Eczema, or atopic dermatitis, is a red, itchy rash that affects up to 30 million Americans, many of whom are children. Ranging in severity from mild, slightly itchy dry patches in small, isolated areas, to angry, inflamed rashes covering large portions of the body, eczema can make a person anywhere from annoyed to miserable. People with eczema also frequently suffer from asthma and allergies, and although conventional medicine considers eczema to have “no known cause”, there is growing evidence that it is an autoimmune condition.
Approximately 7.5 million people in the United States are affected by psoriasis. Unlike eczema, psoriasis affects mainly adults, predominately between the ages of 45 and 64. Psoriasis includes patches of thick, red skin with silvery-white scales that itch or burn, typically on the elbows, knees, scalp, palms, and soles. Like eczema, psoriasis is an autoimmune condition.
For both eczema and psoriasis, conventional therapy primarily includes topical steroids that suppress immune response. Long-term side effects can include skin burning and irritation, skin thinning, excessive hair growth, acne, high blood sugars (increasing susceptibility to diabetes), and even Cushing’s Disease. More recently narrow band ultraviolet light therapy has been used effectively to treat psoriasis; a 2017 study showed seventy-five percent of people found it cleared their psoriasis or led to minimal symptoms.
Apart from managing symptoms, is it possible to heal eczema and psoriasis? The simple answer is yes.
In autoimmune conditions, the immune system mistakes its own healthy tissues as foreign and attacks them, causing chronic inflammation and generating autoantibodies. The tissues affected determine which autoimmune disease a person has–in this case the skin.
Seventy percent of the immune system lines the gut. Almost all autoimmune disease is linked to intestinal permeability, or “leaky gut”, in which the normal intestinal barrier becomes impaired due to chronic inflammatory and bacterial toxin insults, overwhelming the immune system that lies just beneath. In Leaky Gut Syndrome (LGS) food intolerances can abound. Dairy sensitivity is common, but in LGS many other foods can become problematic, including eggs, nuts, soy, wheat/gluten, and corn.
When I see someone with eczema or psoriasis, right away I know two things: one, there is always an allergen, or group of allergens, causing it, and two, they have some degree of LGS. High quality food sensitivity and advanced gastrointestinal testing can be crucial in pinpointing food allergies and gut abnormalities that may be contributing. When the inflammation starts to calm down, and targeted supplements are introduced to heal the gut lining, we see the eczema and psoriasis begin to disappear.
Acupuncture can help too! Why? It can be remarkably effective in helping to reduce inflammation at both the skin and gut level, while strengthening immune function. A 2018 clinical research review found that acupuncture improves symptoms of eczema and prolongs the duration between flare-ups. At Vital Health, we dig deep to uncover the underlying causes behind your skin condition, using supplements, nutrition, and acupuncture to “heal from within”.
©2023 Darcy Greenwald, M.S.O.M., L.Ac. and Vital Health
