Seeking eczema naturopath/dietician/nutritionist for adult

I would highly recommend naturopath Dr. Pearlyn Goodman-Herrick! My family and I have worked with her for a variety of conditions over the past year. She has assisted me with skin and other health issues as well as helped my child avoid unnecessary antibiotics. It is easy to make appointments and I appreciate the support she has provided us. Dr. Pearlyn is here in the Bay Area and you would meet with her virtually. Her phone number: 415-306-7699 and website: https://www.homeopathyamerica.com/ I checked with Dr. Pearlyn - she said that eczema is so treatable homeopathically and would be delighted to work with you. Good luck on your health journey!

Hello there, Yes, as someone with some of these same challenges, I can highly recomend one of my practioners, Dr. Katherine Monahan, Naturopath. She absolutely helped me. She is not only knowledgable, thorough, and resourceful, she is understanding and kind. I have known her for about 4 years. She is always practical and easy to work with and I have never been disappointed with her care. Dr. Monahan provides both dietarty and supplemental support. Katherine Monahan, Naturopathic Doctor, Remedy Natural Medicine, 510.543.1728. 

Hello! I'm so sorry your eczema has flared since you gave birth. I don't have a recommendation for a practitioner (I didn't find any particularly helpful), but I can tell you what worked for me.

I am also a vegetarian and nursed both of my children. I also have lived with eczema my entire life, and have had times when my skin has literally blistered and peeled off. I also had a flare after giving birth after years of having my eczema under control for many years. I now only have a little in my ears that I manage with a steroid cream. Given that the reaction is on your hands, I wonder if the frequent handwashing, dishwashing, laundry, etc. that comes with having a little one has something to do with it. For me what worked was eliminating chemicals from my home and eating a clean diet. What that meant was

• eliminating all packaged cleaning products and using baking soda, vinegar, Bon Ami, etc. For laundry soap, I use Meloria. For doing dishes, I put on gloves and use Grove dishwashing liquid now available at Target. For the dishwasher, Blueland tablets. Bonus: much less expensive than packaged cleaning products and much less plastic waste.
• replacing all personal care products with simple, natural, emollient soaps, etc. EWG is a great resource for finding products. Little Seed Farm has a goat milk based soap that works wonders for eczema. A thick layer of their botanical butter on hands does wonders in repairing damage overnight, and their booty balm is great for baby's butt and your hands. Their deodoranta is by far the most effective natural deodorant I've found. I rarely use body lotion now that my skin has balanced, when I do, I use One Skin (crazy expensive, but I don't need much). There are a number of bar shampoos and conditioners that fit the bill.
• eliminate all scented candles, diffusers, etc, anything with frangrance.
• eliminate processed foods and eat organically as much as possible. Yes, it means cooking everything from scratch, but you'll get used to it and it will be worth it. Cook simply in bulk and freeze. I had to give up dairy for a few years to reset my immune response, but it may be difficult to get enough calories and nutrition if you do that while nursing. My bet is that eliminating chemicals from your environment will do the trick and you won't have to go through an elimination diet.

Good luck to you. Eczema sucks, but it is manageable. Be diligent at first, then as your system resets, you can lighted up (packaged foods occasionally, etc.) and see how it goes. All else fails, read Brave New Medicine for next steps.

My son also suffers with eczema. My acupuncturist just recommended this place:

https://cmdskinsolutions.com/patient-services

We have been working  with a FNTP who lives in Louisiana because she came highly recommended and because her rates are really affordable. She’s helped my son with a variety of holistic testing and we are just about to start her recommended herbal regimen. She’s really responsive and smart. 
Here’s her website:  

https://simplynourished.biz/author/latanyasmith/

Hi! I too have struggled with eczema atopic dermatitis and I too reached a new peak since I got pregnant. It's been a wild journey.

First off, I know I'm not a doctor but I really urge you not to take oral steroids if you are. My cousin who also had severe eczema took too many oral steroids and lost vision in one eye... Long term oral steroids are also extremely unhealthy and have really dangerous side effects (sometimes doctors aren't fully transparent!).

I've managed to suppress it naturally but I think different methods work for each individual. For one, I recommend going to an immunologist/allergist and having your body desensitized to any allergies you may have. It doesn't cure your eczema but can lessen the degree.

Second, this is a really weird method that I found but has been the most helpful and effective. In fact, I rarely use steroid creams at this point. When I shower, I do not use body wash. I scrub my entire body with bamboo roasted salt (leave comment if you want to know the brand I use). It hurts/stings where eczema is present, but it seems to detox it and makes me stop itching it. After a short scrub, I let it soak in me for a few good minutes. Then I rinse. When I'm out of the shower, I don't towel myself off. I immediately put on white petrolatum (different from vaseline petroleum) and then if really bad, apply steroid cream on top. Then I go to sleep. Note that I did this when my ENTIRE body was covered in ezcema. If you see them in spots/certain areas, perhaps doing this only in that area will be helpful.

For me personally, acupuncture and supplements did not help. Diet only made a nominal difference so I went back to enjoying my food because the benefit was too nominal.

Good luck - ezcema truly sucks!!

I suffered from hand excema for more than 15 years. My father had it as well so it was easy to pass it off as genetics. However at the advice of an acupuncturist who did muscle testing on me, I gave up gluten for three weeks and it completely disappeared. 15+ years of dealing with painful and unsightly raw hands—gone in three weeks! I never looked back…with so many gluten free options (including Happy Campers GF bread, the best!) it has not been the sacrifice it once seemed before making the switch. You don’t need an expert to guide you. Just some extra time reading food labels and finding new options. It has to be a 100% elimination for at least three weeks. For me, symptoms appear after a week of eating gluten and it takes three weeks to clear my system of it. So stick with it and you may find relief is in sight! Good luck. 

Hi, there - Check out Brenna, https://www.brennageehan.com/consultations , I see her virtually. I've been working with her over the past couple of months on nutrition (I was a long-time vegetarian, more recently vegan, I noticed a lot of shifts since having my son 5 years ago and wanted some clarity, support, and guidance). 

I also see Maki, https://www.hogaacupuncture.com/, in Albany, who is a wonderful acupuncturist. I've been getting acupuncture treatment for years and it's helped tremendously with skin issues (as well as all kinds of other health concerns). 

Wishing you all the best, I hope you find some good healers for what your body needs!

Very sorry to hear you are dealing with eczema on another level.  

I have dealt with lifelong eczema as well and only used topical steroids and moisturizers to manage.  Mine grew worse about 5 years ago, however, and I had to begin exploring remedies beyond the topicals.

Your derm may have already told you this, but immunosuppressants should really only be taken as a very temporary treatment. They probably have some of the more adverse, long-term side effects.

I don't have a recommendation for naturopaths - I tried working with one. She put me on a protocol that involved a number of supplements.  It was very difficult to tell whether any of them were effective, and ultimately I stopped working with her. As you know, it is very difficult to pinpoint the root cause of any individual's eczema as there are a number of variables that can cause it and everyone is so different.  My only recommendation for NDs is if you choose to pursue this route, find one that actually specializes in dermatology and, if possible, eczema. There is a woman on IG, Dr. Angela Fong (if I recall correctly), who claims she cured herself from eczema and whose practice seems centered on skin - you can look her social up. I think she's on the Peninsula.

You might want to ask your derm if they could prescribe phototherapy treatment. This is proven to be highly effective and involves no steroids/meds. I have a Davlin light panel for full body I got free through insurance (you can have it if it comes to that!) I am not using the biologic Dupixent, which is often the last resort.

Feel free to message, happy to discuss and commiserate!

There could be many things at play, and Michelle from Integrative Wellness is amazing! She will run the right tests to see what's truly going on. She has completely turned my hormones around and has given me a great plan to utilize as we work together less. She'll meet with you for a complimentary consultation on Zoom. https://l.bttr.to/C6W2R

Life long eczema sufferer here with particularly hard to control hand eczema. Over the years have tried a variety of treatments, including working with a naturopath, but I saw no difference in my skin. However, maybe you will find a different result.  I have found acupuncture to be helpful when things are really out of control in conjunction a simple diet that I have tailored to what I think helps me personally. I figured out what foods were contributing to my eczema after an allergist suggested an elimination diet.  I did a pretty significant elimination diet for over a  month and then slowly reintroduced different foods to see what might be making things worse and for me, found dairy and a few other items to be a problem.  It wasn't fun, but it really helped me figure out what might be contributing to my eczema and it did offer relief.  When my skin is really flaring up, I avoid eating out and cook/make everything myself - sticking to a simple whole food diet.  I also worked with an allergist to figure out what environmental triggers might be an issue, as well as chemicals in some beauty and cleaning products that are irritating for me. Not a cure, but definitely helpful.  Photo light therapy has also helped. A big one for me is trying to manage stress with exercise and mediation which does help. I know these are not cures, but they have really made living with eczema a lot easier for me and I am able to keep some of it under control. For the record, I do use topical steroids from my dermatologist, as needed. Good luck and hang in there! 

hi! looks like you have received lots of thoughtful responses. i just wanted to add one- i've seen suzanne (https://www.secretgardenacupuncture.com/) for a few years and she's helped with everything from fertility to sciatica. but i took my son, when he was a baby, and she basically cleared his eczema that had been making my life hell trying to deal with. she's an herbalist as well. i highly recommend suzanne. good luck!