I had a documented case of eczema. I noticed June of 2013 that my right pinky finger was covered in itchy scales. My local doctor took a look and diagnosed me with eczema and prescribed a steroid that I never filled. I really wanted to stay away from steroids, so I had a second opinion two months later. That doc said it was a fungus. After that appointment, I treated my finger with a fungal crème for months. The fungal crème relieved the itching, but it did not cause the scales on my hands to go away at all. In fact, over the course of the next year, the itchy scales began to cover the whole back of my palm in a jagged fashion and began to cover most fingers and even the top of my hand. I found this picture of a flare up taken November 2014 before I started the protocol I will tell you about in January 2015. If you look closely at the picture, you will see the eczema covering most of my hand with the exception of my thumb. This picture does not due justice to how horrible my hand looked at times, but it is all I have.
I eventually saw a dermatologist In January 2014 who said my hand issue was indeed eczema after he scraped off some of my skin and looked at it under the microscope. I desperately asked him how I could get rid of it. He told me that one of my options was allergy testing, but that he did not recommend that as it was costly and may not figure out the exact culprit causing my skin to act up. He also told me he could put me on steroids to manage the flare ups, but ultimately there was no cure.
I felt desperate. I wanted a cure so badly not a "Band-Aid." When my hand flared, it would bleed. I could not wash it or really get it wet without causing myself a lot of pain. When I bent my fingers, my skin would crack and hurt so badly.
I began to research and pray. I heard about tallow and bought that. It helped soothe my hand a little when it flared up, but it did not cure it at all and was quite expensive. I then put myself on cod liver oil for 6 months. I noticed nothing. Essential oils helped ease flare ups, but did not cure it. I tried essential oil for two months.
I tried so many weird things....nothing worked!
I then consulted a naturopath in December of 2014 and made many more changes after that consult. I was already eating real food- meaning minimal to no processed food, but learning truly is continual. For one, I began to change my diet even more. I cut out all conventional oils and replaced them with coconut oil. I tried to eat good fats such as avocados, coconut oil, nuts and seeds, etc. I upped my veggie and fruit intake and switched to treating meat like a condiment so I could afford to buy organic meats. I completely cut hand sanitizer as I truly think this was a huge culprit in causing my skin problems. I used hand sanitizer ALL THE FREAKING TIME! If I had to use a hand sanitizer because I was out and about, I started to use Clean Well's alcohol free one. I switched my soaps to natural soaps. A friend of mine makes natural soaps and they are awesome! I love http://www.wendellandlew.com/ I basically tried to watch any and everything that came in contact with my skin.
I also learned that my skin has about 40% ceramide content. The ceramides protect the skin by enveloping the skin cells. Ceramide also helps moisturize and replenish and revitalize skin cells.
You can read about this here: http://www.
The best way - as shown by the research - to get ceramides into the skin is by eating them. One of the foods with the highest levels of ceramides is wheat germ. You can either eat wheat germ itself or you can take wheat germ oil.
I took 1 gram daily of wheat germ oil and also put it on my hand. This lasted a year and cost me $11.
I also bought a phytoceramide supplement online. It cost me $10 a month. I just stopped this supplement last month after almost a year being on it.
I also upped my probiotic intake immensely taking 6x the recommended dose (therapeutic dose) for 6 months and then tapered back down after that. I took specific strains and proven products that were catered to my situation and life. Not all probiotics are created equal. I also took two different brands of oral probiotics at night (you suck on them and do not chew), one one night and one the next. I believe this totaled $40 a month.
I slowly began to notice changes. After a couple months, my excema did not have flare ups as often. Then, the eczema seemed to lie dormant and under control. Then, as mysteriously as it popped up, it seemed to go away and my skin began to look smooth again.
I started this protocol in January of 2015. I want you to know that while I did make many changes and strove to eat as healthy as I could, I did not have a perfect diet every day. There were also days I forgot to take my supplements and probiotics. However, my hand is well and a direct answer to my prayers.
My healed hand is pictured below.
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