Mailing-List: list eczemapsoriasis@onelist.com;
Date: 13 Nov 1999 13:11:05 -0000
Subject: [eczemapsoriasis] Digest Number 92

Message: 2
   Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 09:52:52 EST
   From: Birdnbuf@aol.com
Subject: Re: All flared up (and now where to go... )

Dear Tracy:

I am a vegetarian with eczema/psoriasis.  I admit, I do enjoy cheese & eggs!  
Diet does not seem to be a factor for me.  I tend to get long-lasting patches 
of dry, scaly, itchy skin lasting in some cases for years, rather than sudden 
flare-ups.  Knees & elbows scaly for decades, a bad patch on the leg for 2-3 
years, a couple years of really bad hands.....For me, important measures have 
been controlling the itching (Man, nothing much is worse than scratching one 
large patch on your calf raw for a couple of years!) and clearing those 
patches up.

I find cortisone does NOT work for me.  Also, I am allergic to lanolin, so 
have to be very careful what I use.  A&D ointment, for example, is lanolin 
based.  When I tried that my fingers swelled like vienna sausages.  Also, 
anything containing methylparaben or polyparaben seems to aggravate it.  So I 
can use my herbal sunscreen everywhere BUT on an active outbreak!  For me, 
herbal creams in an olive-oil base work well.  Goldenseal, black walnut, 
chamomile have all proved soothing. 

After reading Dusan's many posts on the theory that parasite infection is the 
root cause of eczema/psoriasis/candida I tried a mild intestinal cleansing.  
(After being hit again with a pesky, hard-to-clear-up candida infection)  
Took a tincture of black walnut and wormwood  for 10 days.  Cleared the 
candida, and also the longest lasting of my eczema patches!  (My left knee 
has been scaly for decades!)  For the itchy scalp, I stopped using any 
shampoo containing methyl- or polyparaben, sodium laurel sulfate, or cocomide 
DEA.  I also use a herbal/cider vinegar rinse between shampoo and 
conditioner.  No more itchy scalp!

Good luck, keep exploring.

Kathleen