Eczema Club reader review
"A very good informative site about this very distressing condition. As an ex sufferer myself I can really relate to this as it advocates natural remedies rather than drugs and medicated ointments. A good site for the topic."
- Susan, naturalhealthbenefits.com

Surviving Eczema is All About Attitude

Sunday, 30 March 2008

As you might notice, my focus in eczema treatment is not on the physical treatment. I highly believe in the psycho-dermatology factors that drives eczema break out.

Although not all people are driven by the psychology factors in their eczema break out, you have to admit that however small it is, psychology factors rule eczema sufferers' life - low self esteem, feels rejected by the society, even suicidal! Read my previous post about becoming suicidal because of eczema.

What can I do to survive eczema break out?

  • Stay calm - getting upset and panic will only worsen the symptom
  • Whenever possible, DON'T scracth! - scratching will trigger chain effect of itches on your skin with eczema patches
  • Use lots of moisturiser to avoid dry skin that will worsen the break out
  • Bathe or shower with soap less often to avoid dry skin
  • Pray or meditate - according to your believe, pray or meditate helps a lot
  • Last resort, use hydrocortico steroids - only for severe eczema break out
  • Last but not least, consult your doctor right away!

Eczema Pain is Beyond Skin-Deep

Wednesday, 26 March 2008

I recently stumble upon this great video about the current eczema treatment.

What's interesting about the video is the statement that says, although eczema can be treated, often doctors and their medical treatments only solve half of the problem.

Please watch the following video for the insight on eczema impact that is beyond skin-deep.


Video about eczema treatments that often oversee the emotional impacts of eczema

They tend to 'forget' about the emotional impact of eczema, which is, to me, more devastating than the skin problem itself - self-pity, frustration, depression, low self-esteem, and... "eww, what's that?" statement - affecting both young and old.

What to do? Eczema suffers and their relatives need to support each other to fight the negative emotional impacts of eczema, and the perception and comments by others that are both uninformed and not sensitive toward eczema and the sufferers.

The Eczema Control Plan - Worth to Try!

Saturday, 22 March 2008

I've stumbled upon one groundbreaking International report on what causes eczema. It's so groundbreaking, that it supersedes conventional medical opinions on eczema causes.

The report, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, states that until now, people believe that most eczema sufferers were having an immune reaction to some external influence.

However, the new evidence resulting from global studies suggest that in mild to moderate form, the skin disease is probably triggered by something other than an allergic reaction to allergens.

Here's the groundbreaking notion - a key factor in developing eczema is the structure of the skin barrier and the integrity of the cells' lipids and binders.

The report stated that people prone to eczema have a much thinner skin barrier than people with normal skin and this can be seen under a microscope, even if they do not have obvious eczema lesions.

To illustrate, please consider these explanations:

Normal skin barrier1: Normal skin


The very top layers of skin are cast off to let new skin come through.

Skin cells (bricks) are held together by binders (iron rods) and lipids (mortar).





Skin prone to eczema2: Skin prone to eczema


Faulty genes break down the skin barrier's binders or iron rods much faster than normal.

People with eczema also have gaps in their lipids or mortar.

This results in cracks all the way through the skin barrier.


Irritated skin after application of soap and detergents3: Soap and detergents


Irritants such as soap cause more break down and the "brick wall" starts to fall apart.








A broken skin barrier4: Dust mites and bacteria


A broken barrier lets allergens enter the skin easily.

Germs and more irritants then lead to an eczema flare.





How to protect your weaker, eczema prone, skin barrier



The report also confirm the importance of treating eczema much earlier in the cycle rather than waiting for a flare to occur.

The Eczema Control Plan, endorsed by the Eczema Association of Australasia Inc. (EAA), identifies and promotes understanding of the three stages of eczema - clear skin, first itch and redness and full flare.

President of the EAA and long-term eczema sufferer, Ms Cheryl Talent said, that if followed correctly, this plan empowers people to control their eczema and reduce their eczema flares by half.

The Eczema Control Plan allows patients to follow a simple, three step treatment regimen as prescribed by their doctor and includes:

# step 1 - use of a daily moisturiser when skin is clear

# step 2 - use of non-steroidal creams to control eczema at the first signs of symptoms and just after a major flare

# step 3 - use of steroid creams or ointments during a severe eczema flare.

To me, it's plain simple to follow and would like to suggest you to write it on a piece of paper, and stick it to the place you often visit - on your work desk, on the fridge, etc. I'd suggest my wife to try this, too.

Tiny cracks in skin barrier key to developing eczema full article


Ivan Widjaya
Skin barrier protector

Goat's Milk and Cow Colostrum Eczema Treatment

Thursday, 20 March 2008

I found interesting news on natural eczema treatment - goat's milk. To tell you the truth, I don't really like the idea of drinking a goat's milk, but maybe my wife want to give it a try? :)

I also read on the Net that some people have tried to take a supplement containing cow colostrum and egg yolk extract. According to them, it's pretty effective controlling their eczema.

However, I also found out from Dr. Weil's wellness site, that there is not enough evidence that cow colostrum will help treating eczema - He suggests to save your money on this.

Well, logically, goat's milk and cow colostrum will actually help eczema sufferer due to their properties that can actually enhance one's immune system. With the egg yolk that enhance energy, the combination of milk / colostrum with the egg yolk sounds good to try.

You can find extracts in your region's health food providers to be used as home remedies, or you can take supplements containing those ingredients.

Take heed, though - always pay close attention to your body reactions to any supplement to take. If the eczema is worsen or even other negative reactions occur, stop taking the supplements! Better yet, consult your personal doctor on this.

Please let me know if this eczema treatment is actually works for you, and share it in this blog!

Read goat's milk eczema treatment news from BBC
Read his comment on cow collostrum

Ivan Widjaya
Goat's milk and cow colostrum - cheers!

Eczema Flare Ups after Days of Terrible Weather

Tuesday, 18 March 2008

Weather really come into play in new eczema patch creation :)

Especially where my wife and I live, bad weathers are really THAT bad. Does weather really that influentials?

In my experience, yes it does. The problem with all of us with eczema is that our body is built based on our early ages environmental conditions. To refer, an eczema research has shown that exposure to bacterial toxin in the home may protect infants from eczema.

Based on the research, I assume that during our early stages of life, our body build some patterns in the immune system that are 'memorised'. In later stages of life, the immune system 'remember' to protect our body from harms that was caused in the past. Therefore, a change in the exposure pattern will effect the immune system.

I have no evidence whatsoever regarding this, but I use this logic to understand why today's global warming and rapid climate changes are one of the biggest factors contributing to eczema flare ups frequency. Even some people I know are new eczema sufferers recently!

Then, what can we do about it? Protect yourself not only from irritants, but also from the weather! There's one thing that I can suggest you to do as a habit - AVOID HAVING A DRY SKIN - bathe less often during rapid weather changes, or if you insist to bathe, please use moisturising creams or soap with moisturisers in order to protect you from dry skin.

Hopefully this helps.

Eczema Club Change in Blogging Policy

Monday, 17 March 2008

I'm thinking about a change in Eczema Club blogging policy.

As you might notice, I no longer post a lot of articles anymore. Eczema Club used to be a semi-feed blog - that is, finding useful eczema-related articles from the Net and present them in Eczema Club blog with additional comment. Although it might be useful, I am thinking that perhaps my family first hand experience would help you most in your daily battle with eczema.

Therefore, from now on, I'll keep you posted with original, first hands, stories and reviews in Eczema Club. Hopefully by doing this, Eczema Club will be more useful than it is now.

Chinese Medicine 'Eases Eczema'

Saturday, 15 March 2008

A traditional Chinese herbal medicine consisting of five herbs may ease eczema symptoms, a study suggests.

Researchers found the treatment reduced the need for conventional medicines, and improved the quality of life for young patients with atopic eczema.

The study of 85 patients by the Chinese University of Hong Kong is reported in the British Journal of Dermatology.

However, UK experts warned against using Chinese herbal medicine without first consulting a doctor.


HERBS IN THE MEDICINE
Flos lonicerae (Japanese honeysuckle)
Herba menthae (peppermint)
Cortex moutan (root bark of peony tree)
Atractylodes Rhizome (underground stem of the atractylodes herb)
Cortex phellodendri (Amur cork-tree bark)

Eczema is a group of inflammatory skin disorders that make the skin dry, itchy, flaky, red and sore. In more severe forms the skin can become broken and weep or bleed.

The Hong Kong team assessed the effects of the "pentaherbs formulation" on patients with atopic eczema - the most common type of the disease which affects at least one in ten children.

The capsules contained extracts of five raw herbs based on a widely used ancestral Chinese concoction.

In the study, 85 patients were either given the medicine, or a placebo.

Patients who took the medicine reported that their quality of life improved by a third, while those who took the placebo reported no improvement.

The researchers also found the herbal remedy reduced patients' needs for the conventional treatment of topical steroids by an average of four days a month, compared to just one day a month in the placebo group.

Inflammatory chemicals

Further analysis revealed that patients who took the herbal remedy showed lower blood levels of four proteins thought to have inflammatory effects linked with eczema.

This finding was confirmed in lab tests in which the pentaherbs formulation was added to blood cells in a test tube.

Nina Goad, of the British Association of Dermatologists, said: "These early studies show that children with atopic eczema may benefit from a specific concoction of traditional Chinese herbs, which could eventually pave the way for this remedy to find its way into mainstream medicine.

"However, we would warn against using Chinese herbal medications without first speaking to your doctor.

"Some retailers may not be reputable and the product they sell you may be of a low standard or could contain harmful ingredients."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/7291783.stm

Published: 2008/03/13 00:01:31 GMT

© BBC MMVIII



Eczema Club reader review

"You have a great site with honest evaluation of dangerous herbal products plus the good advice. Many will be helped by your site if they apply what you have posted."
- Muryal, nanas-cbmall.com

"Great looking blog and a good little niche to help fellow sufferers. The laout is easy on the eye and the navigation a breeze. I liked the article on water softeners. Its great that you provide your readers with information like ongoing studies and research. As for you question, I really don't know of any way you can improve your blog. It looks great to me. I wish you all the best."
- Linda, teendrugaddiction.blogspot.com