Eczema

Vergleich: Siehe: The effect of a homoeopathic complex in Atopic Dermatitis in children

What is eczema?

The term ‘eczema’ is used for a group of conditions that show a similar pattern of changes in the skin, giving rise to specific changes on the surface. The word itself comes from the Greek and means ‘to boil or flow out’ - anyone who has had acute eczema will understand how appropriate this is.

In acute eczema, intense inflammation leads to the formation of little blisters (vesicles) in the skin, which soon burst or are scratched open, leading to weeping and the ‘flowing out’ of fluid. Even if there are no vesicles, a section of skin affected by eczema looked at under microscope shows fluid between the skin cells, tending to push them apart. This produces an appearance reminiscent of a sponge- hence the term ‘spongiosis’ that is used by doctors. All the different conditions called eczema would be expected to show this spongiosis, together with some degree of inflammation around some superficial blood vessels, which are dilated, producing the hot, red feeling and appearance.

Acute eczema

Weeping and crusting

Blistering-usually with vesicles but, in fierce cases, with large blisters

Redness, papules and swelling- usually with an ill, -defined border

Scaling

Chronic eczema

Less vesicular and exudative

More scaly, pigmented and thickened

More likely to show lichenification- a dry leathery thickened state, with increased skin markings, secondary to repeated scratching or rubbing; and

More likely to fissure

Causes of eczema

House dust mites

Animal dander

Mould

Certain foods (e.g., milk, nuts)

Pollen

Certain fabrics

Soaps, cosmetics, perfumes

Detergents and other cleaning fluids

Water

Some people report that emotional stress can also make their eczema symptoms flare up.

Myths about eczema

Frequent bathing of the affected areas is helpful and soothing - frequent bathing and long, hot showers should be avoided: moisturizing preparation

instead of soaps (!or no soap!) should be used and moisturizers also applied liberally after bathing should be helpful.

Eczema is contagious - eczema is not contagious, and one can’t acquire the condition by coming in to contact with eczema suffers or their belongings.

Only children get eczema - although it is common in children. The condition is often seen later in life.

Homeopathic treatment of eczema

The core wisdom of the body is to push illness from a more vital to less important tissue. Thus, though eczema is a completely curable condition, this often requires professional, constitutional prescribing. Simultaneously clearing up associated allergies or overall immune weakness, If eczema co-exists or alternates with asthma or hay fever, merely treating the skin will not resolve the whole syndrome. Nonetheless, the remedies listed here can give considerable relief, and in fact are the ones most commonly used

to cure eczema on the deepest level. Sulphur is often indicated if there has been suppression by various ointments. Sulphur and other remedies can also cause skin “aggravations” - the condition gets worst first as part of the cure. Calendula is the best and usually only medicine that should be used to soothe itchy, chaffed or broken skin.

Following remedies are important in the path of homeopathic treatment of eczema

Ars.: Intense itching. Turns to burning when scratches till raw; when burning stops, itching returns. Skin dry as paper. Flaking. Pussy. Small vesicles.

Eczema worst on uncovered parts or areas. Chilly, weakness. Sips cold water.

Restless. Anxious, worried about health, death, security, picky, miserly.

<: after midnight/cold air or bath/wet; >: hot bathing/warm room;

Graph.: Red itching pimples; oozing of honey like liquid, which crusts over.

Infects and scars easily, heals slowly. Overweight, sweaty, constipated.

Scalp. Hairline, behind ears, genitals, back of hands, palms, skin folds.

Thickened skin. Deep cracks in fingers, heels, etc. nails thick. Grooved.

<: night/menses/heat (though chilly); >: cold application;

Mez.: Violent itching; smarting, crawling, but parts feels cold, as if cool breeze.

Acrid oozing, forms hard, thick crusts with pus under them or white scabs, matting the hair. Intense burning after scratching. Eczema after vaccines.

Scalp, margins of hair, face, lids, eyebrows, hands and feet, cracked lips.

< night/heat of bed or bath/drafts/damp/touch; >: open air;

Nat-m.: Small itchy blisters with corrosive fluid; skin becomes red, raw, inflamed.

Margins of hair; bends of joints, behind ears. Dry flaky crusts form after.

Craves salt, thirsty. Greasy, oily hair. Dry skin in general. Underweight.

Eczema from suppressed emotion, inner grief. Avoids consolation, fuss.

<: warmth/salt/seashore/menses; >: cool weather/bathing;

Petr.: Red, raw, moist surface: burning and itching: oozing after scratching.

Deep cracks in folds, fingers. Bleed easily, become infected. Ulcerations.

Eruption of the palms, fingerprints, bends of joints, behind ears, genitals.

Itching, scratches until it bleed; the part becomes cold after scratching.

<: night/winter/cold air/moving vehicles; >: warm air/dryness;

Sulph.:

Moist, weeping eruptions, foul odor. Intensely itchy; scratches till it bleeds, causing burning. Skin bleeds easily. Dry, scaly, cracked areas.

Unhealthy skin, pimples, easily infected. Burning hot feet at night.

Hair margins, face, areas of perspiration, feet, bends of elbows, knee.

Intellectual dreamer. Lethargic, unmotivated. Tired and always hungry

<: night/warmth of bed/heat/bathing/wool; >: dry, cool bathing;

Remedies in Eczema

Antip.: Erythema, eczema, pemphigus. Intense pruritus, urticaria appearing and disappearing suddenly with internal coldness.

Arund-d.: Eczema behind the ears; itching and crawling especially of chest, upper extremities.

Cic-v.: Capitis - long standing in a young woman covered the whole scalp like a cap. Lemon coloured crust. Elevated eruptions as large as peas.

Cist-c.: Itching all over, small painful pimples Mercurio-syphilitic ulcers. Skin of hands hard, thick dry fissured; deep cracks. Itching of swollen hands and arms, general

itching preventing sleep.

Corn-a.: Eczema, cracked skin everywhere (in creases and folds), exuding a sticky watery fluid.

Crot-t.: Intense itching of skin (scrotum), but so sensitive and sore is unable to scratch; > by gentle rubbing, < cold washing.

Fago.: Itching; > bathing in cold water; < scratching = soreness, < touch; Itching of knee and elbows and hairy portions. Vesicular pustular, phlegmonous dermatitis skin

hot swollen.

Fuli.: Obstinate ulcers, epidermis, > eczema, chronic irritations of mucous membranes of mouth.

Repertory:

[Dr. Subrata K. Banerjea]

Cracks: Petr. - Eczema < winter, hands chap and bleed. Deep cracks, fissures.

----------- X-Ray - Deep cracks.

Dry: Pilocarpus (Jaborandi) - Dry Eczema

Glands: Clem. - Associated glands inflamed

Hands: Jug-c. - Eczema of hands, wrists

Itching: Osmium - Eczema with pruritus

Pregnancy: Sepia - Eruption at time of breast-feeding or during pregnancy

Scrotum: Crot-t. - Scrotum

Summer: Sars. - Summer cracks

Vaccination after: Kali-m. - Eczema after vaccination

Winter: Psor. - Eczema > summer < winter

Wound around: Formalin - Eczema in neighbourhood of wound

Eczema or dermatitis are terms used to describe the characteristic clinical appearance of inflamed, dry, occasionally scaly and vesicular skin rashes associated with divergent underlying causes. The word eczema is derived from the Greek, meaning to ’boil over’. Which aptly describe the microscopic blister occurring in the epidermis at the cellular level. Dermatitis, as term suggests, implies inflammation of the skin which relates to the underlying pathophysiology.

Causes of acute eczema

Contact irritants such as:

Metals

Soaps

Perfumes

Dyes

Topical medications

Pollutants

Wool

Food allergies

Causes of chronic eczema

Suppressed acute eczema through long term topical steroid treatment

Stress

Hereditary

Imbalanced immune system

Fungal overgrowth

Deficiency of or inability to process essential fatty acids

Poor detoxification

Low levels of gastric acids and poor digestions

Low levels of good flora

Symptoms of acute eczema

Redness of skin

Dryness

Burning

Swelling

Irresistible desire to scratch

Crust over skin

Oozing of fluid

Blister formation

Symptoms of chronic eczema

Recurring cases of acute eczema

Scaly patches over skin

Dryness of skin

Thick skin

Constant itching

Changes in color of skin

Homeopathic treatment of eczema

Homeopathy is one of the most popular holistic systems of medicine. The selection of remedy is based upon the theory of individualization and symptoms similarity by using holistic approach. This is the only way through which a state of complete health can be regained by removing all the sign and symptoms from which the patient is suffering. The aim of homeopathy is not only to treat eczema but to address its underlying cause and individual susceptibility. As far as therapeutic medication is concerned, several remedies are available to treat eczema that can be selected on the basis of cause, sensations and modalities of the complaints. For individualized remedy selection and treatment, the patient should consult a qualified homeopathic doctor in person. There are following remedies which are helpful in the treatment of eczema:

Alum.: skin dry even in hot weather, itching, bleeding when scratched, aggravation in evening, on alternate days, from heat of bed, at new moon, from eating new potatoes; amelioration; hard crust upon scalp; skin feels as if white of egg had dried on its surface.

Am-c.: eczema on the bends of the extremities; excoriation between the thighs and about genitals; < wet applications.

Canth.: eczema solare with much burning and itching; when touched burning and smarting; complications with urinary troubles; < from warmth; scales from on scalp like enormous dandruff.

Crot-t.: intense itching of skin; but so tender; unable to scratch; > gentle rubbing; eczema over whole body; develops an acute eczema over whole body.

Bov.: eczema over back of hand; moist eczema in the bends of knees, appearing during the full moon; women suffering from Dysmenorrhea

Ars-i.: eczema of the beard with oozing of watery discharge; Itching < washing; dry scaly itchy eruptions

Ant-c.: eczema of face, genitals, and anus; severe continuous itching; eczema with gastric troubles; burning is < at night.

Hydr.: crusty, burning eczema on the neck. Eruptions like small pox-lupus; eczema on margins of head (in front)

Tell-met.: itching of hands and feet; herpetic eruptions; ring shaped lesions with offensive discharges; Barber’s itch, stinging skin, eczema on back of ears and on occiput; offensive foot sweat.

Led.: eczema of face and cheeks; skin is red in color, and < scratching and at night. Putting feet in cold water gives relief.

Clem.: pustular eczema, vesicles with watery secretions followed by formation of scales and crust; inflammation increases with the increasing moon and decreasing with decreasing moon

Borx.: itching on the back of finger joint with loss of nails.

Staph.: eczema of head, ears, face, and body; Thick scales, dry and itch violently; scratching changes its location of the itching.

Olnd.: eczema of the scalp.

Petr.: yellow green thick crust on the face and neck with profuse discharges; eczema disappears in summers and reappearing in winters; eczema and fissures occurring on the hand or behind the ear.

Nat-m.: eczema of hair margin (back of head).

Hep.: eczema of scalp, humid, very sore and sensitive to the touch, burning and sore on scratching, itching violently on rising in the morning, on genitals and upon on scrotom and thighs, emitting an offensive odor; boils on head and neck, very sensitive to contact; pustules around the seat of the disease, hands and feet always cold.

Lyc.: eruptions begins on the back of the head and extends to face, also on hands, crust thick bleeding, oozing foetid moisture, itching violently; aggravation of symptoms from 4 - 8 h. From getting heated, > cold air or uncovering the parts.

Psor.: dry or foetid eruptions; crusty eruptions, vesicles being pointed, with red areole; skin itches intolerably, scratches until it bleeds; dry and scaly eruptions, with little pointed vesicles around the reddened edges, discharge appearing during summer, but reappearing when the cold weather comes on.

Rhus-t.: moist eruptions on head, beginning with small yellow vesicles with red areola, forming thick crust and hard horny scabs which eat of the hair, offensive itching worse at night, surface raw and excoriated; eczema scrota on inside of thighs, discharges freely, or thickened; eczema of right hand.

Thuj.: eczema < after vaccination; itching vesicles with shooting pains; dryness of covered parts; eruptions only on covered parts.

Sulph.: dry, scabby, offensive, easily bleeding, burning eruption, beginning along the margin of the hair from ear to ear posteriorly, with sore pains and crack; > from scratching;

Eczema is a disease in a form of dermatitis characterized by

Redness

Edema

Dryness

Itching

Crusting

Cracking

Oozing and bleeding.

Atopic eczema is a common endogenous form of dermatitis and usually begins in childhood. It is an itchy chronic and relapsing dermatitis.

Clinical appearance of Atopic eczema:

Acute eczema – red, wet, weepy, vesicles

Subacute eczema – red, dry, scaly

Chronic dermatitis – dry, thickened, excoriated.

Infantile eczema – rash starts on the cheeks but may occur on any part of body. Initial lesions are edematous, erythematous papules which may become confluent. They are often markedly excoriated with exudation and crusting

Contact eczema – in which eruptions caused by external agents, may classified in to irritant contact eczema and allergic contact eczema.

Causes of eczema:

Familial tendency

History of fever

Nickel

Rubber

Specific medications like corticosteroids

Plan allergens

Stress

Respiratory disease

Hay fever

Dry winter weather

Cosmetics

Low humidity

Long continued exposure to water

Eczema remedies

Selection of eczema remedies depends upon cause and condition of disease. Each and every patient should be advised to take daily bath with ordinary toilet soap

with less caustic soda and shampoo the hair daily to keep hair and skin clean. Oil application even on dry skin should be stop because oil traps more dirt on the skin.

Patient should always avoid exposure to irritants and allergens. Should also avoid long continued bathing as it causes dryness of skin.

Allopathic treatment – mainly include corticosteroid, immunosuppressant, antibiotics, anti histamines etc.

Atopic eczema is a common endogenous form of dermatitis and usually begins in childhood. It is an itchy chronic and relapsing dermatitis.

Clinical appearance of Atopic eczema:

Acute eczema – red, wet, weepy, vesicles

Subacute eczema – red, dry, scaly

Chronic dermatitis – dry, thickened, excoriated.

Infantile eczema – rash starts on the cheeks but may occur on any part of body. Initial lesions are edematous, erythematous papules which may become confluent. They are often markedly excoriated with exudation and crusting

Contact eczema – in which eruptions caused be external agents, may classified in ti irritant contact eczema and allergic contact eczema.

Treatment of eczema depends upon cause and condition of disease. Each and every patient should be advised to take daily bath with ordinary toilet soap with less caustic soda and shampoo the hair daily to keep hair and skin clean. Oil application even on dry skin should be stop because oil traps more dirt on the skin. Should always avoid exposure to irritants and allergens. Should also avoid long continued bathing as it causes dryness of skin.

Other alternative treatments for eczema – Include Naturopathy, Herbal medicine, Yoga, Ayurveda, Acupressure etc.

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