DERMATITIS,
ECZEMA, VITILIGO, ROSACEA AND OTHER SKIN CONDITIONS
by Lawrence Wilson, MD
î January 2010, The
Center For Development
The skin is the largest
organ of the body. It is an
insulator, barrier against infection, eliminative organ, and sense organ. Vitamin D is formed in the skin from
the action of the sun.
Health
conditions affecting the skin are mainly benign, but often unsightly and
annoying. A few, such as melanoma,
are potentially lethal.
Nutritional balancing and hair analysis research offer many insights
into the causes and correction of skin conditions.
OXIDATION
TYPES AND THE SKIN
Slow oxidation. Common symptoms of
sluggish glandular activity (slow oxidation) include dry, rough skin and lack
of sweating. Dry eczema,
psoriasis, itchy skin and many cases of dermatitis and eczema are associated
with slow oxidation. the latter
are often general terms doctors use when they are not sure of the cause of a
skin condition.
Slow oxidizers are
often copper toxic and zinc deficient.
Zinc deficiency is associated with many skin conditions.
Fast
oxidizers. Those with excessive adrenal and
thyroid activity tend to sweat profusely and have more oily skin. They tend more toward moist or weeping
eczema. Fast oxidizers often have
low zinc levels, contributing to their eczema, as well as to heat rashes and
diaper rashes in babies. Fast
oxidizers are also more prone to severe allergic skin reactions, such as hives,
although this can occur in both metabolic types.
COPPER
AND ZINC
Many
skin conditions are related to copper and zinc imbalance. These include acne, psoriasis, eczema,
vitiligo and other cases of dermatitis.
Copper is needed for melanin production. Melanin is the pigment which gives skin its color. Copper is also involved in collagen
synthesis. Zinc is involved in
wound healing, and helps give collagen and other tissues their elastic
quality. Zinc oxide ointment is a
folk remedy for skin disorders.
VITAMIN
A, VITAMIN E AND THE SKIN
Vitamin
A is needed for the integrity of the skin and mucus membranes. It works synergetically with zinc. Many skin conditions associated with
zinc and copper imbalance respond better to a combination of zinc and vitamin
A.
However, excessive
vitamin A causes dryness and peeling of the skin. This is exploited in the creams that use Retin-A, a form of
vitamin A, to peel the skin to remove wrinkles.
Vitamin
E promotes healing of the skin, for which reason it is used in many skin
creams. Vitamin E can be used
topically, as well as ingested, for maximum benefit. Aloe vera is another wonderful skin remedy. One can just apply a cut leaf to the
area or one can buy an aloe vera gel product in the health food store.
ESSENTIAL
FATTY ACIDS AND THE SKIN
The
American diet is low in the essential fatty acids, also often referred to as
the omega-3 fatty acids. This
deficiency can cause dry skin and conditions resembling eczema and
psoriasis. Adding fish oil, flaxseed
oil, primrose oil, black current seed oil or borage oil to the diet is
important for correction of some skin conditions.
DETOXIFICATION
AND SKIN DISORDERS
The
skin is an organ of elimination.
If other organs of elimination - the kidneys, liver, lungs and colon -
are not functioning well, often excess toxic substances will be eliminated
through the skin. This is a common
cause of some skin symptoms.
Therapies to assist the eliminative organs
often help the skin. These
therapies include additional Dietary Fiber tablets along with the daily use of
a near infrared sauna, coffee enemas, skin brushing, and colonic
irrigation. For some cases of
intractable acne and other conditions, these therapies are extremely beneficial
and will usually clear up most skin conditions.
Products
that assist detoxification through the liver include GB-3 which contains bile
acids and dehydrocholic acid. The lipotropic factors found in ICMN also assist
detoxification through the liver.
Many other treatments from foot reflexology to yoga can help balance and
strengthen the eliminative organs, indirectly helping the skin.
ROSACEA
This somewhat unsightly
condition may be due to an infection in the intestines or elsewhere. It is not one of the easiest conditions
to eradiate with a nutritional balancing program. One problem with it that I encounter is that sauna therapy,
a method that is so helpful with most skin conditions, can aggravate the
symptoms on the face. In this
case, one may need to not face the lamps of the sauna.
An interesting insight
about rosacea is that taking betaine hydrochloride and pepsin, a common
digestive aid, has been found to improve it.
PSORIASIS
Most
cases of psoriasis, an itchy, scaly condition of the skin that may be a fungal
infection of some kind, respond very well to nutritional balancing
programs. Most people report that
the condition goes away after a few months on a nutritional balancing program.
The use of the near infrared lamp sauna and coffee enemas is very helpful for
it.
ECZEMA
AND DERMATITIS
These
are somewhat catch-all diagnostic terms for various kinds of skin irritation. Most often, they go away easily with a
nutritional balancing program.
There is no need for cortisone cream, for example, that dermatologists
often use. It does not cure the
condition, however, but merely controls it.
Many
cases of eczema are due to low zinc and copper excess. Another factor can be a deficiency of
the omega-3 fatty acids or vitamin D.
Other cases are due to minor or sometimes deeper infections somewhere
else in the body. As these are
cleared with a nutritional balancing program, the skin problem disappears.
A
common skin ailment is eczema in newborns and infants. This can be very unsightly, though it
is not a serious condition otherwise.
It also goes away, usually within a few weeks to a month or two, with a
nutritional balancing program. The
cause is usually fast oxidation and a need for copper and zinc together. A properly performed hair tissue
mineral analysis can guide the correction of the condition very well.
URTICARIA
This
is usually part of an allergic condition in the body. It usually responds very well to a nutritional balancing
regimen.
MELANOMA
This is an aggressive
cancer. I do not recommend
nutritional balancing for it at this time. Instead, please read the article entitled Cancer And Alternatives, which suggests two methods
that are totally natural and work well for it in most cases.
BURNING
SKIN
This is often an early
or a later symptom of a blood sugar imbalance, and perhaps of diabetes. It goes away as the body becomes more
balanced and healthier.
FINGERNAIL
AND TOENAIL FUNGUS
This is an unsightly infection
of the nail bed. It causes the
nail to be discolored, rough and weak.
It can be difficult to correct.
Remedies that may work include those found in the drug store, or
possibly soaking the fingers or toes in a strong solution of hydrogen peroxide,
colloidal silver, or other anti-fungal solutions.
One of our clients
placed a red heat lamp near his feet and moved his toes close to the light for
about 15 minutes once each day. He
said that in time the nail grew out healthy. However, he must continue the treatment, I believe, or the
nail fungus will tend to come back.
VITILIGO
Depigmented
spots or larger white areas of skin are called vitiligo. In Mexico, this condition was treated
with large doses of valium. The
patients were heavily sedated by the medication.
Nutritional
balancing science is often able to heal this conditions as well, though it may
take longer than using a suppressive drug. In addition to the regular programs, one may need to add
B-complex vitamins and especially PABA or glutathione in a few cases. Patience is required for good results.
SUNBATHING
Due
to the threat of skin cancer, medical authorities claim we must avoid the sun. It is true that ultraviolet radiation
will age the skin. However,
studies show that sunbathers have more skin cancer, but less internal cancer. In addition, malignant melanoma, the
deadliest skin cancer, is more common among people who stay out of the sun and
usually occurs on parts of the body not directly exposed to the sun.
Contrary
to environmental propaganda, the ultraviolet levels in America are
falling. The changes from 1974 to
1985 ranged from -1.1% in Minneapolis to -0.4% in Philadelphia, but all cities
showed a decline in ultraviolet
radiation.
Reasons
for increased skin cancer include the southward migration of our population,
poorer overall health, and perhaps tanning lotions. These lotions block ultraviolet B, but allow the ultraviolet
A, which is supposedly harmless.
By blocking the ultraviolet B, people may spend too much time in the
sun, leading to subtle skin damage.
Sunlight
should be considered a nutrient.
Dr. John Ott wrote several books about the therapeutic value of
sunlight. At many sanitariums,
exposure to sunshine was an integral part of the therapy for tuberculosis and
other chronic diseases. Obviously,
overexposure to the sun is not beneficial. But some exposure, especially early or late in the day, is
healthful. For more information,
read The Hole in the Ozone Scare by
Maduro and Schauerhammer, 1992.
How to use the sun for healing. I recommend sunbathing for about
one-half an hour during the hot part of the day, and a little more up to 45
minutes if you sunbathe in the early morning or later in the afternoon. There are other benefits to sunshine in
the early or later hours of the day.
SAUNA
THERAPY FOR SKIN CONDITIONS
Without
a doubt, one of the finest therapies for skin conditions is a near infrared
light sauna. Also, a single
reddish heat lamp can be used by itself, but it is not nearly as good as
sitting in a near infrared sauna each day for between 30-40 minutes once or
even twice daily.
In
combination with a complete nutritional balancing program, the sauna will
cleanse the skin from the inside, which will help remove skin infections,
toxins that lodge in the skin, and assist with general rejuvenation of the
skin. For more on this, read Sauna Therapy on this website.
EHLERS-DANLOS
SYNDROME
A
rather rare condition that affects the skin is called Ehlers-Danlos
Syndrome. The skin sort of
shrivels up. Interestingly, a
30-year-old client developed something that looked very much like this
condition during a nutritional balancing program as he eliminated certain
chemicals from his body. As the
elimination proceeded the conditions changed form and eventually has lessened.
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