The Itch of Eczema

Spring has sprung across the United States but on the very first full day of spring in Minnesota winter reared its icy cold soul and surprised us with snow the next day. This reversal of the seasons is expected here in the tundra, so if spring gives you snow I guess you might as well make a snowman (or so my grandson thought).

As the earth yawned and lifted its winter weary head earlier in March I optimistically started thinking that this spring might bring something new and different in to my life. You know what I mean, something with flair and perhaps exciting? Well something new happened and it was a flare but somehow the exciting part got lost in translation.

Eczema Goes Walk About

That’s right it was a flare, an all out attack on my epidermal layer, eczema on crack or some such thing. My eczema that previously had partied only on my legs decided to ask all its friends to come and visit, so they could itch together and cause crimson exudate. Ugh.

Anyone with eczema knows the pleasure of the initial itch, it must be akin to the way addicts feel the first time they take an illicit drug. It is intensely pleasurable but there is a fine line that can and will be crossed and pretty soon you regret your weakness. Once you start itching your eczema you cannot stop and very soon you regret that initial itch much like a junkie must regret they ever took that first hit.

Stop the Itch

What does one do when a problem arises? Honestly? I turn to the internet and others who have suffered a similar fate. I also did consult with my homeopath, Dr. Kim Lane. She suggested Rhux Tox and/or Urtica Urens and I started one and then the other but while I waited for the remedies to kick in I needed something for the itch. I really wanted instant relief and I didn’t want to apply steroid creams having read too many horror stories of steroid withdrawal.

After reading all the information I could get my hands on I came upon a solution that made perfect sense to me, apple cider vinegar and coconut oil.

One more use for apple cider vinegar and coconut oil

Yes, yet another use for household ingredients like apple cider vinegar and coconut oil. Apparently apple cider vinegar sprayed on the itchies takes the itch away and coconut oil serves as a protective layer and moisturizer. Not just any ACV will do but the kind that has a mother and is alive with probiotics, so off I went to my cupboard and pulled out the Bragg’s ACV and poured it in to a spray bottle I had on hand.

I sprayed it on every itchy spot I could see and while the sting was intense the itching immediately subsided. The sting was so much better than the itch I cannot tell you and for about 24 hours every time the itch threatened to be scratched I sprayed more ACV. Each time, after the ACV was dry I applied liberal coats of coconut oil.

The next day the positive results were noticeable. The patches that were really bad had scabbed over, the itch had greatly diminished. The best news was the partying stopped, no new attendees showed up or if they did they got sprayed and chased off.

I am sure the homeopathic remedies were doing most of the work but the ACV and coconut oil were a God send. This past weekend I could even shave my legs, something I haven’t been able to do without intense itching for months.

Krisinsight

I know there are many facets to eczema and other skin conditions that plague millions of people worldwide. I do not think for one minute that all you need do is spray some apple cider vinegar on your skin and eczema and all its causes will go away. What I did want to share is that apple cider vinegar and coconut oil took away the itch of eczema and hastened the healing for me. If you have no known allergies to either ingredient, they will do no harm and they might just help.

Until next time, take care of yourself and I hope spring brings you something exciting with a flair and not a flare.

Santé,

Kris

 

Come Forth July

Today, July began and the skies clouded over, the temperatures decreased and the winds picked up. Rain is promised but so far today it is dry as a bone and for once I actually need some water on my garden.

This is so 2014. Thus far this year, if we need rain it doesn’t. If we are drowning with rain, it does. Should we need a calm day, the winds howl and if you aren’t sleeping well it storms all night long with great flashes of white-hot lightning and thunderous boomers. July may well continue this contradictory pattern. 2014, so far, has been full of mixed up crazy weather, so why change now?

Experiments ongoing

This past month of June has been one of experimentation and I thought I would share the results with you but first explain why I was experimenting at all.

Over this past winter I developed eczema on my lower legs. Nowhere else but each leg has several patches of dry itchy skin that was diagnosed as eczema by my homeopathic doctor, Kim Lane, M.D.. Overall, this past year has been one of good but unsettling changes and I have never been one for feeling out of control. I understand that at least one cause of eczema is stress and I feel like stress has been a constant friend for about the last 9 months.

At first I just scratched the itch but once I realized what I was dealing with I asked my health oriented group on Facebook (Krisinsight) if they had any proven remedies. Dr. Lane had offered one bit of advice, use Vitamin A&D ointment but that really didn’t appeal to me, thus I asked the group. One person came forth with something that had worked for everyone who had tried it, so you know me, I had to give it a try.

Treatment for eczema

The magical ingredient is Lecithin. I am not fond of soy (often not non-GMO and bad for thyroid), so I purchased NOW Brand Sunflower Lecithin at iHerb.com (if you use the coupon code YAN884 you can get a discount for being a first time buyer and I get a few pennies as well). It comes in 1200 mg capsules which are big enough to choke a horse but if you have yogurt to help them down it is really quite easy.

For one month, my group member stated, you take 2 capsules in the morning and 2 capsules in the evening. After the month is up you take 2 capsules once a day. I was all over that one and started my 4 capsules every day. Immediately(within days) my spots started to dry up. The itch decreased dramatically and I was a believer.

Setbacks are inevitable

I don’t really think that setbacks are inevitable but I did have a huge setback after two weeks of taking my sunflower lecithin. I took my Big Guy to his doctor because he was having problems with his anal glands. Imagining he just had plugged anal glands I, without any dire thoughts, took him in to see what was bothering him.

Sidney’s vet is the same vet who put my 10-year-old poodle, Fitzy, down in December (something I still am not completely over), so as he examined Sidney I could tell he was not anxious to tell me what he thought. Poor ol’ Sidney had someone doing a digital rectal exam and my heart bled for him already but when Dr. Winter told me he could feel a mass on one anal gland and pulled his finger out covered with blood, my heart sank.

Whether or not Dr. Winter is a prognosticator  is up for debate but he recommended surgery to remove the offending tumor and he is a good veterinary doctor, so Sidney had surgery almost three weeks ago as I write. Keith has predicted that Sidney has perhaps 6 months to live because, it is his experience that these type of tumors tend to metastasize. I like to think Sidney will be with us longer than that.

Here is what I know today, Sidney is going to be 13 (82 in human years) in October and he is a large dog (71 pounds of bouncing poodle), so both my spousal unit and I already knew he wasn’t here forever. His blood panel showed everything within normal limits, his eyes are clear and his gregariousness has returned after major surgery. We have vowed that whatever the time we have with the Big Guy we are going to enjoy every minute.

No matter how I look at it now, this was a huge upset for me and guess what? My itch returned with a vengeance.

Now what?

Even though the itch and redness was back I carried on with my 4 capsules a day of Sunflower Lecithin for one month. I also treated the spots directly with Peaceful Mountain Eczema Rescue homeopathic cream (also available at iHerb.com). This virtually took the itch away while the lecithin did its healing and I am working on regaining my composure and positive attitude.

Now that the month is up I am on 2 capsules a day and if it were to really flare up I would return, as was recommended, to 4 capsules a day. I truly believe that the lecithin would have healed the eczema had it not been for this new upset in my life because the areas are greatly reduced and what is left is drying up.

Krisinsight

We all know that emotions play a huge role in our health. Negative energy is so harmful and I do what I can to eliminate negative energy but when one’s furkid is given a short period of time to be with you it is like someone cut off one arm and then asked you to floss your teeth. You can do it, you will do it but you really have to deal with the initial disappointment  (or in the case of your arm, total devastation) and see the good in the situation.

I found that happy spot within 24 hours but the emotional damage had been done, the eczema returned. I credit my Reiki training for turning me around but I have to admit to you that at first my Reiki training was forgotten. I shed tears of grief and frustration from the moment Keith uttered his terrible news until I got home where I fell in to the spousal unit’s arms and wept until I was totally spent. The idea of losing two dogs in less than  year was almost too much to bear.

Somehow the next day I remembered one line of my Reiki affirmation. “Just for today, I will not worry.” I repeated it and repeated it and then, much to my relief, I found my inner Reiki healer. I started doing Reiki on Sidney from the minute I found out until today. I do as much as he will allow and sometimes that isn’t very much. Other times, he is very receptive. He wears crystals for immunity and calm around his neck. His diet is anti-inflammatory with turmeric and probiotics and herbs that might benefit his ability to destroy cancerous cells or the tendency for cells to divide in an insane manner creating tumors.

This take charge attitude changed my emotional state. I had an inner sense of calm and acceptance. I accept that he will not be here forever. I accept that I can make whatever remains of his life a good experience. I also accept that I may need my Reiki skills to make his end of life comfortable and peaceful. In the end, end of life transition was a big impetus for becoming a Reiki healer. No one wants to talk about end of life but it happens to all living things and if we humans can ease the passage we should. I will.

After all that, I also accept that I still have patches of eczema on both legs. I don’t particularly like that they are still there but with sunflower lecithin, Peaceful Mountain eczema cream and wait for it, my cream kefir (cream fermented with kefir grains and spread lightly over the area) I control the itch and the patches are drying up and disappearing.

This experience did make me wonder if anyone else has experienced a healing “miracle” using a method that is not allopathic. If you have, feel free to share it. I would love to hear about non-standard and successful ways of treating an otherwise bothersome health matter. I am sure others would as well.

I send you all Reiki,  prayers and healing energy and wish you all a very happy Fourth of July.

Santé,

Kris