Oils ain’t oils
Lifestages
Oils ain’t oils
18 Nov 2011
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For years, the parents of children with eczema were told to put olive oil on their little ones’ skin: but it turns out that olive oil is far from the best treatment.
Even aqueous creams can do more harm than good, says Dr Jonathan Chan, of the Dermatology Specialist Group in Ardross, Western Australia – and it seems that using the wrong products could be one factor behind the growing incidence of this uncomfortable skin condition.
Share any experiences with eczema and oils here, or leave a comment with your thoughts in general about this topic
I’ve worked in the community pharmacy for many years and my customers try anything because they are desperate.
Maureen, Dubbo, NSW
I have found looking at the diet to be a great start: avoid processed foods and take-out foods with added chemicals and processed ingredients; avoid refined table salt, sugar, margarine, saturated fats and fried foods; avoid dairy; avoid soft drinks, cordial, bottled juices and vitamin waters that are full of sugar and artificial additives.
Eat a balanced, nutritious diet based on organic and biodynamic (as much as you can afford) wholefoods: fruit, vegetables, wholegrains, nuts and seeds. Especially consuming foods high in essential fatty acids, such as flax seed oil, hemp oil and LSA (linseed, sunflower and almond meal).
And then when it comes to soothing the skin, oils such as flax seed oil, hemp oil, neem oil (although a bit smelly), sea buckthorn oil, tamanu oil, baobab oil, wheatgerm oil and calendula are renowned for helping to relieve eczema. Another great one is to keep an aloe vera plant in the garden, or window sill, and use the fresh gel inside to help soothe eczema.
Living with severe eczema and dermatitis is so annoying, but after a lot of trial and error (24 years worth) I have finally got it under control! It is important to try and single out the trigger, which can be one or many things, I found certain clothes washing powders (I can't use any, only a couple of brands of liquids), dish washing liquids, no soap at all! no fragrance in anything, even certain foods (raw chicken & fish) if I am in contact for extended time, and even alcohol, spilling it on myself and even after a night of too many drinks I will have an outbreak!
It's so hard to go through everything and try and pinpoint what the trigger is but once you know it makes life so much easier, the easiest way is only change one thing at a time, so you know for sure!