managing eczema using ayurveda

Eczema is an inflammatory disease caused by certain triggers such as food allergies, dry weather, clothing material, certain ingredients in personal care products, or emotional triggers. It belongs to a group of skin diseases called dermatitis and is characterized by dry, itchy, and sometimes oozing patches on skin. Ayurvedic texts describe a skin condition called Vicharchika that is analogous to dermatitis. The root cause for the disease is linked to improper digestion of food. Thus the main principles of eczema management in Ayurveda are those of proper diet and eating habits. In contrast, allopathic treatment is focused on managing symptoms using steroids in topical creams or internally to manage inflammation. Long term medication with steroids comes with side effects such as increased appetite leading to weight gain, acne, mood swings, and muscle atrophy. This guide outlines Ayurvedic principles to manage eczema.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. I am not a medical professional and do not guarantee medical results. Do your research and work with appropriate medical personnel for your medical needs. 

Causes of eczema
All major Ayurvedic texts (Charaka Samhita, Ashtanga Hridayam, Sushruta Samhita) point to improper diet as the root cause of Vicharchika. Improper diet includes:

• Incompatible food combinations leading to improper digestion of food - Agni mandya 
• Excessive consumption of sour foods, such as yogurt, fermented foods, citrus foods, vinegar, tamarind etc.
• Excessive consumption of heavy foods such as dairy products, fried foods, raw foods, and processed foods
• The doshas involved in eczema are Pitta and Kapha. Thus the general approach in treating this disease involves strategies to balance these two doshas. 

Ayurveda sees food sensitivities as a symptom of poor digestion which may be reversed by strengthening one's Agni. However, food allergies are considered to be genetically encoded and thus must be avoided to prevent flare ups. 
General eating guidelines

• Eat only when hungry. Food must be completely digested before eating the next meal. It takes a few hours for digestion to complete. Frequent snacking, drinking (other than hot water), or having more than three meals a day are strongly discouraged in Ayurveda. 
• Eat in a pleasant ambience without distraction. Ayurveda advocates that one should fully focus on eating and enjoy the process and strongly discourages multitasking while eating, even talking. 
• Chew your food thoroughly and eat at an optimal pace; neither too fast nor too slow. 
• Exercise portion control; understand what fullness means to you and eat only up to three quarters of that threshold. 
• Eat food that is hot, cooked, and fresh. Minimize eating out, eating leftovers older than twenty four hours, and salads. 
• Ayurveda advocates Incorporating the six tastes, sweet, salty, sour, pungent (hot or spicy), bitter, and astringent, in our diet. For people suffering from eczema, bitter and astringent taste are beneficial while sour, salty and pungent must be reduced. 
• Eat per the season. Eat hot, cooked foods in fall/winter; cooling foods in summer. Minimize ice cream, cold water, salads, dry foods (cereal bars, crackers, nuts etc.) in winter. Minimize sour and hot/spicy foods year around if you suffer from eczema. 
• Avoid drastic changes in your diet. We generally eat a diet we are used to. For example, vegetarian diet, pescatarian diet, eating specific foods for breakfast, etc. Changes to the diet must be introduced slowly, even if it is perceived to be a highly beneficial change. 
• Minimize all sour foods, including fermented foods like soy, yogurt, citrus fruit, sour fruit, and vinegar. 
• Drink organic pomegranate fruit juice in winter and coconut water in the summer. 
• Avoid incompatible food combinations. This is important in the management of eczema and is discussed in more detail below. 

Incompatible food combinations
There is a laundry list of foods which cannot be combined per Ayurveda. Incompatible food combinations weaken the digestive fire over time which is the root cause of all diseases per Ayurveda. It can be very stressful to break this down into what is OK to eat and what is not if you're new to Ayurveda. But we can distill things into a few guidelines listed below:

• The following foods can be safely combined: 
  1. Veggies and meat, salads especially are recommended 
  2. Cooked veggies and grains
  3. Lentils and beans with grains
  4. Oils, butter, or ghee with lentils, beans, veggies, and grains
• If you're combining anything other than what's listed above, be thoughtful. An incompatibly combined meal once in a while is OK. Repeated consumption of incompatible foods lead to impaired Agni over time. 
• The worst food combinations that lead to improper digestion are:
  1. Milk with anything other than some cooked grains. Cereal, cooked grains with milk are OK.  Combining milk with fruit (smoothies), eating cookies with milk (yeast containing products should not be combined with milk), salty or sour snacks with milk, meat and veggies with milk are considered improper combinations. 
  2. Yogurt, cheeses, and paneer are considered to be unwholesome per Ayurveda. People with eczema should minimize consumption of these foods. Buttermilk is wholesome, so substitute yogurt with buttermilk. Yogurt should never be consumed at night. 
  3. Eat fruit alone; no smoothies, or fruit yogurt. Avoid high acid fruit - citrus fruit, all sour fruit, pineapple etc. 
  4. Don't combine animal and plant protein. 
  5. Go easy on nightshades - potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, and chili peppers in particular.

Skincare guidance
​Appropriate skincare must be used along with diet management strategies to manage eczema. It is as important to avoid certain ingredients that can trigger a flare up as it is to include certain others to nourish the skin. Less is more when it comes to products. 

• Avoid fragrances. Even natural plant oils like lavender etc. can be irritating. Eliminate all scented products including scented deodorants, candles, air fresheners etc. 
• Use fresh, unpreserved skincare. Anything you buy from the store containing water (body washes, lotions, serums) have preservatives that will kill the skin's microbiome and further aggravate eczema. Saroya Natural's Resuscitate Serum is a safe alternative without any harsh preservatives. 
• Use a body oil instead of a cream. Creams are mostly water, wax, and a bit of oil. They prevent water loss from the skin’s surface. Oils penetrate the skin barrier and are more nourishing. Use pure sunflower seed oil, coconut, sesame, or sweet almond oil followed by the cream. If you're allergic to nut oils, jojoba oil may be used. 
• Get rid of soapy body washes or soaps that remove the body’s natural sebum. Ayurveda advocates the use of powder cleansers made of grains, lentils, and herbs. Saroya Natural's Creamy Pomegranate Bliss body wash not only preserves the skin's sebum instead of stripping it like most body washes and soaps, but also has beneficial herbs targeted to manage eczema. ​

Herbs that are good for treating eczema
In skincare, the following herbs are recommended to treat eczema:

• Aloe vera
• Calendula
• Hemp
• Vetiver
• Licorice
• Mugwort (Artemesia vulgaris)
• Neem
• Manjishta
• Bakuchi

There are some classical Ayurvedic oil formulations that help with eczema management. These are:

• Paranathyadi tailam
• Eladi keram
• Marichadi tailam

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