How Collagen Can Treat Eczema
Eczema is a common skin problem that can be painful and embarrassing. It can be hard to pinpoint the cause of an eczema breakout as well, making it frustrating to deal with. So, how can you manage the itchy, irritated skin that eczema causes?
There are natural ways that you can alleviate eczema. Safe topical treatments that can help the skin to heal include coconut oil and aloe vera .
Another way to address problem skin is by taking a collagenbased supplement. Collagen can work in a few different ways to help with eczema:
- Collagen has preventative qualities: it plays a role in strengthening and hydrating the skin and, one of the amino acids in collagen, glycine, is an antiinflammatory.
- Collagen may have an antibacterial effect that fights against bacteria that live on the skin , which have been known to cause eczema. A study done at Université Laval in Canada, showed that hydrolysed collagen has significant antibacterial properties.
- Because collagen is a major component of our skin, it is crucial to the healing process. It helps with the creation of new skin and enables skin to heal more rapidly. Collagen can decrease the signs of roughness and dryness in the skin, which are a couple of the most noticeable symptoms of eczema.
If you have to deal eczema, try taking a highquality collagen product such as Bell or Bea to help with skin health and healing.
Suffering From Eczema Marine Collagen Might Be Your New Best Friend
- Collagen as the main structural & most abundant protein in skin structure
If youre lucky enough to live someplace where the winter months can be characterized as balmy rather than blizzard, your skin is likely to be thankful . For the rest of us, however, winter is the season when our skin suffers the most, which isnt surprising at all taking into consideration factors like wind, lack of moisture, and sub-zero temperatures.
In some aspects, we may have it all figured out when it comes to winter: a cup of hot chocolate, a marathon of Netflix series, warm blankets, and hopefully a nice fireplace. But when it comes to our skin, falling into hibernation and waking up when its all over isnt so much of an option. Furthermore, If youre managing more chronic skin conditions such as eczema, your skin care routine in winter months is even more critical.
Aside from pampering yourself with daily and weekly skin care rituals including exfoliation, hydration, masks, and toners that are suited to your skin type this time of year calls for a more in-depth, focused routine, starting with your nutrition. The simple act of adding a scoop of Wild-Caught Marine Collagen Peptides can help you to better manage the causative factors when it comes to managing eczema rather than simply concealing the symptoms topically, the latter of which can quickly escalate into mission impossible during the winter months.
Tend To Your No 1 Priority: Controlling The Itch Of Eczema
Keeping itching under control is the most important job of any eczema treatment. The first symptom of an eczema outbreak may be an itch, which a patient scratches, explains Jessica Wu, MD, a Los Angelesbased dermatologist in private practice and author of Feed Your Face: Smoother Skin and a Beautiful Body in 28 Delicious Days. The scratching stimulates nerve endings in the skin and causes inflammation in the area, which turns into a visible rash and triggers further itching. Controlling the itch is key to controlling eczema outbreaks.
Ultimately, overcoming this itching can help prevent skin damage. According to the American Academy of Dermatology , skin infections are common in people who have eczema. Its a challenge to prevent eczema rashes from becoming infected, says Dr. Wu. Bacteria can enter the skin through scratches and other open areas. Ive seen increasing numbers of patients with eczema that becomes infected with staph and other bacteria.
RELATED: No, Eczema Isnt Contagious, But Heres How Secondary Infections Can Be Spread
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I Exfoliate For Instantly Glowing Skin
Recently, Ive been able to use my Triple Action Exfoliating Cleanser several times a week because its formulation hits the mark for sensitive skin while also providing me a successful option for skin brightening. Only when eczema-prone skin is really controlled is this possible. For really glowing skin, I use my Bamboo and Clay Exfoliating Cleanser. It provides really good physical exfoliation in a hypoallergenic clay base that’s perfect for sensitive skin.
I Rely On Hypoallergenic Pharmaceutical
As a dermatologist, I know the value of using a good anti-aging skin care routine. I started in my late 20s during my dermatology residency and now I’m 62 years old! Time flies and for an old tanning-addicted blond California teen, I know my skin care routine has taken years off my skin aging curve. I depend on retinoids, professional AHA glycolic acid creams, green tea antioxidants and hyaluronic acid to fight the appearance of facial skin aging. Having eczema-prone skin makes anti-aging skin care is tricky and I’ve worked out the kinks for my complexion.
Read Also: How To Get Eczema Off Face
Swap Skin Care Products For Manuka Honey
Skin care products that contain chemicals can cause eczema to flare up. Avoid products with ingredients like sodium lauryl sulphate, talc, lanolin, propylene glycol, phthalates or any other substance that you react to.
Manuka honey, can be a helpful alternative because it naturally contains antibacterial, antifungal and antiseptic properties so can help support the immune system. You can either eat a small amount each day or apply topically.
What’s The Bottom Line With My Personal Skin Care Routine For Eczema
Youll notice that my products sound custom designed for someone with dry sensitive eczema-prone skin – like me. Youre right! I, like my patients and so many others, need exactly this mindful level of skin care.
I am a dermatologist who knows sensitive skin from the inside out. Add to that my 35+ years caring for people with the same problem but unique product preferences and lifestyles and I’ve had a lot of experience solving sensitive skin problems. Dry sensitive skin is common – over 60-70% of women and 50-60% of men have it – this is skin care for us!
References
Hanifin JM, Reed ML Eczema Prevalence and Impact Working Group. A population-based survey of eczema prevalence in the United States. Dermatitis. 2007 Jun 18:82-91. doi: 10.2310/6620.2007.06034. PMID: 17498413. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17498413/
Thomsen SF. Epidemiology and natural history of atopic diseases. Eur Clin Respir J. 2015 2:10.3402/ecrj.v2.24642. Published 2015 Mar 24. doi:10.3402/ecrj.v2.24642
Farage MA. The Prevalence of Sensitive Skin. Front Med . 2019 6:98. Published 2019 May 17. doi:10.3389/fmed.2019.00098
Read Also: Best Places To Live With Eczema
What Are The Most Common Symptoms
Symptoms of eczema tend to be extremely uncomfortable and visibly noticeable as well. These include characteristics such as red, rough, itchy, textured skin, which can become even more irritated when scratched or when left untreated. In addition, you may notice a thickening of the skin in areas affected, as well as dark-colored patches on the skin as signs of eczema begin to appear. According to Health Line, eczema has the tendency of disappearing for a period of time, and then flaring up again.
In many cases, the terms eczema and atopic dermatitis are used interchangeably. However, atopic dermatitis is just one of the possible types of eczema you can suffer from, but also the most common and chronic form of it . Contact dermatitis, a less aggressive form of eczema, is caused by a known irritant, and the irritation seems to go away as soon as the irritant has been detected and removed. Moreover, seborrheic dermatitis causes rashes on the head area, including the scalp, eyebrows, nose, eyelids, and behind the ears. Dyshidrotic dermatitis, on the other hand, affects hands and feet, while nummular dermatitis has a close connection with our topic of nutrition today since it occurs precisely in the winter months, in form of dry patches.
Best Vitamins And Supplements For Dry Skin
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Dry skin can be caused by a number of factors, including dehydration, aging, seasonal changes, allergies, and micronutrient deficiencies .
Depending on the cause of your dry skin, different treatment methods, including medicated ointments and moisturizers, may be used to increase skin hydration.
Additionally, lifestyle modifications, such as drinking more water and taking certain supplements, may improve skin dryness.
Here are 8 vitamins and supplements for dry skin.
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Can Topical Collagen In Skincare Help
One issue that impacts our community is that topical steroid use thins your skin due to decreasing collagen production.
Other forms of steroids that may also play a role in reduced collagen production include inhalers, nasal sprays, and oral meds also should be factored into total steroid exposure.
Thinned skin is a shared frustration by many who have used topical steroids.
At this point, its not exactly clear if collagen supplementation can increase collagen production in these cases. Though research does show some promise in improving skin in healthy individuals, I wasnt able to find any research on those with thinned skin due to topical steroid exposure using collagen supplementation to improve skin thickness.
So what about the use of topical collagen?
There are topical products with added collagen on the market could they help improve collagen in the skin?
And can topical collagen be absorbed through the skin?
For this answer, I turned to a friend of the Healthy Skin Show Rachael Pontillo who is an expert in skincare ingredients and formulation.
Rachael shared that Applying collagen topically in cosmetics such as serums, creams, lotions, and masks with the intention of increasing collagen production in the skin is not nearly as effective as the product companies that market anti-aging collagen cosmetics would have you believe.
The first main reason is that cosmetics can only affect the epidermal layers of the skin.
Among Numerous Collagen Benefits Today We Will Be Focusing On Its Immense Effect On Skin Namely The Skins Health And Structure
Wild-Caught Marine Collagen is known as a superfood, not only for the body but also for anti-aging skin care. Adding a daily scoop of marine collagen to your diet helps to decreasing the appearance of wrinkles and promotes the skins hydration and plumpness, a study on oral collagen supplementation suggests. In addition, the same study found that collagen supplementation enhances skin moisture and elasticity, thus decreasing the signs of roughness and dryness – which are some of the most prominent symptoms of eczema, especially in the winter.
Furthermore, collagen supplementation has been found to combat skin imperfections by increasing skin moisture and repairing the dermal collagen network, a study by Asserin J. et al. suggests. Speaking of the dermal network, severe cases of infected eczema can manifest themselves through wounds, which can also lead to scarring later on. A review by David Brett showed that collagen plays a major role in wound healing, leading to faster regeneration of dermal matrix in case of wounds, rashes, and scars.
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What Foods Might Trigger Eczema
Some foods are associated with triggering eczema breakouts. They are often considered to be common allergens.
- Cows milk
- Soy
Other foods may also cause a response such as tomatoes, citrus and certain spices
If you suffer from eczema and would like to see if avoiding these foods we recommend trying an elimination diet by cutting the listed foods out one at a time to identify if they are contributing to your condition. We always advise that you get advice from your doctor, who might also suggest an allergy test.
Can Bone Broth Help Heal Your Eczema
April 4, 2017 by Jenn Keay
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Whats the Deal With Bone Broth and Eczema?
Perhaps youve heard or read about bone broth and its many health benefits. Lately, articles have been popping up everywhere not only in the natural, holistic world but stories have been finding their way into mainstream media as well.
So, whats the deal?
Well, bone broth has been around for generations, literally, as a rooted staple in many cultural diets. Its been an important source of nutrition and supported the healing of everything from leaky gut to joint pain.
But for those of us who deal with eczema, bone broth can be an important tool in our healing process and heres why
Bone broth is extremely beneficial for:
- Healing your skin
- Speeding up the healing of scars and eczema wounds
- Protection against aging and wrinkling
- Improving your overall immune system
- Promoting healthy sleep, energy and supporting a healthy mood.
- Healing Leaky gut syndrome
- Overcoming food intolerances and allergies
- Improving digestion
Plus homemade bone broth also has:
- 19+ essential and non-essential amino acids
- Collagen/gelatin which heals the skin, rebuilds skin cells, helps scarring, and helps form connective tissue
- Nutrients that support eczema, digestive functions, immunity and brain health
Bone broth is incredibly beneficial for every part of your body not just for your skin, but for your gut, brain, muscles and ligaments!
Read Also: What To Use For Eczema In Ears
When Should You Avoid Collagen
While collagen is generally helpful there are certain instances when supplementing collagen might NOT be a good idea.
The first is if you struggle with kidney disease and youve been advised to limit protein intake by your doctor.
Secondly, if you have an alpha-gal allergy an allergy to mammalian protein youd need to limit your collagen sources to chicken and marine sources.
And finally collagen supplements would be contraindicated for those struggling with histamine overload.
Collagen, collagen-rich sources, gelatin + protein powders are naturally high in histamines.
If you find that you are triggered by high histamine foods or barely get relief after taking one antihistamines daily, you probably want to avoid collagen.
Some of my clients especially those dealing with histamine-triggered eczema, rosasea + chronic hives need to reduce their exposure to dietary histamines while working on hidden histamine triggers like gut dysbiosis, estrogen dominance, poor DAO production, or mold exposure.
It doesnt necessarily mean that you cant ever enjoy bone broth or add a collagen peptide supplement to your daily life, but until youve resolved whats driving histamine levels higher, adding in collagen will likely make things worse.
Got questions or thoughts on using collagen? Leave them below so we can keep the conversation going!!
Thank you so much for turning in and I look forward to seeing you in the next episode!
Three Vitamin D Success Stories
Ive bumped up my daily intake of vitamin D3 to 5000 I.U. This is the first time in over a decade that I havent had an eczema flare-up at this time of year. I would highly recommend that Advocate readers do an Internet search with the key words vitamin D and eczema. There are thousands of articles attesting to its potential as a preventive and treatment when used responsibly at the proper potency.
Larry V.
Since my recent diagnosis of vitamin D deficiency and subsequent therapy with supplements, my eczema flares have disappeared and my rash is clearing! My diagnosis was made in March and coincided with your article Vitamin D: Hype or Healer? by Peter A. Lio, MD, published in the first quarter 2011 issue of The Advocate, I was skeptical! But now, with vitamin D supplements of 4000 per day and my health improving, I have hope for the first time in my life. I feel better now than I have felt in over 30 years. I am 69 years old and have had eczema my whole life. I live in a sunny climate, in Texas, and have had a lifetime of exposure to the sun. Thanks for continuing to inform for the sake of people like me, who have suffered all their life with this disease.
Barbara B.
Wanda L.
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Can Marine Collagen Help Psoriasis Sufferers
We know that collagen has so many benefits for our skin and how it repairs the skin collagen and the elastin protein fibers. People say how they notice fewer wrinkles and improved skin hydration after regular consumption of a marine collagen supplement. However, marine collagen has been found to also help treat certain skin conditions like psoriasis. Psoriasis occurs when skin cells are produced too quickly by the body which then results in the immune system accidentally attacking healthy cells. This is what brings out the red and sometimes sore and itchy appearance of psoriasis.
What collagen supplements can do for psoriasisNow we all know that a collagen supplement wouldnt cure psoriasis but we do know that it can definitely help with the symptoms involved in conjunction with vitamin C and with the help of a healthy diet involving whole foods that are not processed or refined. Kollo liquid marine collagen alongside many B vitamins also has vitamin C.
If you try to minimise the inflammation in your body by eating things like fish oil, ginger and spirulina and reducing our stress levels it should encourage our skin to heal and regenerate.
How much collagen should we be taking?The recommended amount of collagen we should be taking a day is around 10g. You can take this as a form of tablet or liquid but for more efficient results, liquid is the best method.
Eczema & Skin Hydration
Eczema is a skin condition related to the dysfunction in skin barrier elements, which eventually leads to an increase in trans-epidermal water loss TEWL, pH alterations, and dehydration that manifests as erythema and pruritus. Although there is another aspect of this condition related to inflammatory reaction and immune dysfunction, targeting skin hydration remains one of the most effective, safest and handled methods of keeping eczema under control.
A reproducible study investigated the effect of oral supplementation with marine collagen peptides on skin hydration and the dermal collagen network found that marine collagen peptides taken orally significantly increased skin hydration after 8 weeks of intake. The collagen density in the dermis significantly increased and the fragmentation of the dermal collagen network significantly decreased after 4 weeks. The study concluded that radioactively labeled collagen peptides had reached the skin and were retained in the tissue for up to 2 weeks. .
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