One of the easiest things you can do to stay healthy and to help your body heal itself is to eat a nutritious diet.

Such a diet will help you boost your immune system and will provide you with the energy you need to help you cope with the stress of your condition.

Food is a wonderful and vital part of life.

Not only is it necessary for your survival, it contains a variety of special nutrients that actively help to fight disease. The compounds are known as photo-chemicals, and there are literally hundreds of these present in everyday foods.

Below is a list of vitamins and nutrients that are found in common foods and their impact on the human body.

Vitamin A - Repairs damaged skin and eases symptoms of allergic reactions.
Found in: Carrots, asparagus, spinach, parsley, apples, garlic

B Complex – Helps combat dryness and itchiness as well as relieving stress.
Found in: Rice, wheat germ, oatmeal, sunflower seeds, fish, eggs, almonds, liver, vegemite, yeast

Vitamin C -  Has anti-histamine effects and helps to combat skin infections.
Found in: Oranges, apples, garlic, onions, parsley, green leafy vegetables

Vitamin E – Valuable antioxidant that combats free radical damage.
Found in: Apples, parsley, rye, wheat germ, whole wheat, broccoli

Zinc - Aids healing and skin health and is a deficiency found in people with eczema.
Found in: Apricots, peaches, oysters, cocoa, eggs

Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids – Helps reduce inflammation of the skin.
Found in: Soya beans, grape seed oil, oily fish, walnuts, olive and sunflower oil

Natural therapies may be the preferred treatment of the future.

There is a definite trend towards natural therapies when it comes to treating eczema and psoriasis.  With the well known dangers of the prolonged use of steroids and now with growing fears that the wonder drugs Elidel and Protopic are not as safe as originally believed we find ourselves turning more and more to natural alternatives.

But what natural therapies should we use?

Selecting a treatment is a matter of trial and error.  Find a treatment that suits your skin and that helps relieve the symptoms and stick with it.

I have always been a strong advocate of arming yourself with as much information as possible.  Read as much as you can.  Talk to people with eczema.  Ask your doctor and your pharmacist.  The more you know the better able you will be to manage the condition.  And the better you manage your eczema the more comfortable and fulfilled your life will be.

So when you are looking for a natural treatment that you have not used before, how do you make your selection and how do you know if your new cream is working?

Selecting a new cream

1. There is no cure for eczema so beware of the products that advertise to cure your eczema.
2. Be cautious of products that do not reveal all of their ingredients.
3. Avoid products that contain added perfumes or preservatives (some preservatives are necessary but not an excessive amount).
4. Start off with a small jar and trial it on just one area of your body so that you can compare improvement.
5. Read about the new product – look for testimonials and side effects – is it a new product or has it been around for a while and proven itself as effective?
6. Consider usability – can you carry it with you or does it need to be kept in the fridge?
7. Think about what it is that you want from the cream.  Does the cream indicate that it could offer what you want?
8. Remember that not every cream will be effective for everyone.  It takes trial and error to find the correct cream for your skin.  Don’t be discouraged if the first cream you try doesn’t work for you.

How do you know if your new cream is working?

Eczema creams are designed to relieve the symptoms of eczema not to cure the condition.  If your cream is relieving the itchiness, redness, dryness or inflammation it is working.  How well it is working can only be determined by you.

Is it offering the amount of relief that you want?

If your eczema reappears when you stop using your cream this does not mean that the cream is not working but quite the opposite – your cream is working and needs to be reapplied.

If you are unsure how well the cream is working try applying it to just one area affected with eczema (ie one arm) and continue with your other methods of treatment on the rest of your body.  You can then compare the different parts of your body and the state of your eczema.

Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition in which new skin cells grow too quickly.  It causes thick, scaly patches on the skin and can be very uncomfortable and debilitating.  Each year thousands of psoriasis sufferers flock to the Dead Sea in Israel to bathe in the sea and have their Psoriasis relieved by the miracles of this highly salt concentrated body of enriched water.

Traveling across the world to the Dead Sea is not possible for everyone.  However one psoriasis sufferer, Dan Goldberg has decided to bring the Dead Sea to the psoriasis sufferer.  Dan is the founder of Mineralee, an enriched Dead Sea water product.

Dan experienced incredible results after bathing in the Dead Sea for only 4 days, so he went on to spend the next 3 years researching the springs that release the minerals into the Dead Sea. He developed his own product that he believed would benefit many psoriasis sufferers as he himself had been helped.

Mineralee water was developed.

The Mineralee water is extracted off the Eastern Shore of the Dead Sea and has high concentrates of magnesium, sodium, potassium, bromides, sulfates and other minerals added to it.  The water is undiluted, has no added fragrance or chemicals and is completely pure.

Dan believes the water has both haling and therapeutic qualities that will have both a positive physical effect as well as a positive mental effect for people using the water.

The chronic and debilitating effects of psoriasis make any new product of interest to those concerned.  Lets hope Mineralee will be able to help many psoriasis sufferers.

Eczema is a chronic inflammatory skin condition that requires constant attention to be kept under control. Whilst choosing the right creams for your skin are important adhering to your treatment regime is equally as important.

Dr Steven Feldman, M.D., from Wake Forest University School of Medicine recently wrote in an issue of Archives of Dermatology “non-compliance can explain why some skin conditions may seem resistant to treatment.”

Eczema is an individual condition

Eczema is a very individual condition and similarly treatment is also individual. However, success of a treatment will often depend on how compliant the patient is with following the instructions. Treatments need to be used for several days before they can safely be ruled out as ineffective.

Dr Feldman went on to say, “Physicians must develop practical measures to improve patients’ compliance: establishing strong, trusting physician-patient relations, choosing medications that can fit patients’ lifestyles, using patient education materials designed to motivate without overly stressing risks and scheduling a follow-up visit shortly after initiating new treatment.”

Consider lifestyle when selecting treatments

A person’s lifestyle needs to be considered. Some people find applying creams several times a day difficult but are able to take oral medication without any trouble. Others find that treatments applied only at bath time or bedtime are easiest to comply with.

It is not only the type of treatment the patient is going to use that is relevant in the patients’ compliance but also the patient-doctor relationship.

Feldman noted that “Patients who are more satisfied with their visit are more trusting of their doctor, worry less about adverse effects and use their medication more regularly.”

These studies indicate the importance of doctors developing good relations with their patients and frequent follow-ups to ensure treatments are being used as instructed and offering the results required.

Patients using over the counter treatments to control their eczema need also to take these factors into consideration and select treatment forms that they feel they can comply with.

Having a positive outlook about the treatments being used will also assist in compliance and increase the chances of success with the treatment.

2 Months

That is the age that atopic eczema frequently first appears.

It is rare for a baby to develop atopic eczema before the age of two months.  The reason for this is unclear however one theory is that the baby’s nervous system is too immature prior to this age to enable the baby the ability to scratch.

Eczema is characteristically quite severe in the early months often becoming less severe by the age of two years old.

Skin oozes and crusts

For a baby who develops atopic eczema between the ages of 2 – 4 months the initial symptoms include inflammation of the skin with oozing and crusting.  The cheeks and scalp are often the first areas affected.

Facial eczema usually subsides and the rash becomes more prominent on the limbs especially the wrists and hands and behind the knees and elbows.

Dry scaly eczema

Atopic eczema may continue on past the age of two years but for some the first signs do not appear until this age.  When eczema develops around the age of two years the oozing and crusting is less common as the rash is usually drier and scaly.

Scratching is a common problem for anyone with atopic eczema causing scratch marks and thickening of the skin. Excessive scratching frequently causes the skin to become broken making infection a major problem.

Atopic eczema clears spontaneously in the majority of children between the ages of two and five years.  If it does persist there is usually a marked improvement by puberty.