Beauty Question: Can you help with my eczema?
R. writes:
I have a question because my mother has eczema on her heels and it’s really itching and the skin keeps coming off. She also has splits in her heels and its driving her crazy. The doctors tried a lot of stuff like tar and other things but nothing seems to be working! Have you ever heard of such a thing or do you have advice what we can do about it? Take care!
Hi!
Your poor mother! Trying to manage eczema can be extremely frustrating. If you’ve been to a doctor and nothing’s working for her, then there are several things I’d suggest.
1) It might sound crazy…but try moisturizing with Crisco All-Vegetable Shortening. It’s not glamorous and is more than a bit messy, but it really does work to soothe and hydrate painfully cracked skin!
2) Suggest she modify her diet to elimate acidic foods, especially colas, coffee, alcohol and processed foods. (You can see a chart here. Some studies have suggested a correlation between an acidic body and eczema.
3) Soak in dead-sea salts, which many people have found to provide relief (it has something to do with the high mineral content). In fact, all dead-sea-based products will possibly help.
4) Finally, send her to a naturopath - they’ll try to identify the problem at the source and change whatever patterns she may be doing to cause it, rather than providing a temporary fix. Some people don’t believe in naturopaths…but I think that’s a close-minded view, seeing as (once again!) many of my eczema-ridden friends have found more-permanent relief through them. Good luck!
March 28th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
I just moved to Chicago from SoCal, and the cold weather (and thus wool sweaters) have made my eczema go crazy. After trying aquaphor (basically vaseline), aloe vera gel, and another lotion that a pharmacist recommended (Sarna?), I bought a bottle of AmLactin. I’m not totally clear yet, but it’s definitely cut down on the itching, which none of the other products did anything about. It contains lactic acid, which brings the pH of your skin down and actually makes it retain more moisture.
My mom’s dermatologist recommended it for her dry, cracked heels, and said it might help with my eczema as well. I’m glad I tried it!
March 31st, 2008 at 11:51 am
I had bad eczema that came and went, and migrated all my life. A couple years ago it was getting bad on the inside of my elbows on both arms. I saw the crisco trick on the Tyra show to help with scaly elbows and since I happened to have some in the fridge I figured I’d try it.
No kidding. I woke up the next morning looking like a normal person who had never had eczema. And it hasn’t come back! Later I found on the internet that this is a common trick for eczema.
The miracle of Crisco may have all been in my head but it WORKED for me so if you have this problem you really have nothing to lose by trying it.