How Ayurveda Can Help Treat Eczema Naturally?

Let's face it: eczema is not just a "skin issue." It is itchy, irritating, painful, and it can greatly impact your quality of life and self-esteem. Eczema is more than skin deep; whether you have been dealing with it for a long time or it is something new is irrelevant. Your body is trying to communicate with you, and Ayurveda comes in right here.

Ayurveda is looking deeper, the root cause, not just the steroid creams or heavy-duty pharmaceuticals that may only treat symptoms sometimes. This ancient healing system has a holistic approach toward health with the goal of bringing your body, mind, and spirit back into balance. And when it comes to skin disorders like eczema, Ayurveda has some gentle yet powerful tools to help you heal naturally.

So keep reading if you're tired of slathering on steroid creams or simply want to explore a more natural route. Let's look at how Ayurveda may be able to help treat eczema internally.

What Exactly Is Eczema?

Also known as atopic dermatitis, eczema is a persistent skin disorder marked by inflammation, redness, dryness, and severe itching. It can occasionally cause blisters, fissures, or weeping skin. It can feel like an endless loop of relief and relapse, and often flares up from stress, allergies, or environmental triggers.

Eczema from an Ayurvedic viewpoint, is called Vicharchika. It's sometimes regarded as a kind of Kushtha, a broad term for skin ailments. Ayurveda, unlike Western medicine, which primarily seeks to control symptoms, delves deeper to determine why your skin is reacting in this manner.

Understanding Eczema Through the Ayurvedic Lens

According to Ayurveda, three doshas govern our body: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. These are energies or biological forces influencing our physical and emotional traits.

Eczema typically represents an imbalance of Pitta and Vata:

• Pitta dosha is associated with heat, metabolism, and transformation. When the Pitta dosha is out of balance, it produces inflammation, redness, and heat.
• Vata dosha is associated with air and movement.  It produces dryness, itching, and flakiness.
• Sometimes Kapha may come into play if the eczema has oozing or thickened skin.

The Pitta/Vata imbalance can arise in a multitude of ways: due to poor digestion, toxins (ama) built up in the body; eating a diet with too many spicy or acidic foods; chronic stress; or a change in season.

Eczema Naturally Treatment

1. Balancing the Doshas Through Diet

Animals' cooked foods should be appropriate to their diet. Following a diet can reduce inflammation and hydrate the skin while eliminating toxins.

What to Eat:

• Cold foods like cucumber, cilantro, coconut water, and mint
• Cooked vegetables and whole grains like quinoa and basmati rice
• Good fats like ghee and flaxseed oil (these nourish your skin from within)
• Herbal teas such as chamomile and licorice root to soothe the gut and calm the nervous system

What to Avoid:

• Hot, sour, and fried foods (they increase Pitta)
• Dry, raw, and cold foods (they increase Vata)
• Dairy products (especially during flare-ups)
• Processed foods and sugary snacks

Eating seasonal and warm homemade meals goes far in balancing one's being.

2. Herbs That Heal From Within

Skin treatment in Ayurveda uses many herbs for detoxifying the body, curing inflammation, and supporting the immune system. Some primary herbs prescribed for eczema include:

• Neem is considered a strong anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial agent; it purifies the blood and calms irritated skin.
• Manjistha is known in Ayurveda as a gentle blood purifier and aids liver functions to improve stubborn skin conditions.
• Guduchi (Giloy) improves the functioning of the immune system and detoxifies the body, both of which are important for a long-term cure.
• Turmeric- It is an anti-inflammatory agent, fighting infections and thus promoting the health of the skin.

They can be ingested as herb teas, capsules, or powdered herbs mixed with warm water or honey (depending on your dosha and the advice of your Ayurvedic practitioner).

3. Topical Treatments the Ayurvedic Way

When your skin is flaring up, you want something soothing and fast. While internal balance is key, topical remedies can provide much-needed relief.

Here are a few Ayurvedic skin-soothers:

• Coconut oil: Naturally cooling and antimicrobial, it helps calm itching and moisturize dry skin.
• Aloe vera gel: Fresh aloe (from the plant) is best. It cools inflammation and supports skin healing.
• Neem paste: Applying neem leaves ground with a little water or oil can help reduce itching and infection.
• Kumkumadi oil: A luxurious Ayurvedic oil blend traditionally used for skin clarity; it also helps calm inflammation and nourish dry patches.

Important note: Always do a patch test before using any new topical remedy to make sure your skin doesn’t react negatively.

4. Detoxing the Ayurvedic Way

Eczema can frequently be caused by an internal build-up of toxins (ama), especially when there is poor digestion or too much burden on the liver. Gentle detoxification is one of the main ways that Ayurveda handles clearing the skin.

Panchakarma is a traditional detox therapy offered in Ayurveda that can be very effective, though the treatment is preferred with supervision by a qualified practitioner. If you must detox at home, you can try:

• Enjoying water with lemon in the morning
• Taking Triphala at night to support digestion and elimination
• Abhyanga (self-massage with warm oil) to promote lymphatic flow and release toxins

5. Lifestyle and Stress Management

Do you ever observe your eczema flaring when you're feeling stressed? That’s not accidental. Ayurveda understands a connection between mind and body; definitely, stress is an exacerbator for both Pitta and Vata imbalances.

Basic techniques to quiet your system:

• Meditation or pranayama (breathwork) for anxiety relief
• Working through gentle yoga to ground and centre your body
• Developing a consistent daily routine (dinacharya) for Vata balancing
• Getting enough sleep - sleeping well is when your skin heals best

Final Thoughts: Healing Eczema Holistically

Eczema can feel like an uphill battle, but Ayurveda offers a path that’s rooted in compassion, balance, and deep healing. By addressing the underlying cause, whether that's poor digestion, built-up toxins, or stress, you're treating the root cause of your issue instead of managing your symptoms. You're creating long-term health.

Everybody is different, and there is no one-size-fits-all cure. That's why working with an experienced Ayurvedic practitioner like Karma Ayurveda for eczema treatment is helpful to determine a custom plan that is right for you, based on your constitution, lifestyle, and needs.

But it's comforting to know that even small shifts, like sipping warm herbal tea, skipping that spicy samosa, or opting for natural skincare, can change the game. And you're not just addressing your skin; you're truly nurturing yourself!