Ask a Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctor: What Can I Do For Eczema?
In Second Spring, Dr. Maoshing Ni (or Dr. Mao) reveals hundreds of natural secrets to revitalize and regenerate at any age. He also discusses some natural treatments for those pesky skin ailments like eczema.
Q: In your book, you prescribe sun therapy to treat skin conditions like eczema. Can you explain why?
A: Eczema is a condition where the immune system is actually attacking the skin because it thinks that there are bacteria, allergens or foreign particles in the skin.
Most often it’s in reaction to some sort of skin bacteria which is pretty common. Eczema is basically an inflammation of the skin.
The sun’s UV rays actually kill those bacteria and then it can calm the immune system down so it’s not so hyper to continue attacking the skin.
However, you must take care not to over-expose yourself to the sun because then you can cause UV damage to the skin.
My guideline would be before 10 a.m. and after 3 p.m., 25-30 minutes without sun protection.
Anything more than that or during the mid-day, people should put on sunscreen protection on or possibly even cover their skin with UV-protective clothing.
Q: Are there any natural creams that you suggest for eczema?
A: I find that Aloe Vera & Vitamin E combinations are really good for keeping the area lubricated because often times it’s dry and flaky.
Within our medical practice, we also use specific herbal combinations for different patients depending on the type of eczema condition they have.