Many people turn to herbs to help with their eczema condition when nothing else seems to be working. Still others enjoy supplementing their regular eczema meds with some herbs to help decrease their flare-ups and reduce their level of itching.
Evening primrose oil is a popular herb in Europe for its role in fighting the effects of eczema. Evening primrose oil has a high concentration of GLA (which stands for gamma linolenic acid) in it. GLA is an essential omega-6 fatty acid that all human beings need to be as healthy as possible. Generally the dosage needed per day is two to four grams. Be aware though that it may take upwards of six months to see results but many people swear by this herb.
Zinc
Zinc is a mineral but is often classed as a healing herb. Taking a zinc supplement daily can have a positive effect on eczema breakouts. Be careful when supplementing zinc in your diet, as you should never consume more than thirty milligrams of zinc a day. Too much zinc can lead to another health concern- a deficiency in copper.
There are a variety of herbs that are believed to be cleansing for both the skin as well as the lymph glands. These include burdock, cleavers, nettle, red clover and yellow dock.
These herbs are beneficial and clearing up skin rashes and “draining" the affected skin of impurities. Yellow dock in particular is one of the best for treating eczema flare-ups.
Burdock Root
If you are a tea drinker then you might want to make a trip to your local health food store and pick up these three dry herbs- burdock root, red clover and yellow dock. Take one part of all three of these and carefully mix them together. Then take one teaspoon of the mixture of herbs and add it to one cup of warm or hot (not scalding!) water. Let it steep for a few minutes and then drink up!
Another recipe for tea that contains a variety of helpful herbs is aptly named “Dermatitis Tea". In this case you will need to gather together half a teaspoon each of the herbs burdock root, licorice root, sarsaparilla root, pau darco bark and if you are able to find it, bupleurum root.
You will also need three cups of water for this recipe. Mix all of the herbs together and then as gently as possible simmer them in water for approximately ten minutes time. After that turn off the heat and allow the herbs to steep for another ten-minute period. After the time is up, strain the mixture. To be of the most benefit drink a cup of this herbal tea three or four times throughout the day.
If you prefer a tincture instead then do so but make it with the same quantities of herbs to water as the tea recipe calls for. Tincture of this type (or ones that are very similar) should be available at most health food stores or you would rather purchase as opposed to make one yourself. Take the tincture as often as the tea- three or four times daily- and use half a dropper at once.