It is estimated that 17 percent of Canadians will experience atopic dermatitis at some point in their lifetime.
“Eczema is like an atopic dermatitis. It’s an inflammation to the skin and the skin’s our largest eliminative organ. So, it usually gets inflamed when you’re high in acids. And so, stress is acidic, certain foods are acidic, certainly coming into contact with things that are acidic can be an irritant. Generally, it’s an inflammation of the skin, and inherited weaknesses could come into play with that as well,” said Stephie Cyr, owner and manager of Inner Insights Holistic School and Spa.
For those who have the condition, eczema can impact them in many ways. Eczema can impact one’s ability to sleep, it can diminish self-confident, increase stress, take a toll on mental health and physical health, impact relationships, and sometimes be the deciding factor of what one will/can do. This is not to say in any way that every person who has eczema has these experiences. But these are common for most people who do.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, many people are feeling an increase in stress, anxiety, loneliness, and depression. For people with eczema, stress exacerbates their condition and the severity of it.
As Cyr said, “it’s amplifying stress and so it’s amplifying inflammation. And amplifying inflammation does not only mean that it amplifies eczema, which it most certainly has, and hand sanitizers have just added to that whole crisis with the inflammation of eczema- especially to the hands. But it’s added to all disease because all diseases stem from inflammation. So, we’re just talking about one disease which is called eczema or one condition. But all conditions stem from an irritation because of an inflammation. And stress is an inflammatory factor. So, right away, COVID is an epidemic that has caused a huge amount of stress on every single person alive. And so that has amplified the amount of disease,” she said.
Cyr highlights that we need to take a little bit of time for ourselves each and every day to try to calm down that stress- especially during these challenging times.
“Stress management. Whether that’s meditation, hiking, herbal baths, herbal teas, reading a book, journaling, hugging a tree, you know whatever feels good to you. Have a handful of them and rotate them so you don’t get used to them,” Cyr said in response to how one can help to heal their eczema.
Along with stress management, Cyr highlighted the importance of using chemical free products such as soaps, detergents, and moisturizers. But also eating lubricating foods such as tuna, salmon, and hemp. This is because a lot of people who have eczema are lacking in omegas. As well as staying hydrated.
As for healing one’s eczema permanently, Cyr says that to do so you’d have to basically be “ritually living like a monk.” And that instead of placing the focus on getting rid of it, we should instead see flare ups as little reminders.
“So, that’s the thing with eczema is, I think everybody in their life will have something that they struggle with and the struggle is a reminder to love yourself like you would a baby. You know that maybe you’re stressed right now and maybe this is a good time to do something that feels good. So, I do believe that you can cure anything, but I also believe that your body will talk to you and will give you reminders when you fall off track.”
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