of the inside of her elbow.

As it was our first consultation, I had to fill up questionaires about our medical history. The questionaire was very thorough, asking everything from emotional to physical ailments previously suffered. Dr Liew explained that an eczema treatment is best based on a holistic approach because mental states such as emotional stress could also contribute to a flareup.

His diagnosis? Dr Liew observed that my case was at best mild. He recommended that I take the food allergy and leaky gut tests. A food allergy test will help to determine what food substances I should be avoiding, while a leaky gut test will help determine whether my gut is leaky and in need of repair. Dr Liew explained that the food allergy test done will require a blood sample.

My previous food allergy test was made using a non-invastive bio-feedback testing system known as the Avatar, done at least 3 years ago. (For those who are interested in finding out more about the Avatar, please refer to this site runned by Shazar Robinson, a practitioner from Australia whom I consult whenever she stops by in Singapore).

Just the thought of having blood taken from me, and even for the slighest dose, is enough to make me squeamish. I decided to give the food allergy test a skip as the cost of doing it is prohibitive and I was wondering if I could still rely on the results of my previous test with the Avatar. Perhaps I should check with Shazaar on its continued validity, I thought.

In the end, I bought only the kit for the leaky gut test plus the following supplements as recommended by Dr Liew:

1) EFAs (essential fatty acid)
EFAs help to hydrate the skin from the inside. The supplement that he put us on is a blend of evening primrose and fish oils.

2) Centella
Centella is a herb that is known to aid in the healing and repairing of skin wounds.

3) Probiotics.
Probiotics is to help improve gut flora, which may be in a state of imbalance causing eczema to show up as an indication.

4) Triphala.
Triphala is a blend of three Ayurvedic herbs (herada, amla and behada) used to promote digestion and for cleansing. It is also used to tonify the colon, thereby aiding in internal cleansing naturally.

For topical application, he prescribed me a spray which is made out of wheatgrass. As I’ve previously reported, wheatgrass has excellent skin enhancing properties due to its high chlorophyll content, found to be beneficial for detoxification.

For my daugther, Dr Liew suggested that she take the EFAs, probiotics as well as to topically apply wheatgrass cream.

Well, I came home laden with all these goodies. I had expected the consultation to be a short one but as it turned out, the visit lasted 1 1/2 hours. My daugther and I have started on our cocktail of supplements but it will be too prelimnary at this point to say if they are helpful or not. However, do stay tuned over the next few days on a post about the leaky gut test which I’ll be taking.

Oct

19

What Is Lichen Simplex?

Filed Under Eczema Skin Symptoms, Eczema Symptoms | 2 Comments

Lichen Simplex picture What is lichen simplex? Lichen simplex sounds like a disease but it is not. It describes more of a condition or a symptom. It develops when you habitually scratch a certain area of your skin for a long period of time. Gradually, you find that this scratching causes a hardening and thickening of your skin. The affected area becomes more noticeable. The pigment of this area also can make it look darker.

What causes lichen simplex? It is normally most common in eczema patients, but it can be a condition that anyone may suffer from. This itching is due to the fact that the nerve endings in a particular area are irritated and this irritation causes you to begin the scratch-itch-scratch cycle that worsens the lichen simplex. The more you scratch this specific area, the more that it may itch.

Lichen simplex is usually concentrated on one specific area of the body, most commonly the ankle, hand, or a spot on the back. This area is not normally a huge area; it can be a very small area, even as small as the upper eyelids.

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