Eczema, Asthma, And Allergies
If you’ve lived with eczema for any amount of time, you know how irritating, itchy, and sometimes painful it can be. Not to mention, how embarrassing it can feel to show your skin to the outside world.
When our skin looks red and inflamed as it does with eczema, we may worry that people will think there is something wrong with us and not want to go out as a result of it or cover up to avoid stares from strangers. If you’re ready to feel confident in your skin and not have to worry about flare-ups happening, if you’re ready to enjoy the skin you’re in and feel good about yourself, then you’ve come to the right place. However, you won’t find a quick fix here. Just like your eczema didn’t really happen overnight, neither can the treatment program that will ultimately help to manage your eczema once and for all. We’ve all seen the commercials for various prescriptions to treat eczema, but these treatments are missing the mark by just treating the problem at a surface level. Plus, many of the prescriptions for eczema “treatment” have a long list of side effects that usually sound and are a lot worse than eczema. If you’re ready to treat your eczema, allergies, and/or asthma at the source, Vitality Family Health is ready to provide you real answers and treatment solutions.
Continue reading to learn more about how eczema, allergies, and asthma are connected, the causes and triggers of eczema along with allergies and asthma, and integrative treatment to help manage your allergies, asthma, and eczema.
The Causes and Triggers Asthma, Allergies & Eczema
Asthma, Allergies, and Eczema; at first glance these three conditions may not seem related, but new evidence shows that they are intrinsically interconnected. If you suffer from any one or all of these conditions, you may have noticed that when one flares up the others follow suit.
Eczema, along with asthma, is an allergic reaction to environmental factors including where you live, the types of lotion and soap you put on your body, the foods you eat, and stress (to name a few). These conditions may also be due in part to genetic conditions, for example, a person may be genetically predisposed to have more sensitive skin based on the foods they eat and ingredients in the lotions, soaps, and detergents they use.
Both asthma and eczema (atopic dermatitis), have been linked to inflammation that is caused by a reaction to environmental allergens. And, as this article states, many people who had eczema as a child will likely deal with both eczema and asthma as adults. And, over 50% of all patients who have a form of moderate to severe eczema also have asthma, food allergies, and allergic rhinitis (hay fever). Though the causes are widely unknown, eczema is linked to environmental factors, asthma, food allergies, and also can run in families.
Some of the main triggers for eczema include:
- Cold and/or dry air
- Stress
- Processed foods
- Lack of anti-inflammatory fatty acids and micronutrients in the diet
- Bacterial and viral skin infections
- Exposure to irritants found in detergents, soaps, fragrances, chemicals, and smoke
- Heat and humidity
The following may trigger asthma flare-ups:
- Cold or dry air
- Stress
- Upper respiratory infections
- Exposure to irritants like smoke, pollens, air pollution, or strong odors
- Heartburn
- Exposure to pet dander and/or dust
- Cardiovascular Exercise
Integrative Treatment For Eczema, Asthma & Allergies 
Allergies manifest in either the form of eczema, hives, asthma, or anything else that may be caused by an allergic reaction. This reaction is a sign that an allergen has been in or on the body for a long time (flare-ups or allergic reactions may occur after direct exposure in some cases). Integrative treatment for eczema seeks to combat the allergic reaction at its source. This means identifying what is causing the allergic reaction through a series of diagnostic testing including, blood work, allergy testing, and any other additional tests that will help to paint a full picture of your current health. Then, in addition to an elimination diet, we will also eliminate products that you use on your skin with common irritants and create a skin and dietary treatment plan that is in alignment with your goals. This will include limiting or completely removing products that have chemicals from the phthalate family, the anolamine family, and sulfates and parabens.
Studies have shown that the marriage of a good skincare routine with a nourishing diet that doesn’t cause inflammation or allergic reactions can greatly reduce outbreaks caused by allergies. At the same time we remove the “bad” stuff, we will also increase foods and skincare treatments and/or products that are designed to improve your health and protect your immune system from inflammation and allow it to perform with the full functionality that it was designed for.
Balancing your gut health not only can reduce flare-ups, but can also improve your body’s overall immunity. This decreases your chances of adverse reactions, like eczema and asthma, to your environment and improves every single aspect of your life.
Additionally, flare-ups can be caused by stress. As part of our integrative treatment, we will help you to discover ways to manage your stress in healthful and helpful ways and even address particular stressors and work to remove or greatly reduce these things from your life.
Every person is unique; whether you have been dealing with allergies your whole life or if eczema, asthma or any other allergic reaction has become a recent thing, our integrative medicine providers want to help you find the root cause of the symptoms you’re experiencing and design a treatment program that will help to manage your condition in a way that makes sense for you.
If you’re ready to get proactive rather than reactive about your current health, contact Vitality Family Health to get started on your journey to optimal health and wellness.