Eczema Diet: Foods to eat and avoid

Eczema is a skin disease in which patches of skin become rough and inflamed with blisters which cause itching and bleeding.

Symptoms of Eczema

• Dry, sensitive skin
• Red, inflamed skin
• Very bad itching
• Dark colored patches of skin
• Rough, leathery or scaly patches of skin
• Oozing or crusting
• Areas of swelling

Eczema Evaluation Test

You might have all of these symptoms of eczema or only just a few. You might have some flare ups or your symptoms could go away entirely. But the only way to know if you have eczema for sure is to visit your doctor so he or she can look at your skin and ask you about your symptoms.

Recommended Diet for patients suffering from Eczema

Ensuring you have a good balance of vitamins, minerals and flavonoids in your diet can help your skin's condition. The following vitamins and minerals are particularly relevant for eczema:

1. Zinc - found in seafood, pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate, lean red meat
2. Vitamin C - found in brightly coloured fruits and vegetables.
3. Vitamin E - found in sunflower seeds, almonds, pine nuts, avocado and dried apricots
4. Vitamin D - is absorbed from sunlight in the summer months. You can also supplement vitamin D throughout the winter months as prescribed by your doctor.
5. If you don’t have allergies, it can be beneficial to eat plenty of oily fish, seafood, nuts, seeds and flaxseed oil.
6. Diets high in sugar and refined carbohydrates result in elevated insulin levels, which in turn promote inflammation. So avoid Sugars and Refined foods.

There are numerous things that people with eczema can do to support skin health and alleviate the symptoms, such as:

1. Take lukewarm baths. Keep fingernails short.
2. Applying Dr.  Batra’s moisturizer within 3 minutes of bathing to "lock in" moisture.
3. Wear cotton and soft fabrics, avoiding rough, scratchy fibers, and tight-fitting clothing.
4. Using mild soap like Dr. Batra’s soap enriched with Echinacea or a non-soap cleanser when washing.
5. Air drying or gently patting skin dry with a towel, rather than rubbing skin dry after bathing.
6. Avoiding rapid changes of temperature and activities that make you sweat (where possible).
7. Learning individual eczema triggers like artificial jewellery, etc and avoiding them.
8. Using a humidifier in dry or cold weather. Keeping fingernails short to prevent scratching from breaking skin.
9. Report if there is oozing / development of yellow coloured pus filled boils on eczema patches / development of fever or pain / sudden spread of eczema on other body parts