A generic term for acute or chronic inflammatory conditions of the skin, typically erythematous, edematous, papular, vesicular, and crusting; followed often by lichenifications and scaling, occasionally by duskiness of the erythema, and infrequently hyperpigmentation; often accompanied by sensations of itching and burning.
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Allergies, herpesvirus type 1, vascular stasis. Most causes of eczema is unknown. Food allergies play a large part in most instances. Frequently eggs, wheat cereals, milk and certain fruits or berries. Lack of sunshine, fresh air, and constipation may be contributing factors.
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Eczema may occur at any age but most frequently in infants. Most commonly on the face, but can appear on other parts of the body. It causes severe itching, burning, and stinging of the skin. Sometimes it begins with pimple like rash which develops into larger blisters filled with water. Usually the skin dries up and forms little scales that itch intensely. There are two kinds of eczema, dry and moist or weeping eczema. Both forms are usually worse during the winter months.
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Select alkaline foods. Bowels should be regular. Do not use soap and water for cleansing the skin; instead, use a weak boric acid solution. Using a salt solution of one tsp. to a quart of water is also helpful. Take equal parts of burdock root, yellow dock, yarrow, and marshmallow; using a heaping tsp. of this mixture of granulated herbs to a cup of boiling water, steep, strain, and drink one-half cupful 4-5 times a day. Healing herb salve should be applied freely to relieve itching and heal the skin. (Herbal Salve) Use granulated or powdered herbs. Use one pound of herbs to one and a half pounds of cocoa fat, or any pure vegetable oil, and four ounces of beeswax. It is necessary to use a little more beeswax in the warmer climates, as this is the ingredient that keeps the salve firm. Mix the above together, cover, and place in the hot sun or in an oven with the fire turned low for three or four hours. Strain through a fine sieve or cloth. When it is cold, it will be firm and ready for use. It can be used, however, before it is cold). Whenever eczema occurs in infants, gentle restraint off the hands must be used to prevent scratching of the lesions, which may result in infection. When an infant has eczema, he should not be vaccinated for smallpox, nor should he associate with other infants or children who have been recently vaccinated.
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- Aloe
- Arsesmart
- Ash, prickly
- Azuki bean
- Balmony
- Beech
- Birch
- Bittersweet
- Bloodroot
- Borage
- Burdock, great
- Butternut
- Calendula
- Celandine, greater
- Chamomile
- Chasteberry
- Chickweed
- Cleavers
- Coriander
- Cowslip
- Crampbark
- Crowfoot
- Dandelion
- Echinacea
- Figwort
- Flag, blue
- Fleabane, Canada (horseweed)
- Fumitory
- Gentian
- Golden rod, European
- Golden seal
- Gotu kola
- Gum plant
- Heart's ease (johnnie-jump-up)
- Hedge hyssop
- Horehound
- Indian hemp, black
- Indian strawberry
- Indigo, wild
- Jasmine flowers
- Jewelweed (spotted touch-me-not)
- Knotweed
- Labrador tea
- Licorice
- Linden
- Marshmallow
- Nettle, stinging
- Nigella sativa
- Oregon grape, wild
- Origanum
- Plantain
- Poplar
- Primrose, evening
- Red clover
- Restharrow
- Rhubarb
- Rosemary
- Sandalwood
- Sanicle
- Sarsaparilla
- Senna
- Smartweed
- Soapwort (bouncing bet)
- Speedwell
- Strawberry, wild, leaves
- Sumac
- Tea Tree Oil
- Turtlebloom
- Valerian, Greek (Jacob's ladder)
- Vervain, European
- Violet, blue
- Walnut, black
- Watercress
- Wild cherry bark
- Willow
- Yam, wild
- Yellow dock
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LiveStrong: Herbal Supplements for Eczema
LiveStrong.com: Burdock Root for Eczema
LiveStrong.com: Borage Oil & Eczema
University of Maryland Medical Center: Eczema
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: About Herbals, Botanicals and Other Products
Medical Health Guide: Eczema Treatment
PubMed.gov: Borage oil in the treatment of atopic dermatitis.
PubMed.gov: Clinical inquiries. Do nonmedicated topicals relieve childhood eczema?
MedLinePlus: Eczema
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Back to Eden
, by Jethro Kloss; Back to Eden Publishing Co., Loma Linda, CA 92354, Original copyright 1939, revised edition 1994
The Magic of Herbs
, by David Conway, published by Jonathan Cape, Thirty Bedford Square, London, England. (Out of print)
The Complete Medicinal Herbal, by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993
Indian Herbalogy of North America, by Alma R. Hutchens, Shambala Publications, Inc., Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973
Earl Mindell's Herb Bible, by Earl Mindell, R.Ph., Ph.D., Simon & Schuster/Fireside, Rockefeller Center 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
The Old Herb Doctor, by Joseph E. Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1984, sixth printing 1994.
Planetary Herbology, by Michael Tierra, C.A., N.D., O.M.D., Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. WI 53181., Copyright 1988, published 1992
Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants, by Steven Foster and James A. Duke., Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000
The Herb Book, by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974.
The Nature Doctor, by Dr. H.C.A. Vogel; Keats Publishing, Inc., 27 Pine Street (Box 876) New Canaan, CT. 06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. Vogel, Teufen (AR) Switzerland 1952, 1991
The Yoga of Herbs, by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988.
Webster's New World Medical Dictionary, New World Dictionaries, 850 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44114, 1987.
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