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In the past year I have started to develop pretty gnarly eczema on my hands and face. These flare ups (especially the ones on my face) come out of nowhere and can totally alter my day-to-day life. I have seen multiple dermatologists who always prescribe topical ointments that are filled with chemicals/toxins and have not great side effects. I’ve also been put on oral steroids like prednisone for 6 weeks at a time which resulted in weight gain and left me feeling like I had no control over my own body.
I decided to pivot from harsh lotions and pills and focus more on trying anti inflammatory dieting in hopes of cleansing my body from the inside out. Unfortunately this hasn’t been super effective (yet!?) but I still have hope that there are cleaner supplements/wellness plans that have worked for other women struggling with similar skin conditions.
My derms have scoffed at me when I’ve asked about the correlation between food triggers and eczema, but I swear this must be a thing! Anyone else attempting to cure skin conditions through their diet, let a girl know!!
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By lowering inflammation throughout the body, an anti-inflammatory diet may be able to relieve skin problems. Even though it might not be a replacement for medical care, including anti-inflammatory items in your diet can benefit your skin’s general health. Here is a general diet recommendation for reducing inflammation:
Include a variety of fruit and vegetable varieties that are vibrant and high in phytochemicals and antioxidants. Good options include berries, leafy greens, oranges, tomatoes, and peppers.
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Inflammation is usually a contributor to skin issues, as others here have pointed out. Omega-3 fatty acids are powerful anti-inflammatories, so they promote healthier skin. They also have other health benefits including helping with anxiety and depression, and promoting brain health.
The best natural sources of omega-3s are fatty fish such as mackerel, salmon, cod, and sardines. If seafood doesn’t work for your dietary habits there are plenty of good omega-3 supplements to choose from.
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Ahhh diet is so huge!! I would highly recommend trying some kind of 30 experiment where you cut out inflammatory foods to see what happens. I’ve done the Whole30 4 times now and every time have experienced incredible skin improvement – in fact I would say it’s one of my top non-scale victories every time I’ve done it. Doing the re-introduction is the most important part to see what foods may affect it most. Would be happy to answer any Whole30 questions as well!
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This is very similar to something I’ve been dealing with for about the last two years. I was diagnosed with acne rosacea out of nowhere which basically results in tiny red whiteheads on my cheeks and forehead. They don’t hurt so it’s not straight up acne or even hormonal acne but unfortunately there is no “cure” for rosacea. It’s all about what “triggers” your rosacea to flare up. I’ve been trying a bunch of different topicals per my derm along with low grade doxycycline. These have really not done MUCH to sooth or get rid of the inflammation so I too have started to look at foods to include and exclude from my diet that could be causing triggers. The internet says to exclude hot beverages (sad), spicy foods (also sad), and pay attention to how the skin reacts to eating specific items. This is obviously a super tedious process and I don’t find that for me consuming foods really triggers my skin inflammation.
What does immediately trigger my inflammation is stress and heat. The internet lists emotional stress as a common trigger for acne rosacea. Enter 2020 and I’m feeling pretty screwed! It’s extremely difficult to manage stress and I don’t necessarily know the answer to managing my stress so that my skin doesn’t react, something I’m working through with both therapy and psychiatric help. For the heat aspect this comes in two forms – I can no longer back in the sun (sad) and when I work out and my face becomes hot that also seems to be a trigger. This one is especially difficult because while I would love an excuse not to work out, I also enjoy feeling good about my body so I am going to discuss what this means with my Primary Care Physician and Dermatologist with the expectation that they are going to suggest low impact workouts. So any suggestions there would be amazing!!
All around I personally would suggest anything that has anti-inflammatory properties such as turmeric, antihistamines, etc. as far as natural homeopathy.
PLEASE LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS!
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Following for replies! I have been experiencing skin issues that I was told were an allergic reaction- same response as your derm… prednisone, topical ointments, daily allergy pill. No change in the redness. I’ve tried some elimination diets but haven’t pinpointed the culprit just yet.
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Hey Emma- first off, I am so sorry you are going through this as I know this pain. I didn’t have eczema but would get a hiv-y like rash all over my skin, especially my face and legs which was not only uncomfortable but you feel hideous. I tried all the things, switching to even less scented/chemical products, supplements, alergy tests and I was already pretty clean food/product focused.
My boyfriend suggested that we start doing fresh celery juice which helped somewhat but led me to doing the whole30. Doing this totally cured his eczema and cleared up my face and all rashes/outbreaks in 15-20 days. The correlation I found to food doesn’t make sense with any allergies and more has to do with inflammatories and foods that grow mold (like some nuts and not others.) All that to say I highly recommend that you try some sort of a reduction diet so you can figure out what is going on. The fresh celery juice first thing in the morning – 30 mins prior to coffee or any food, really helped to expedite the process. I can now have those foods in moderate quantities so I feel like it helped me to re-baseline and now I can live with everything in moderation. If you have any questions feel free to reach out!
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