Eczema is a chronic skin condition that has surprisingly spiked 30% in Western Countries just within the last 30 years. In 2019, I had mysteriously developed my own form of Atopic Dermatitis and was shocked to learn many people like myself began having their own symptoms. Whether it was a new diagnosis or they had been dealing with eczema for years, the consensus was that it was absolutely awful to manage. I wove in and out of conversations that involved confusion, anger, and overall low hope in finding a treatment that could alleviate the daily pain symptoms of both chronic and reactive Eczema. I finally threw myself into hours of research just to figure out- what exactly is Eczema?
Eczema is a Multi-layered Inflammation Condition
As with any medical diagnosis, a holistic approach is best suited to start. Eczema or Atopic Dermatitis is when your skin becomes red, itchy, and overall very painful without a positive response using regular lotions. From a pathophysiology standpoint, it’s a skin condition reacting to: skin barrier dysfunction, unregulated cell immune responses, and environmental factors. When an inflammatory response happens, we want to check what is going both in and on our body routinely- which is why it starts with diet. Peanuts, milk, soy, fish and eggs are the usual culprits to skin inflammation. Diet adjustment would fall under “unregulated immune responses” or allergies, so I welcome everyone to open up a conversation with their personal physician about adjusting diet as a first response to an eczema flareup.
Next, we can check the textiles that are interacting with the top layer of our skin dermal layer daily. Both allergies and irritations occur when our skin is extra sensitive to the chemicals used to process clothing textiles. If you’re also prone to sweating and usually choose tight fitting clothing that are not breathable, that can also be a huge player in creating a negative environmental factor that’s stimulating the eczema. Pay attention to what you’re wearing when you feel the eczema worsening and stay away specifically from synthetic fabrics as they don’t absorb sweat properly.
Lastly, we want to see what products are being integrated into our skin-while paying close mind to where the inflammation is occurring. This part was extremely important in my own self healing journey as I found that the culprit to creating my reactive eczema response was my simple and safe dish soap. Once my dish soap stimulated my eczema, I began being hyper sensitive to even regular hand soap. My quick and easy fix to that was switching to organic and natural soaps, as the harsh cleaning chemicals found in popular soaps tend to be aggressively problematic for skin conditions in general. After understanding what Eczema is and how to treat environmental factors, we can ask the next question- “Why are people looking for alternative Eczema treatments?”
Modern RX Eczema Drugs Can Cause Treatment Resistance
A major theme I came across when learning about eczema treatment actually started with people’s treatment resistant scenarios. It seemed like people who especially dealt with chronic eczema continuously built up the resistance to the steroid drugs they were being prescribed. The reason this happens is fairly simple; the ingredients never have variability. When you create a synthetic drug in the lab, that is going to be the exact formulation over and over. Your body is a very fluid living organism that is constantly changing, and your body evolves to stop reacting positively to the drug treatment which in turn builds up a tolerance to steroid cream.
Another scenario came from people who relied on antibiotics to manage their chronic Eczema symptoms. Not only are antibiotics always formulated the same, but they’re predominately broad spectrum prescribed. This is a great choice when an issue cannot be pinpointed acutely, however in the process- the drug attacks both bad and good bacteria. This is why long term usage of antibiotics is greatly rejected, even in the Western Medicine that prescribes it. With all of that being said, how do natural ingredients compare?
Living, Natural Ingredients Can Support Inflammation More Efficiently
Like we touched upon previously-your body is a fluid living organism but …so are plants. Each time a Dandelion grows, it is still considered a Dandelion, but the chemical constitution is slightly different ranging from plant to plant. In comparison to the accuracy of synthetic drug formulations, the variability in chemical compounds actually works with your body better because you are unable to build up a tolerance to a substance that is constantly changing. It’s not so drastically different that the healing support doesn’t exist, but rather it is more in tangent to how bodies work naturally and how healing can be achieved long term without side effects.
What is a Natural Alternative to Eczema Treament?
All properly executed treatments are valid and it’s important to find which one responds to your system better-as everyone exists differently. After I developed Eczema, I wasn’t able to afford Steroid Cream under my insurance so I didn’t stop until I made a product that could help my situation. All of that research eventually poured into our glowing product Body Honey- which is an OTC offering that has supported both myself and many others in their journey to finding natural eczema relief.
Dandelyons Body Honey Ingredient Index
Dandelions (Global) – Despite being regarded as a “weed”, Dandelions are a powerhouse of nutrition and holistic healing topically. The herb has a concentration of taraxesterol, which has been proven to have significant attributes to alleviate muscle inflammation. This compound can help regulate white blood cells which will help your body disregard future reactions to triggered inflammation.
Tea Tree (Aboriginal Australia) – Tea Tree is s known best for its antibacterial properties that can stabilize inflammation on the skin from bacteria build up. The results of a 2011 study proved that it outperfmored both zinc oxide and clobetasone butyrate creams at treating eczema
Turmeric (India) – Turmeric has gained vast opularity around the world for many distinct healing properties. Althought this “western boom” has only existed for a few years, Turmeric has been a staple in Ayurvedic Practice for tens of thousands of years in Vedic culture (Known as Modern Day India). Curcumin is the chemical compound found in the plant and is responsible for being the power house in Turmeric’s anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties.
Shea Butter (Ghana) – Shea butter has swept the world for it’s vast list of uses- ranging from acne to relieving skin inflammation. I’ve observed many products on the market adding this ingredient to anti-inflammatory creams, but will be listed at the very bottom of the ingredient list due to low percentage. I’ve included Shea Butter as a top contender within our Muscle Balm because I trust the fat/oil content to preserve and deliver the rest of the product’s herbs for a long-acting pain release vehicle.
Calendula (Iran) – Calendula is native to the mediterreanean region; most specifically Iran. The herb found in both oil and liquid extraction form as proven results of anti-inflammatory support and helps create an environment of fibroplasia (development of tissue fibers through collagen stimulation).
Perilla Seed (Korea) – The Perilla Plant is quite popular in Korea for use in cooking- perilla leaves are widelyh accepted as an extremely healthy ingredient to use in vast majority of cuisine. The plant has also been shoing promise within the medical field as an antiviral topical agent for skin disorders. Perilla Seed Oil can effectively control molecular markers on the skin, resulting in an extremely efficien preventive ingredient in reducing skin flare ups
I fully support natural alternatives within environments that utilize clincal trials to develop safe and productive products that can be shared with relief-seeking customers. Mix that with our understanding of Earth’s true potential to healing- Dandelyons Alchemy is passionate about sharing the knowledge and support for a healthier global future.
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References:
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-Food and Bio-Industry Research Institute and 2Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, Kyungpook
National University, Daegu 702-701; 3Song Kwang Mae Won Co., Ltd., Chilgok 718-852, Republic of Korea
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-Jiang SH, Ping LF, Sun FY, Wang XL, Sun ZJ. Protective effect of taraxasterol against rheumatoid arthritis by the modulation of inflammatory responses in mice. Exp Ther Med. 2016 Dec;12(6):4035-4040. doi: 10.3892/etm.2016.3860. Epub 2016 Nov 2. PMID: 28101182; PMCID: PMC5228288.
-Lin TK, Zhong L, Santiago JL. Anti-Inflammatory and Skin Barrier Repair Effects of Topical Application of Some Plant Oils. Int J Mol Sci. 2017 Dec 27;19(1):70. doi: 10.3390/ijms19010070. PMID: 29280987; PMCID: PMC5796020.
