I received an email to be apart of an online panel on OTC treatments as well as topical steroids for eczema and psoriasis patients. They contacted me from seeing this blog. I think this is a great opportunity for us to get out the word of our personal experience with these medications, and let our voice hopefully have an impact on how they prescribe meds. If selected for this panel you can earn $200, just for your input! Check out this link HERE for more information. Be quick! They need the applications in before June 20th!
In his article, “Skin Health, Eczema, and Preventative Strategies”, James Barker, N.D. sums up the importance of protecting the GI integrity for eczema patients by saying: “If the eyes and the skin are the portal through which we may observe the body’s internal health, the gut then is the door through which a majority of disease initiates its entrance into the body… It goes without saying that… the first area of treatment then for the patient displaying eczema should be the gastrointestinal lining, without a doubt” (p. 58).
Having an optimally functioning gut is key to healing one’s eczema as well as countless other diseases. We must heal from the inside out, and the integrity of the gut is the first line of defense in repairing the skin of eczema. The gut holds 80% of the body’s immunity! When the detoxification systems aren’t eliminating properly (gut, kidneys, liver) then the toxic waste needs to go somewhere, and the skin is the organ it decides to eliminate on. Putting the focus on healing internally with diet, and probiotic rich foods and supplements will put the body back in balance and add good bacteria into the body.
The best foods to put into the body to repopulate the good gut bacteria are plant based foods. These foods are highly alkaline, fiber rich and come with an array of various vitamins, minerals and nutrients. Drinking celery juice first thing in the morning is another great gut healing remedy one can do. Check out this very informative video on why its best to fill up on all kinds of plant based foods in order to heal the gut which will in turn heal your skin as well as other health issues.
Seven signs you should be taking a probiotic
Antibiotics – If you’ve taken antibiotics in the past year or even five years and you haven’t re-cultured your good bacteria you should look into taking a probiotic. Birth control and anti-inflammatory drugs like NSAID’s (over the counter pain meds like Tylenol, Ibuprofen etc) will also destroy the gut.
Food Poisoning – This is a shift in the equilibrium of the gut, meaning that you have more bad bacteria than good. When this happens you will definitely want to re-populate the gut with good bacteria.
Digestive Disturbances – Such as bloating, excessive gas, constipation, diarrhea etc. If this is occurring, you will want to look into supplementing with a probiotic.
Skin Conditions – Once you start to fix what’s going on in the inside of the body, the outside will reflect more harmony and balance of your health.
Mood Disorders – If you are having mood issues, such as depression, there’s a good chance that a good probiotic will help bounce up the seratonin levels. 95% of the seratonin is in the body is actually made in the gut and it’s the “happy molecule” in the brain. Once you start fixing your gut, you will notice that your mood will start to enhance!
Weak Immunity – If you’re the type of person that gets sick two to three times a year and you’re wondering why, there’s a good chance that over populated bad bacteria is holding you back and you should look into considering a probiotic.
Yeast Overgrowth – If you’re dealing with any type of yeast infection or yeast overgrowth on the inside, rebalancing the good gut bacteria will definitely help you.
For more info on the whole food based probiotics I use, check out this link HERE and shoot me an email for more information and how to order at eczema.holistic.healing@gmail.com! I also do health coaching with eczema sufferers where I send them a health questionnaire to get to know them better and offer tips, diet advice and natural remedies. ☺️
If you’re a frequent visitor to my blog, you’ll know that I’m pretty much against all medications these days and that I take the natural route as much as possible. I’ve had my fair share of medical drugs in my system (from chemotherapy, topical steroids, to countless rounds of antibiotics), and as I’ve begun this healing process I’ve learned more and more that the body is self healing and that there are always alternatives that have little to no side effects on the body. What we consume literally becomes us, and it either helps our bodies or hinders it.
I’ve been hearing about immunosuppressants and how eczema sufferers and people going through TSW are using them to cope with the horrendous symptoms of the healing process. I’m always weary of the side effects of drugs, and just the fact that this drug suppresses your immune system, which is supposed to be functioning optimally kinda freaks me out. I have a friend who has actually taken these drugs in attempt to make her TSW more tolerable, and this post is about her experience on them. This post isn’t meant to bash anyone in their decision on taking immunos in their process, this is just meant to share one TSW sufferers experience on them and shed some light to the side effects they can have on the body. I want to give a thank you to the woman who agreed to do this interview for my site… you are a rockstar and I wish you well on the rest of your eczema healing journey! ❤ I think the more we share our experiences, the more knowledge we can have to make an informed decision on what we put in our bodies.
Sunday Fruit Haul! Oranges, bananas, baby bananas, papayas, limes, baby watermelon, avocados, guavas, apples, plantains, Galia melons, champagne mangos & frozen fruit tropical blend!
🍉🍐🍇🍎🍏🍓🍌🍈🍒🍑🍋🍊🍏🍍
Enjoy your fruit y’all! Don’t be afraid of the sugars in fruit, they won’t make you fat, and won’t contribute to Candida overgrowth. On the contrary, a high carb-low fat plant based diet will HEAL Candida overgrowth! The sugars in fruit give us the fuel our body runs on. This energy is assimilated and used to heal and repair our cells! Fruit is super fiberous, water rich and packed with antioxidants, anti inflammatory properties, vitamins and minerals. These components are in complex carbs unlike refined sugars in white processed foods, candy, pastries, high fructose corn syrup etc. that have virtually no nutritional value. Fruit is highly alkaline and easily digestible with a transit time of less than 3 hours! Animal products are acidic, inflammatory and have a transit time of 24-72 hours! 😱 To heal from eczema we must have optimal, efficient digestion and plant foods will aid in this, unlike animal products that sit, rot & putrefy in the colon 😳. Plus they’re super sweet and yummy and by nature we are just meant to eat them! They are the original “fast food”. Make sure they’re super ripe because it’s sweeter and better for the digestion! So “GO FRUIT YOURSELF”! 😜
Yup, you read that title right… March 2016 marks four whole years that I’ve been topical steroid free! It’s pretty amazing when I look back at all that I’ve endured, physically, mentally & emotionally. This post is kind of bittersweet because on one hand I have nothing but gratitude in my heart that I’ve come this far but on the other hand I wish I could be writing this saying that I’m completely healed and back to my normal life. Now this isn’t to discourage anyone…healing DOES happen. In my case it’s taking awhile. If you’re new to my blog I think it’s best for me to give some background of my history. I used topical steroids from 10 months old to 26 years old. I also had injections of (I believe) triamcinolone into my hands and feet multiple times. I was diagnosed with stage 3 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2008, which I underwent 6 months of chemo twice a month (it’s said chemo has a half life in the body up to 10-12 years!). So needless to say I’ve had A LOT of toxic build up in my body, hence my lengthy withdrawal. Buuuut I’m apparently right around the time as far as healing times go. Supposedly for every 7 years you’ve used TS you will go through a year of withdrawal. So although actually 28 years of usage would equal 4 years of withdrawal, I’m not too far off, plus I have the “added bonus” of injections and chemo 😦 . Everyone is different and depending on your usage and potency you may have a shorter or longer healing time than myself, so don’t be alarmed by my lengthy healing time… you may restore faster than me, it just all depends.
I had been reading a little bit about fasting and specifically water fasting and wanted to give a go. I’m always looking into natural remedies that I can try out, and fasting is one of the best ways to give our bodies a break and let it heal on its own. Just days before my 3 day fast, I was an oozy mess. My legs were sticking to my sheets (from the ooze coming out and drying on the sheets) and I was having this uncomfortable, achy, heavy pain in both of my legs and feet. That odd throbbing pain seems to happen when the skin is cracked, open and oozing. My skin also itched and flaked a decent amount the night before the first day of the 3 day fast, and shed even more the morning of.
Before I go into my experience, let me give you some info on why in the world someone would want to go days without food, only consuming water, and how to do it safely.
So many times I will think about this “journey” that I’m on of healing. It’s been a loooong rough road and I still can’t believe that next month I will be 4 years topical steroid free! There have been many ups and downs. Many depressing times where I thought I had zero strength left in me to continue, then I realized I truly had no choice… it was either go back on the poisonous medication or keep on pushing, and I kept on pushing. I wiped my tears, calmed myself down, prayed and kept on going. My faith, and strength has been tested so many times I can’t even begin to count. Through all of the emotional and physical pain that I’ve endured, I would honestly not take it back. This journey that I’m on has changed me for the better. Just as the message says, I’ve felt that I’ve now become the person that I was always supposed to be in the first place. I have felt that this experience has broken me down so much that I’ve only had to understand myself in this broken state, the true person that I am. I feel that I’m now more empathetic to others pain and suffering, I feel so deeply now than I ever have before. I feel that I’ve found a purpose in all of this pain, and it’s to help others in any way that I can. To be of service is truly our only jobs on this planet and I feel that using my experience; the good the bad and the ugly, to inspire, help and comfort others is what it’s all about.
The journey may be a rough one to endure, but always remember that “the blessing is in the breaking”… when you’ve been broken down so much you finally realize who you are truly supposed to be and what the breaking is all about… bringing you to your highest self, vulnerable and ready to be built back up to a better you. Don’t give up, in your weakest hours is when your faith and strength are truly tested and when you need to hold on even tighter. In these moments I give thanks to the Most High. I praise God all throughout the day, when I’m having a great day and when I’m crying out in pain with thoughts of crawling into a deep hole to never return. He always listens, He always comforts and heals. Never give up on your faith… the journey may take longer than you’ve expected, but it WILL end, it may not be in your time, but in God’s time. Just know that everything has it’s purpose and there is a reason and season for everything. Trust in your body’s natural ability to heal, just give it all of the love, rest and nutrients it needs to heal and it will do all the work. Always tell yourself how much you love yourself, no matter what state your skin is in, kiss your skin, talk to your body calmly and sweetly with positive healing words. Your thoughts will influence your healing just as much as what you put into your body and on your body. 🙂
Many Blessings Warriors ❤
Jen
I leave you with an inspirational tune from Hillsong United
Check out my good friend Melissa’s new YouTube channel. She is a fellow TSW warrior and she wants to share great info on healing from eczema as well as share her journey.
You can also look at her new site where she gives many tips on healing from eczema: topeczematreatments.com
Currently reading: The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, PhD
This book is the truuuuth! Such an intense study of the western & eastern diets and comparisons of disease rates in each. Our SAD (Standard American Diets) are only causing higher rates of diseases. The Western diet comprised of high amounts of animal proteins, fatty & processed foods are keeping us fat, sick & nearly dead! Adopting a whole food plant based diet will prevent and reverse diseases like cancer, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, cataracts, skin issues, macular degeneration, Alzheimer’s, cognitive dysfunction, multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis & many more! There’s truly only one dis-ease, acidocsis…get the body alkaline by going plant based and heal your symptoms! 🍄🍀🍉🍃🍌🍊🍎 #govegan !
Here’s a little “part two” of my emollient experimentation 😉
You can check out my DIY essential oil lotion and see what I added to it the first time around. I kept this mix a bit simple with only 4 essential oils this time, and I made the consistency a bit thicker so it’s more like a cream instead of a lotion. Since using this blend, I’ve found that I like it better with this consistency than the lotion. Using less olive oil and less essential oils made it more like a thick, fluffy cream instead of liquidy.
The newest addition to this mix is helichrysum essential oil, which is a game changer for skin health. I’m so glad I started incorporating this healing oil to my moisturizer because of it’s awesome restorative properties! It feels really smooth when applying and it locks the moisture in well enough to where I don’t really need to reapply too often. It’s weird, but in a way I feel like it’s almost drawing out the dead skin to where my skin is sloughing off flakes somewhat more often. I suppose it’s just the skin cells regenerating at a faster rate, this property is due to the helichrysum oil.
Eczema Holistic Healing 