Before reading the main content below, please note that I’m not a doctor, and I don’t claim that the method I share in this blog will work for everyone with eczema. However, anyone can try it as it’s safe and has no side effects.
You might be as surprised as I was when I first heard about this method. Eggs? How could they work? Eczema is notoriously difficult to treat, even with corticosteroid-containing medications. However, it worked for me. Please check the images below. As I didn’t initially intend to write this blog, I didn’t take photos of the initial state which was red and weeping. The photos below were taken after I tried eggs for more than one week.
Left ankle:
Right ankle:
How Do I Use Eggs to Cure Eczema?
If the eczema is severe, it’s better to consult a doctor. However, for less severe cases like mine, affecting certain areas (in my case, ankles and feet), the method I’m about to share is quite effective.
This method, shared by a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, has been reported to effectively treat even stubborn, long-standing eczema, including weeping eczema. Here’s how it works.
Fill a pot with cold water and add two eggs. Boil vigorously for half an hour to ensure firmness, then reduce heat to a minimum. Remove one egg, leaving the shell intact. If too hot, wrap it in a paper towel and gently roll it over the affected area and surrounding skin. Once cooled slightly, you can remove the paper towel. If tolerable, rolling directly on the skin at the beginning is better. I tried this method in winter, so I could bear direct contact. Besides, the egg is rolled back and forth rather than staying in one place, so it won’t cause burns.
When one egg cools, switch to the other. As long as the shell remains intact, you can reheat them multiple times. If the eggshell remains intact at the end, I usually peel it and continue rolling. Rolling with a peeled egg is more comfortable and adds a bit of moisture, making the skin more hydrated.
Please remember, regardless of which part of the skin the eggs come into contact with, these two eggs cannot be eaten.
I usually roll for 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime. Consistency yields results. This method worked relatively quickly for me. After the first time of rolling, itching subsided at night. After three times, the affected area became noticeably smoother and softer, previously raised and inflamed. If there’s weeping, it usually stops the next day.
This egg rolling method is suitable for any part of the body affected by eczema, including the face, scalp, eyes, mouth, lips, hands, legs, feet, or any other area. However, caution against burns is essential.
Is it suitable for infants and toddlers? Yes, but be cautious to avoid burns too.
Can You Heal Eczema Naturally? | My Eczema History
Can you heal Eczema naturally? Yes, you can. I got it healed without any medication in the past and the most recent occurrence of eczema was effectively managed using the method of rolling eggs. Let me share more about my eczema history.
I first got eczema in the third year of high school, about more than ten years ago. The doctor said it might have been triggered by the stress of studying, or it could have been an allergic reaction for some other unknown reason.
My body had many large patches of redness and swelling, and it was very itchy. Daily injections, medications, and creams did not show improvement, or if they did, the symptoms would return after a day or two. Eventually, it slowly developed into eczema, with “weeping eczema” appearing on my feet. The medications used for eczema contained corticosteroids, and I gradually became resistant to them. The medications and injections no longer had any effect on me.
At that time, my mom’s friend gave us a Chinese herbal formula which he had adjusted based on a formula he saw in a traditional Chinese medicine book. He was an elder whom my mom respected and trusted, with a background of traditional Chinese medicine, so we decided to stop using the modern medicine and give it a try. In fact, my mom had already considered trying traditional Chinese medicine because it had successfully treated my childhood rhinitis and my dad’s severe gastric ulcers, both of which had never relapsed.
After receiving the herbal formula, my mom went to the pharmacy to get the herbs, boiled them into a decoction for me to drink every day, and used the boiled herbal residues to bathe me.
I remember that I didn’t see any obvious effects after drinking it for seven days; my body was still red, swollen and itchy. However, miraculously, after seven days, I noticed that the itching stopped, and the swelling on my body was reduced by half.
In the following days, the redness on my body completely disappeared, and the weeping eczema on my feet began to scab over. I continued to drink the herbal medicine for another half a month.
During the herbal treatment, my mom’s friend also advised me to follow a vegetarian diet, only eating vegetarian dishes and avoiding all meat, for three months. That period was quite difficult, and I am grateful to my dear mom for accompanying me, having vegetarian meals for me every day, and boiling herbal medicine for me!
After that, I did not have any relapses until two years ago. The eczema on my ankles and feet recurred because of work-related stress. I went to the hospital for topical creams, but the symptoms kept recurring. Later, I ignored it and went on a trip to Yunnan. When I came back, the eczema miraculously disappeared. I think the reason for this outbreak was the high work pressure combined with the hot and humid weather in Shenzhen.
Why do I think the weather is also a factor? Shenzhen has a hot and humid climate, which easily leads to dampness or Shiqi (湿气). You can consider it as the toxins and waste in your body. Dampness or Shiqi (湿气) can cause eczema. When I was under high stress, my body’s systems might not have been functioning well, making it more difficult to dispel Shiqi (湿气). Later, I went to Dali, Yunnan, where the climate was drier than in Shenzhen, and the sunlight was abundant. I walked outside every day and got more sunshine, which helped dispel the Shiqi (湿气) from my body. Moreover, my mood improved during the trip, and my body systems functioned better, so the eczema naturally healed.
However, after that, the eczema was not permanently cured. In the past two years, the eczema on my ankles and feet would recur from time to time, and although using creams could suppress it, it would still recur. Moreover, I didn’t want to keep using corticosteroid creams.
Until November last year, I saw a method of using eggs to treat eczema online. I saw many people saying it was effective, so I decided to give it a try. Even if it didn’t work, it wouldn’t harm my body anyway.
I actually tried it twice. The first time, I persisted for a week, and I felt much better. I stopped using the egg rolling method because it took a lot of time. However, due to poor sleep and diet control or increased stress, it recurred again. So I started the second time, and this time I persisted in rolling for 20 days until there was no trace of recurrence at all. It has been almost three months now, and I have not had a relapse.
The main reason I can persist is that the skin rolled with the eggs will not itch at night. Even if my eczema is not completely cured, relieving the itching is still very good. If it recurs later, I will continue to use this method for treatment.
Of course, besides rolling with eggs, if possible, it is best to go to bed and get up earlier, eat healthy foods, have regular meals, regulate your mentality, and don’t let yourself get too anxious or depressed.
Can Eczema Be Cured Permanently?
Eczema is very prone to relapse. If you can control your lifestyle and mentality well, it is possible to avoid relapses. I have seen some people who have not had a relapse for more than ten years.
What Foods Trigger Eczema? Do You Need to Watch Your Diet?
Some foods may trigger eczema, but it varies for each individual. I’m not a doctor, so I can’t specify particular foods. Avoiding allergens may not always prevent eczema. Personally, my eczema flare-ups aren’t necessarily caused by specific foods I’ve eaten.
Instead of focusing on specific foods, it’s essential to consider overall dietary habits. In traditional Chinese medicine, eczema is often attributed to internal imbalance, such as poor digestion due to improper diet or other factors like stress or negative emotions. Therefore, it’s crucial to maintain a clean and healthy diet, avoiding oily, spicy, stimulating, and heavy foods that may burden the body.
For specific foods, if you are in the case of chronic eczema, I think it’s generally fine to eat everything in moderation, unless a food is a known allergen. However, using an elimination method can help identify triggers. For example, introduce a suspected food into your regular diet to see if it worsens your eczema symptoms.
During flare-ups of eczema, it’s wise to avoid known allergens and possibly foods like beef, lamb, seafood, fish, and sticky or heavy foods like glutinous rice. In traditional Chinese medicine, these foods will lead to a relapse. Overall, focus on a balanced diet, incorporating warm and easily digestible foods to support gut health during eczema flare-ups.
Does Vaseline Help Eczema?
It may help if the eczema is caused by dry skin. I tried it following a doctor’s instructions. However, it didn’t work for me because dry skin wasn’t the root cause of my eczema, but I didn’t realize it at that time.
What Is the Main Cause of Eczema?
In modern medicine, there are various explanations for the causes of eczema, and doctors often cannot provide a definitive reason. Therefore, I turned to traditional Chinese medicine to seek answers. I want to clarify that I am not a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner, and my conclusions should not be taken as treatment advice but rather as additional knowledge.
As mentioned in the above content, traditional Chinese medicine attributes eczema to the stagnation and accumulation of dampness or Shiqi (湿气) which you can consider as the toxins and waste in your body.
Why is Shiqi (湿气) stagnated and accumulated? It’s because of the dysfunction with Pi (脾). In traditional Chinese medicine, the Pi (脾) is not viewed as a specific organ and I think it can be considered as the digestive system. It is responsible for distributing nutrients and eliminating waste and toxins from the body. When Pi (脾) is weakened or functions abnormally, Shiqi (湿气) won’t be eliminated effectively and will cause eczema. The reasons behind Pi’s dysfunction could include high stress levels, an unhealthy diet, an irregular lifestyle, and more. It is another complicated topic and I’m not going to elaborate here.
Severe eczema may coincide with constipation because eczema is one way the body tries to expel toxins. If toxins cannot be eliminated through bowel movements, they may be expelled through the skin.
So why does the egg rolling method help treat eczema? Here’s my interpretation.
Eczema is believed to result from stagnant dampness or Shiqi (湿气) in TCM. Rolling hot eggs over the affected areas can help stimulate acupoints and meridians, promoting circulation and clearing stagnation. During the rolling process, not only the affected areas but also surrounding acupoints can be stimulated, preventing the stagnation of new dampness or Shiqi (湿气).
To expedite the elimination of dampness or Shiqi (湿气), it is recommended to do some physical exercise. I suggest outdoor activities during the daytime, such as jogging or walking, to benefit from sunlight exposure, which can help dispel Shiqi (湿气).
If you also keep having a balanced diet, a healthy sleep schedule, and a positive mindset, the function of Pi can be restored, preventing recurrence.
I hope this sharing can assist those troubled by eczema. If you have any home remedies to share, please feel free to do so in the comments!
