eczema/psoriasis type problem

[Dace]

I might want to change my diet for a while and see what happens. Drink lemon water or my herbal teas, eat lots of fresh veggies and fruits, and whole grains. See if it helps.

Can you drop the wheat?

 

[kristenm1975]

I make a salve for my eczema using chaparral and chickweed infused for several hours in olive or safflower oil, over low heat on the stove. I strain out the herbs and add beeswax, pour into containers and add lavender essential oil, stirring quick before the salve solidifies.

I've been using that for a few months now on a spot on my scalp that itches like crazy, and I've been delighted with the results. Its cheap and easy, and I can use the chickweed that grows in my backyard. Just be sure to dry it first so it doesn't add water to the salve and make it bad.

 

[dragonlaurel]

I might want to change my diet for a while and see what happens. Drink lemon water or my herbal teas, eat lots of fresh veggies and fruits, and whole grains. See if it helps.

Can you drop the wheat?

I normally do fine with grains, but I might skip wheat for a while to be sure. I am more suspicious about milk products for me. Might need to stop them for a while and then test myself with them. My brother used to get rashes, then he found out he was lactose intolerant. The rashes cleared up when he "got off the moo juice".

 

[Dace]

You should do an elimination diet for a few weeks.... then add in either wheat or dairy for a week or two and see if you get a reaction. Of course it is much easier said than done!!

Good luck!

 

[dragonlaurel]

Dace- When I want to cleanse, I normally avoid wheat and milk while eating the diet I mentioned for at least a week. I like to do it every year or so. The herb teas are usually red clover, dandelion, or burdock along with any other herbs I need that day.
I usually keep a pot of cooked whole grains to eat on while cleansing. Using non-gluten ones is a good idea and easy enough.
I would probably test wheat first, since I seem fine with it, so far. Dairy is the more likely problem for me. I'm fine with yogurt, but ice cream or too much cheese has given me other symptoms before. My niece is allergic to milk. My brother (adopted) gets a similar rash, from dairy.
Thanks for the help.

kristenm1975- That salve sounds good. Might have to make some up. Thanks

The doc confirmed eczema and prescribed 5 days of prednisone + a tube of triamcinolone ointment. The ointment has synthetic steroid in a petroleum jelly base. Oh joy. I will use the meds short term, because this rash has been keeping me from sleeping right and all the scratching could get infected. I will be doing lots of Vit C and probiotics while I'm on this. Then I am starting the cleanse next week.

 

[CJW]

If you are trying to eliminate Gluten, remember B.R.O.W.

Barley, Rye, Oats, Wheat

Oats do not contain Gluten, but are processed on the same equipment as B.R.W., and sometimes contain MORE Gluten because it picks up the little dust-like particles that get bashed off the gluten-grains. There are Gluten Free Oats available at most health food stores.

It is a struggle at first...to find things that are G-Free...but if you don't eliminate it 100%, you might not notice a difference.

Also, contamination is a huge issue if you are g-free. For me, if my M-I-L cuts an onion on her cutting board, and adds it to her big pot of spaghetti sauce, I get contaminated. (Even if she wiped the crumbs off first!). I know I am contaminated because I get lethargic, and I break out in canker sores, and the sides of my tongue get sores too (signs of liver stress). I have dealt with canker sores all of my life, and being g-free has been the ONLY thing that has rid me of them (among a host of other issues!)! (Until I get contaminated, that is.) My oldest son gets tongue sores as well, and my youngest's eczema flares up.

And, now that my gut doesn't hate me, Dairy seems to be better received!

 

[dragonlaurel]

Being allergic to peanuts and a vegetarian made me get used to cooking from scratch, so I can control that pretty well. I'll probably make millet, and maybe get some amaranth. Yum.

 

[Dace]

Wow, CJW, you are really sensitive to gluten! Are you diagnosed with celiacs?

DL...good luck and keep us posted! (you are probably right, it is most likely the dairy...but avoid gluten to just in case)

 

[dragonlaurel]

When I have way too much cheese - my joints hurt. (My Mom had arthritis early and I thought I was getting it.) Then I went camping and didn't carry anything that would need to stay cold. No dairy. After 3 days I felt great. Then my friend dumped her ice and gave me a huge block of good cheese and told me to eat it up, so she wouldn't have to lug a heavy cooler. I was happy to go along with that and started hurting all over within a few hours. Just wondering if this is a new symptom from an old friend, that doesn't seem to love me back.

 

[CJW]

Wow, CJW, you are really sensitive to gluten! Are you diagnosed with celiacs?

DL...good luck and keep us posted! (you are probably right, it is most likely the dairy...but avoid gluten to just in case)

I am not "diagnosed", because I don't have insurance. Even if I did have insurance, most doctors go out of their way to diagnose it as something else, so they can prescribe pills. Celiac is often mis-diagnosed as FMS, MS, CFS, CF, Lupus, etc. There is no pill for celiac. Many go through YEARS of pills, pain, and tests, when a diet change is all that is needed.

However, I researched it. Finding out that my son was sensitive (after doing an elimination diet) and that it was hereditary...I knew I probably had it. I looked up symptoms for it, and I had quite a few. I asked my husband to support me as I made the whole house G-Free. He actually went G-free for 5 weeks! (Now he has a couple things he has that are up on a high shelf (cookies/cereal/certain chips) so the kids can't reach them.

Both my boys are sensitive. My oldest, I believe, has a mild form of it. When he happens to get a large dose (usually only by contamination at my in-loves because our house is all clear), he will get liver sores (on the side of the tongue). His attention span is also significantly reduced when he isn't G-free.

My youngest, as stated-his eczema flares up, tummy aches, nightmares, inattentiveness, temper tantrums---all from gluten.

I am very sensitive. I thought-eh-gluten-shmuten...I'll be able to still induldge. But after being g-free, and feeling as good as I do...when I did/do get contaminated, even a little indulgence isn't worth it.

A few of my symptoms I have had since I can remember...back when I was very young...constipation, gas, poor digestion, and canker sores- I dealt with them as best I could, but never found solutions. After having my second child, more symptoms showed up. Fatigue, Insomnia, Anemia (this is what prompted me to really get into researching it), low sex drive, sporadic diarrhea, stomach aches, depression, hormone issues, inability to loose weight and more.

Almost all have been resolved, except the tell-tale canker sores and tongue lesions and some of the digestive issues that have flared up again. This, I believe, is because since we have moved back to Montana, I get contaminated EVERY time I visit my in-loves, which is about 3-4 times a month. My digestive system just can't get back to the way it should be if it is inflamed.

I need to just stop eating food that my MIL prepares. I know she tries hard to not contaminate, and I don't want her to think that I don't appreciate it, because I do. But I think if I tell her how she is contaminating the food, that she will think I am nit-picky. She doesn't wash/scrub her pans out after using them (cast iron) to cook grilled cheese sandwiches. She just uses a quick rinse and a paper towel. Well, the gluten stays. Another way is she will wipe the cutting board off (she doesn't wash that either) that she uses to cut/butter bread on, and then set an onion on it...gathering all the gluten. I just don't want her to think I am being a pain in the butt (which I am )

Anyhow, I am so thankful that I am able to read my body and be pro-active when it comes to what my family eats.

Sorry for the novel, but I think that being informed is imperative, and Celiac isn't well known because of the lack of research since there is no drug to cure it. Doctors lean toward pills, not nutrition. Pharmaceutical companies won't research something they won't make money on.