7 Strategies to Eliminate Eczema

Hi, this is Dr. Mark Hyman. Welcome to my weekly house call, your chance to ask me your questions. And this week's question is, hey, Dr. Hyman, I've got this terrible case of eczema. I'm itching all the time. I have to put on these steroids. I know they're not good for me. Is there anything I can do besides take these drugs to suppress my immune system? Well, the answer is yes, because eczema is a sign that your body's inflamed. It's red and raw and inflamed. And the solution isn't putting stuff on your body, it's figuring out what's wrong inside your body. To get to the root of the problem, you have to look at the root causes of eczema, which are often disturbances in our immune system. We're overreacting to something that's happening to us or in us. So in eczema, we know that there are a few simple causes of eczema. One, it's often caused by a leaky gut, which means your gut is not normal. You've got a breakdown in the barrier where the cells are stuck together and you know what, the food and bugs leak in and cause inflammation in your body. And that leads to food sensitivities like gluten and dairy and other foods that can trigger eczema. We know it's often linked to allergies and it's even often linked to abnormal gut flora like yeast. So two of the biggest things I see with eczema are people who are having suffering from abnormal reactions to food, food sensitivities, and from an overgrowth of bad bugs, particularly yeast. So getting rid of the bad bugs and getting rid of the yeast often makes a huge difference. But there are other things that can happen. You can have topical things that cause a problem. So chemicals and weird things in your skin creams or in your lotions or potions, all those can be a trigger or detergents. So it's common to see topical things affect you. But often the topical things affect you more when your body's out of balance. In other words, why are you so reactive? Why is your immune system going crazy? Is it because you're just abnormal or is it because something's out of balance? It's because something's out of balance. And finding out what those things are and fixing them can really help get to the root of eczema. I remember a lady came in to see me. She was about 60 years old and she had like eczema all over her back, all over her legs, all over her abdomen. She was miserable and she was taking steroids and trying to calm it down and she wanted to know if she could get help. And we found out that her diet was super high in sugar and carbs and processed food, which increases yeast in the gut. and that she was allergic to dairy and that she'd also taken lots of antibiotics over the years, which had also increased the yeast. So I gave her a drug called Diflucan. It's an antifungal. Now you can use herbs, but I find in many patients it works really well. And then we put in probiotics, and then we gave her some zinc and vitamin A, and we gave her some fish oil and evening primrose oil, some vitamin D, just basic nutrients to help her gut heal and repair. And we got rid of the bad foods, we got rid of the yeast, we helped her immune system function better and the eczema completely went away and she lost 60 pounds in the process. So she was super happy. So it's very possible to fix your gut. It's very possible to get rid of eczema by simply following some simple concepts like elimination diets, like normalizing your gut flora, like taking the right nutrients, these things anybody can do and they work for most people. So I encourage you to, if you're interested in trying something out and want to get started, try out the 10-day detox diet. It's a great way to reset your immune system, a great way to get get healthy and a great way to get rid of the inflammatory foods and put in the anti-inflammatory foods. So if you're having eczema, if you've had struggles with eczema, or you've found something that works, share your story with us at www.drhyman.com We want to hear from you and know what's worked for you and what hasn't. And also, if you enjoyed this video, I encourage you to sign up for my weekly newsletter, House Call with Dr. Hyman, and share with your friends and family on Facebook and Twitter. And also, make sure you submit your questions to me at drhyman.com so that next week I may make a house call to you.